Interval Training: Why It’s Important & A Stair Workout
Do you include interval training in your workouts?? If not, I am including information in this post about why you should! There are so many benefits to interval training- read below to learn about them!
This is an interval workout that I did a few days ago. It was done on the stairmaster (since I still can’t run- boo) alternating between a jog/speed walk pace (level 12) and a run/sprint pace (level 16). I warmed up by doing 10 minutes at level 12, then alternated every 2 minutes between levels 12 and 16 for 6 rounds (24 minutes total). Then I cooled down for about 6 minutes by slowly decreasing my pace. I logged 40 minutes total and then biked a few miles to cool my body down more before weight training.
Now, on to the benefits of interval training:
1. It saves time!
You can complete your workout in a much shorter time and blast just as many calories when you interval train. Cranking up the intensity allows you to keep your heart rate up during your recovery intervals and keeps your calorie burn level high.
2. Increases fat burn
High intensity interval training has been proven to increase the after burn effect of your workout. You will continue to burn more calories over a 24 hour period when you interval train. So crank up that used treadmills and up your fat blasting capabilities!
3. Helps to Retain Muscle
High intensity interval training helps to preserve muscle quality while burning fat. Steady state cardio is more likely to encourage muscle loss, while interval training helps to ensure that calories burned target fat and not muscle.
4. Helps to Increase Metabolism
Interval training is great to increase caloric burn on a daily basis. Interval training stimulates the production of human growth hormone which is great because this hormone plays a role in caloric burn as well as the aging process. Yes- interval training helps to slow the aging process and make you look & feel younger- WOO!
5. Improved Aerobic Capacity
Interval training helps to improve your aerobic capacity so you can workout harder, faster, and longer! Interval training is a great way to avoid hitting a plateau because you can continue to increase your speed and number of interval rounds you do.
6. Helps to keep boredom at bay
Interval training really does help to pass the time quicker! This is especially useful when you are indoors on cardio machines. Exercising indoors all winter long can get to be a drag, so keep things interesting by changing up your pace and intensity.
Do you interval train? What is your favorite indoor exercise? Favorite Outdoor?
