Interval Training: It Doesn't Have to be Hard

By Andrea Scarberry

Interval training is getting a lot of buzz in the fitness industry right now. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is hugely popular among trainers, group classes and fitness aficionados, and here's why. HIIT is a form of training that involves short bursts, or intervals, (usually anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute) of high-intensity work paired with short rest periods. The benefits are abundant. When you're short on time, a 15-minute HIIT-style workout can achieve more than an entire hour spent in steady-state cardio (working on a treadmill, elliptical, etc.) HIIT revs your metabolism, and your body will be on track to burn more fat and calories during and for the 24-hour period after your workout. HIIT workouts push you into an anaerobic state (breathing heavily, making it difficult to talk), strengthening your heart and improving your capacity to handle cardiovascular work. The list goes on. All of this to say: HIIT isn't for everyone.

Maybe you're a senior looking for a safe and effective way to get into, or stay in, shape. Maybe you have health concerns that limit the intensity of your workouts. Or, maybe you just plain don't enjoy being winded. This article from the NY Times "Well" Blog may just be the answer to your prayers:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/walk-hard-walk-easy-repeat/?ref=health&_r=0

In a nutshell, the article outlines a study conducted in Japan a decade ago that followed two groups of participants: One group of steady-state walkers, and one group of interval walkers, all in the middle-aged to senior population. After five months, it was found that the steady-state group had barely improved fitness or health levels at all, while the group on the interval program had significantly improved aerobic fitness, leg strength and blood-pressure readings.

The article goes on to talk about the most recent study performed by the same group, which reports that almost 70% of the participants from the original study have continued to actively follow their interval-walking regimen and have maintained or continued to improve health gains. This seems to suggest that this type of gentle interval-style training is easy and highly possible for the majority of the population to maintain, making it less likely that someone following a similar program would "fall off the wagon."

Interval training doesn't have to be scary, nor is it something reserved only for those with elite levels of physical fitness. It can benefit anyone, and can be performed in a number of ways. Like the sound of simply taking a walk? Take advantage of the indoor track at the JCC, or hop on a treadmill if you'd like to regulate your interval speeds a little more accurately.

And for those of you looking for an interval-style challenge, the JCC has a lot to offer in the way of HIIT workouts as well. One great option starting soon is the Tabata: SHREDDED program, which will begin March 10th. This class is 6 weeks and meets every Tuesday and Thursday morning from 6-6:35 a.m. Cost: $80 member, $100 non-members. See the membership office or visit our website at www.jccabq.org for more information or to register today!

Thanks for checking in on this week's edition of Trainer Talk, and until next time, be well.