Interval training is a great way of exercising and has many benefits for health and well-being. It can be done in a variety of ways, and has different benefits depending on the method used. Let's take a look at three different styles of interval training.
A typical high intensity interval training session involves doing multiple intervals of relatively short bursts of intense exercise separated by either a short break or light exercise. High intensity interval training tends to comprise things like cycling, running or weights/resistance training. These intervals can last anywhere between a few minutes to half an hour. For instance, you may run or cycle as fast as you can for 30 seconds.
These short intense sprints can be challenging to complete if your fitness levels are relatively low and this can put a lot of people trying high intensity interval training because of the intense levels of exercise required. High intensity interval training is perfect for those with little time but quite high fitness levels. High intensity interval training has been shown to be very effective at improving underlying health and fitness levels of participants, source.
2. Low Intensity Interval Training
Low intensity interval training has been suggested as just as good for your health as high intensity interval training, and it may be more appropriate for those with bone or joint issues. This is particularly important when there is a small increase in risk of injury when undertaking high intensity interval training, source. Like high intensity interval training the idea of low intensity interval training is that you still perform exercises in intervals, but these exercises are done at a lower intensity and with more shorter rest time in between. It is fairly straightforward; you can do a set of 10 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, 200 jumping jacks, and then repeat this sequence until you've done a thousand push-ups and jumps.
Low intensity interval training needs shorter breaks than high intensity interval training so maybe do half of this routine, take a break and then repeat. If you are trying to build stamina you could do this for twenty minutes. You should increase the number of push-ups, sit-ups and jumping jacks as you get fitter to avoid homeostasis, homeostasis is basically where your body gets fitter so as time passes the same number of exercises you did last week will burn fewer calories because your body needs to use less effort to complete them.
Endurance training, also known as aerobic exercise, includes activities that increase your heart rate and lung capacity and include simple exercises like walking, jogging, swimming, cycling and jumping rope. These are typically done at a steady pace and for an extended period of time. These exercises are similar to both high intensity interval training and low intensity interval training but the key difference is that in endurance training exercises are done at a slower pace with no breaks.
Endurance activities are an excellent way of maintaining and improving your keeps your overall fitness levels and are perfect for maintain your heart, lungs and circulatory system. Endurance training can help people get the recommended regular physical activity required for an underlying level of fitness and can also help reduce the risk of many diseases including diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
This is a personal choice that only you can make and it depends on your fitness levels and how much time you have to get fit or maintain your levels of fitness. My personal preference would be to start with endurance training to increase your underlying fitness levels and to take it slow when you start your fitness journey. Then once you feel you are ready then it is time to move to low intensity interval training, which increases the intensity of some of the endurance training exercises but including breaks between to increase your fitness levels at a quicker pace. Once you have moved from taking breaks to continue to do light exercises between low intensity interval training exercises then it is probably time to try high intensity interval training.
High intensity interval training is really great as I done correctly and safely high intensity interval training can you get you into better shape quicker. I want you to get into better shape quicker because the high intensity interval training is going to give you better results in the time it takes. If you want to get fitter much quicker then you should start with high intensity interval training straight away as low intensity interval training and endurance training give you good results but it takes a long time to get there. The high intensity interval training gives you better results in shorter time. So I am going with the high intensity interval training.
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