Use Interval Fitness Training to Meet Your Fitness Needs

Have you ever given interval fitness training a try? If you are a novice at exercising, chances are pretty slim that you have tried interval fitness training. This is unfortunate because this type of a program can provide you with the benefits you have always been looking for in an exercise regimen. The problem with many training programs is that your body grows accustomed to the same work out and thus stops getting the work out it once did. As such, you stop getting the results you are trying to achieve with your training. This is known as running into a plateau or stagnation. It is one of the most common stumbling blocks that people run into who are trying to get in shape. The good news is that there is a solution to stagnation. The solution is to mix up your work out so that your body continues working. A great suggestion for mixing up your work out is to give interval fitness training a try.

Interval fitness training is a training program in which you incorporate high intensity training with low intensity training. While both cardiovascular exercise and resistance training are important to a complete fitness package, interval fitness training is most commonly incorporated into a cardiovascular program. So instead of jogging for 30 minutes at the same pace, interval fitness training would combine periods of running at full speed with slower paced jogs. While this may sound simple, it is actually pretty difficult to do.

Interval fitness training can be modified depending upon your training goals. For instance, a training program designed to increase your speed would be quite different than a training program designed to increase your endurance. Let us focus on a training program for speed first. This type of program would incorporate shorter intervals with high bursts of speed. An example of an interval fitness training program to increase speed is as follows:

• Run at full speed for one minute
• Jog at half pace for one minute
• Repeat for a total of thirty minutes

The first few minutes of this program might be pretty easy to accomplish, but you can count on the difficulty increasing as the minutes go by. Towards the end of your session, your full speed (high intensity) intervals will likely be much slower than they were at the beginning of your session. This is quite fine, as your body is simply unable to maintain the same speed as it did when it was fresh in the work out. The important part is that you continue to push yourself.

An interval fitness training program to increase endurance is different. An example of this type of a program would include longer intervals at lower intensities. For instance:

• Fast jog for five minutes
• Slow jog for three minutes
• Repeat for a total of one hour

Try incorporating interval fitness training into your exercise regimen and see how it works for you. Chances are great that you will begin feeling and seeing results in no time at all. For more useful suggestions on getting in great shape, visit 12 Minute Revolution.