So I took out 3 clients yesterday as a tester session for some Interval Training. They said to me afterwards they thought it was incredibly hard. It was, I made it like that. 5 lots of 15-20 second sprints (depending on ability) with a minutes rest in between. I was a little more relaxed than perhaps I should have been on the rest periods, however it was worth it to get maximum effort from the sprints.
Interval Training is excellent, it enables you to push your body and exercise at a much, much higher intensity for short periods of time.
Why does it work? I hear you ask…
The two energy systems that it uses in the body are the ATP-PCr system (Adenosine Triphosphate-Phosphocreatine that is a mouthful and not easy to type either!) and the Lactic Acid Energy sytem.
ATP system is the energy system that we use for short and high intensity exercise such as 100m sprinting, or perhaps powerlifting. The energy system depletes of its resources quickly, and takes a fair amount of time to replenish.
The Lactic Energy system is for slightly longer range sprinting, such as 400m sprinting or football. You might recognise the word ‘Lactic’. You know the burn you get in your muscles after running fast, or lifting weights a lot, or more importantly, if you are at www.essentialfitnesscamp.com, when you squat for a minute? That’s lactic acid.
When the body has used these energy systems to their maximum capacity, the body requires more oxygen and energy to return to its normal state. This is called EPOC, or Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption.
EPOC is part of a process that returns the body back to its normal state by replenishing the energy systems. This is raised after high intensity exercise, it has also been proven that it raises the bodies ability to burn calories at an elevated rate for up to 16 hours afterwards. It has also been proven that it significantly depletes subcutaneous fat at a faster rate than aerobic training will.
There you have it. A short burst as to why interval training works. Get in contact if you want more info.
Until next time!
