Break a Sweat: Intervals

I’ve been really wanting to start a series about exercise and, maybe, nutrition. I feel like I need to mention that I am no athlete or a nutritionist for that matter. I did learn my share about nutrition at nursing school and I’ve done a lot of research on it. I like to feed my family healthy meals. I’m not always successful but I try anyway. I also like to exercise. Well, if we’re being completely truthful here, I like how I feel after I exercise. Who actually likes to exercise? With that being said, I like to run and I like trying different and new workouts. I thought it would be fun for me to document different workouts I’ve tried or want to try, whether I liked them or not, any results I’ve seen, maybe some healthy recipes that my family enjoys. Mostly, I’m hoping that having to post something every week we’ll keep me motivated to live a healthy lifestyle. And, perhaps, I can inspire someone along the way. We’ll see how it goes. I’m calling the series Break a Sweat. I’ll try posting once a week.

Let’s give it a try this week, ok?

Since I probably know most about running, that’s what we’ll discuss today. In particular, running intervals. When I first started running, the only thing that I cared about was getting my miles in. I worked up to running long distances and I was happy with that…for a little while. Then I started getting bored. I wasn’t improving either at my speed or at losing weight (and I did still have a few pounds to lose). I felt like I’ve hit a plateau (topic for next week?). The outcome? I quit running. But truth be told, I missed running and I couldn’t wait to be able to get back into it again (I was pregnant at the time). When I was finally cleared to exercise, I got on the treadmill, ran 2 miles and decided I’m never quitting running again. It was exhilarating (I have to add that it was probably due to the fact that exercise was one of the main things that got me through losing a child. I attacked it with a vengeance. It made me feel happy when I thought it wasn’t possible. It kept me sane. It was my drug of choice.)

I knew I needed to do something different this time around. One of my goals right now is to improve my speed. So I did some research and what do you know, the best way to improve your speed is incorporating intervals – or periods of intense exertion followed by periods of recovery – into your workout. There are a lot of benefits to doing interval training, some of my favorite are:

1. Running intervals helps alleviate boredom. Score! This was my biggest problem. Doing intervals really does help. You’re changing things around all the time. Plus, pushing your body to its limits requires all your determination and focus. Trust me, boredom will be the last thing on your mind.

2. Running intervals can improve your speed. Score again! Your body becomes conditioned to run faster as you increase your speed for a short distance, then slow down and allow your body to recover, and then run fast again. When you learn to run at high-speeds over short distances, you’re eventually able to sustain a faster pace over long distances.

3. You’ll burn more fat running intervals. There has been many studies done that had proven that incorporating speed intervals into a workout burns three times as much fat as exercising at a steady pace for twice as long. If you’ve reached a plateau in your weight loss effort, and I did even though I was running over 20 miles a week, intervals is a great way to break through that.

4. Interval training increases endurance. Let’s get a little technical here. We have two energy producing systems: the aerobic and the anaerobic. The aerobic system uses oxygen to create sustained energy fueled by carbohydrates. This is the system that allows you to run long distance. The anaerobic system draws energy from glycogen stored in the muscles, which provides short bursts of activity. It doesn’t require oxygen and results in the production of lactic acid, which is what makes you feel that burn during the workout and soreness after the work out. Well, running intervals works both systems. I don’t know how detailed I need to get here. Basically what happens is lactic acid builds up as you increase the intensity, then the body breaks down the lactic acid and uses it as fuel during your recovery phase. What does it mean for you? You can exercise at a higher intensity for a longer period of time before your muscles get fatigued and you are forced to slow down. In other words, it increases your endurance.

There are more benefits to interval training, but these four are the most valuable ones to me. I haven’t been doing intervals for very long, but I have noticed a difference and improvement in all 4 points mentioned above.

Here’s the interval workout I did today. I hit the gym today, so I did it on a treadmill. I didn’t have a ton of time before I had to take the kiddos to their swimming lessons. It took me 30 minutes but I felt like I got a great workout.

- Warm up: 5 minutes. Start with brisk walking then end at your comfortable pace (mine is at 10min/mile, on the treadmill it’s at a 6 (6 miles/hr)).
- 10 minute speed drill: Add speed 10 times, once every minute. (ex: 6.1 – 7.0)
- 5 minute easy walk or jog (I ran it at my comfortable 10 min/mile)
- 10 minute climb: Start on a 0 and add one level of incline every minute (.5 - 5)
- 5 minute easy walk or jog/cool down (I ran it at my comfortable 10 min/mile, then walked for few minutes and stretched)

Then I was out of time. Ideally, I would repeat the drills again. But it was a great workout anyway (adapted from http://healthymamahappymama.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/10/)

If you don’t have access to a treadmill - no problem. My favorite interval to do when I run outside is to pick a landmark, like that gigantic tree a block away, or the blue trash can, or the bottom of the hill, and sprint for it like my life depends on it, then slow down and recover for 5 minutes or so, until you feel like you’re ready for another all-out sprint.

Give it a try. Incorporate some interval training into your workouts. I guarantee you will feel and see results!

Go break a sweat now,

Love, D.