Interval training is a great way to spice up a workout and get awesome results. Do you ever find that your cardiovascular workout routine is getting a little too repetitive, a little too boring? Boredom is a huge problem and one of the main reasons people give up on exercise, but it doesn’t have to be that way. There are so many different ways to challenge your body and your mind during your workouts that you should never feel bored.
The key is to always keep learning new things and to learn variations of the exercises and routines you are currently doing. One of these variations is aerobic interval training and that is what we are going to talk about today.
So what is aerobic interval training? Basically, it means working out by alternating bursts of intense activity with intervals of light activity. This type of training can be done by anyone and with any aerobic activity. Let’s use walking as an example. If you’re already in pretty good shape and you’ve been walking for a while, you might incorporate short bursts of jogging into your regular brisk walks. If you’re more of a beginner, you might just alternate faster, harder walking with leisurely walking.
For example, if you are walking outside you could pick a landmark in the distance like a tree or a stop sign and pick up the intensity until you get to it. If you’re working out on a treadmill or elliptical machine, it is as easy as watching the timer on the machine and timing your light intensity and high intensity intervals.
There are many advantages to interval training. Perhaps the most popular is that interval training burns more calories without spending more time in the gym, who doesn’t like the sound of that? There are other benefits as well, like improving your aerobic capacity, which is great news for your workouts but more importantly it is great news for your heart and lungs. Interval training is also nice because it doesn’t require drastic changes to your routine or any kind of special equipment.
Whatever type of cardiovascular exercise you are doing now can be easily converted into interval training. This type of training will grow with you as you progress. Getting started is as easy as choosing the length and speed of your high intensity intervals. Obviously the length and speed can be altered depending of how you are feeling that day, it is all up to you.
Of course this does require you to be more disciplined during your workout. It is up to you to do your intervals at a level that will challenge you and only you can determine what that level is. Also, as with any exercise routine, it is important to warm up first. You want to make sure your body is warmed up before you go into your first interval.
If you are working out seriously to improve sports performance, this type of training is also a good choice for you. In this case, you may want to look at interval training a little more seriously. A personal trainer or other fitness expert can help you plan the intensity and duration of your intervals based on your target heart rate, aerobic capacity and other factors.
No matter what your fitness level, aerobic interval training is something you can use to boost your workout, relieve some boredom and challenge your body. Why not try it today?
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
So, What Are You Most Thankful For?
So what are you most thankful for? Being that it is Thanksgiving I hope that some of you have pondered this a bit. It’s interesting but when most people talk about what they are most thankful for it is their family, friends and health that top the list. Why do I find this interesting? Because I don’t think most of us concentrate on these things in relevance to them being what is most important to us.
Think about your average day or week. How much of that time is dedicated to family, friends and your health? Most of the people I come across are so caught up in the daily grind that these self-imposed most important things are not at the top of the list. People are very quick to say they are too busy to make phone calls, visit loved ones or get in a workout. It is everyone’s favorite excuse; I’m too busy.
Other people have no problem accepting this excuse because then they can use it too. What goes around comes around, right? Can you imagine if next Thanksgiving you did not have your spouse to be thankful for? Can you imagine if by next Thanksgiving you had lost a dear friendship because they tired of your excuses? Can you imagine that next Thanksgiving you no longer had your precious good health? Like the old saying goes, ‘you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone’.
Good health is so valuable but you would never know it by the way many people treat it. Let’s face it, we take it for granted. We act like it is a birthright and it will always be there for us. It will never happen to us, just the other people, right? I’d like to take the famous JFK quote and turn it around on you. ‘Ask not what your body can do for you, ask what you can do for you body’.
So what can you do for your body? You can nourish it instead of just filling it with useless and empty calories. You can move your body instead of having it sit in front of the TV. That’s it you ask? Yep, that’s it. Just think about it, your amazing body and all it does for you and all it asks for in return are healthy nutrition and movement. Is that a bargain or what?
The time to really think about this is now, before you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, clogged arteries and excess body fat and the many diseases they cause. Many of you already have one or more of these conditions. Have you taken responsibility for them? By taking responsibility you are regaining control of the situation and when you know that you are in control than you will do what is necessary to reverse these ailments.
Healthy nutrition and exercise have been proven to not just stop the progressions of heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol but to actually reverse them! I hope that has you excited and ready to take action! Too often I see people wallowing in self-pity because of their high blood pressure when I know that they eat sodium rich cold cuts, red meat, processed cheese and other junk food. Why should we feel sorry for someone who won’t take any responsibility? Frankly, I don’t feel sad as much as I do angry.
I feel that most people in our society are on a very slippery slope when it comes to their health and it is scary. It’s up to each of us to take care of ourselves, and it should be at the top of our priority list.
Think about your average day or week. How much of that time is dedicated to family, friends and your health? Most of the people I come across are so caught up in the daily grind that these self-imposed most important things are not at the top of the list. People are very quick to say they are too busy to make phone calls, visit loved ones or get in a workout. It is everyone’s favorite excuse; I’m too busy.
Other people have no problem accepting this excuse because then they can use it too. What goes around comes around, right? Can you imagine if next Thanksgiving you did not have your spouse to be thankful for? Can you imagine if by next Thanksgiving you had lost a dear friendship because they tired of your excuses? Can you imagine that next Thanksgiving you no longer had your precious good health? Like the old saying goes, ‘you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone’.
Good health is so valuable but you would never know it by the way many people treat it. Let’s face it, we take it for granted. We act like it is a birthright and it will always be there for us. It will never happen to us, just the other people, right? I’d like to take the famous JFK quote and turn it around on you. ‘Ask not what your body can do for you, ask what you can do for you body’.
So what can you do for your body? You can nourish it instead of just filling it with useless and empty calories. You can move your body instead of having it sit in front of the TV. That’s it you ask? Yep, that’s it. Just think about it, your amazing body and all it does for you and all it asks for in return are healthy nutrition and movement. Is that a bargain or what?
The time to really think about this is now, before you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, clogged arteries and excess body fat and the many diseases they cause. Many of you already have one or more of these conditions. Have you taken responsibility for them? By taking responsibility you are regaining control of the situation and when you know that you are in control than you will do what is necessary to reverse these ailments.
Healthy nutrition and exercise have been proven to not just stop the progressions of heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol but to actually reverse them! I hope that has you excited and ready to take action! Too often I see people wallowing in self-pity because of their high blood pressure when I know that they eat sodium rich cold cuts, red meat, processed cheese and other junk food. Why should we feel sorry for someone who won’t take any responsibility? Frankly, I don’t feel sad as much as I do angry.
I feel that most people in our society are on a very slippery slope when it comes to their health and it is scary. It’s up to each of us to take care of ourselves, and it should be at the top of our priority list.
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