Interval Exercise

imoldernu

imoldernu

Gone but not forgotten
Joined
Jul 18, 2012
Messages
6,335
Location
Peru
The latest in health maintenance is "Surge" or "Interval" Exercise.

Studies purport to show that this is healthier and more effective than what used to be longer term, steady exercise.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6706943/Short-bursts-high-intensity-exercise-aid-weight-loss.html

I am reminded of a similar training"breakthrough" in Swim training, back in the 1950's. At that time the accepted "best" way of building speed and strength, was to spend more time in long distance swimming. Until... the Ohio State Swim Team changed to "REPEATS" of near maximum speed timed racing event distances. So, if you were swimming the 200 yard Freestyle race, instead of swimming miles... you would swim at almost racing speed, for the 200 yds... then take a one or two minute break, and repeat three or four times.

While the rest of the country pooh-poohed the idea, my coach at Bowdoin Picked it up, and it became the standard for our team... gradually extending to most other teams over a two year period.

Now... it seems, there is a resurgence of this kind of exercise for the average health enthusiast. Wonder what happened in the meantime? :cool:
 
High Intensity Interval Training is also good for developing cardiovascular fitness. I have used it before because it takes less time than conventional "Long Slow Distance" (LSD) training and I find it a lot less boring.

The "Tabata" protocol (Japanese speed skating coach, IIRC) made the practice popular, and there are many variations. Warmup for a few minutes, then 20 seconds of full-out sprint/row/cycle/etc, followed by 10 seconds of rest, then repeat. 6 of those, and then a couple more minutes of slow exercise to cool off. Done in less than 10 minutes. Since you are stressing your cardiovascular system, it makes adjustments to get stronger. It requires some dedication to push quite hard, but I found it easier to stick with that than to slog along for 30-40 minutes on the bike/rower/treadmill.

Not for beginners, and probably worth checking with a medical professional first.
 
You will get 18,000 suggestions on workouts. If we’re old enough we’ve settle into what works for our bodies. However there was a period of time if I couldn’t get to the gym or was traveling I did 20-30 minute videos on Fitnessblender.com. You can pick areas of focus, differing lengths and then levels of difficulty. Got my heart rate up like no other workout and can do in an 8x8 space
 
I do my own version of HITT exercises. While I like to be active, I find exercise and 'working out' boring, and I don't care for gyms, so the HITT approach is great for me.

What I have learned is that most of these books and plans are aimed at younger folks who don't get hurt as easily and heal more quickly. One good injury, say to a shoulder or the back, can end an exercise regime for weeks if not months. There's no benefit in that. No Pain, No Gain may be great for younger folks, but for me pain (not discomfort) is a sign that I will soon be out of commision for a long time if I don't back off.
 
I tend to perform more Super High Intensity Training.
 
jimbee said:
I tend to perform more Super High Intensity Training.
Click to expand...

I trained many army recruits using this approach. When they complained, I reminded them that sympathy was found in the dictionary....between sh!t and syphilis. Most were unamused, but I wasn't running a daycare nor an amusement park. :D
 
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I don't think it went away. My friend, a life long runner and part time coach has been doing HIIT for more than 3 decades.
 
imoldernu said:
The latest in health maintenance is "Surge" or "Interval" Exercise.

Studies purport to show that this is healthier and more effective than what used to be longer term, steady exercise.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/...-high-intensity-exercise-aid-weight-loss.html

I am reminded of a similar training"breakthrough" in Swim training, back in the 1950's. At that time the accepted "best" way of building speed and strength, was to spend more time in long distance swimming. Until... the Ohio State Swim Team changed to "REPEATS" of near maximum speed timed racing event distances. So, if you were swimming the 200 yard Freestyle race, instead of swimming miles... you would swim at almost racing speed, for the 200 yds... then take a one or two minute break, and repeat three or four times.

While the rest of the country pooh-poohed the idea, my coach at Bowdoin Picked it up, and it became the standard for our team... gradually extending to most other teams over a two year period.

Now... it seems, there is a resurgence of this kind of exercise for the average health enthusiast. Wonder what happened in the meantime? :cool:
Click to expand...
Im, you might find this particularly interesting.

“Time in atrial fibrillation and symptoms of the disease were reduced, and exercise capacity, cardiac function, lipid levels and quality of life were improved in the patients preforming high intensity interval training”

https://cergntnu.wordpress.com/2016/02/15/exercise-reduced-burden-of-atrial-fibrillation/
 
bmcgonig said:
Im, you might find this particularly interesting.

“Time in atrial fibrillation and symptoms of the disease were reduced, and exercise capacity, cardiac function, lipid levels and quality of life were improved in the patients preforming high intensity interval training”

https://cergntnu.wordpress.com/2016/02/15/exercise-reduced-burden-of-atrial-fibrillation/
Click to expand...

Thanks... Interesting. I have asymptomatic Afib, diagnosed three years ago as such, but as far back as 60 years, doctors used to tell me I had a heart murmur.

i suppose it's a little late now, but when we go for exercise in our CCRC, I still do the "repeats" on the machines. The automatic resistance level changes work well. Reminds me of the "old days". :)
 
Chuckanut said:
One good injury, say to a shoulder or the back, can end an exercise regime for weeks if not months. There's no benefit in that. No Pain, No Gain may be great for younger folks, but for me pain (not discomfort) is a sign that I will soon be out of commision for a long time if I don't back off.
Click to expand...


I'm finding that true, battling an achy Achilles. I like HIIT, or at least hate it less than long cardio. And I play sports that require quick burst activity. And the injuries are the major thing that slows me down.


I like doing HIIT on the rowing machine, feels like it's more cardio and recovery focused that way.
 
shortstop14 said:
I like doing HIIT on the rowing machine, feels like it's more cardio and recovery focused that way.
Click to expand...
+1, I liked using rowing machines for this, too. I used to alternate between the rowing machines and elliptical machines. When really going all out, it can look frenetic and I think it can be a bit disconcerting to others nearby in the gym.

There's no way I could figure out to do some hese on a treadmill, and I didn't like doing it on the stationary bike.
 
I love exercise, so do not wish to shorten my workouts. I'll stick with LSD training where the 'S' stands for steady, not slow.
I add a little tempo training on a good day where the pace is picked up to 'race pace'.
Got to show the body what you expect from it. I love 6-8 hour fast paced hiking or bike rides.
High intensity as my only training method would increase injury exposure and make me dread the workout session.
 
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TromboneAl said:
The Swedes have had HIIT since the 1930s. It has the unfortunate name of "fartlek." "Fart" means speed, and "lek" means play.
Click to expand...

Fartlek was popularized by Runner's World magazine back in the 70s. I remember reading many articles about it. It's very useful, but not really the same thing as HIIT.
 
I was doing HIIT running last fall. Run / walk 4 miles. Run (near sprint) until heart rate reached 145-150. Then walk until heart rate reached 125-130. Then repeat for 4 miles. Joints couldn’t take for more than a few months. Great cardio workout. I’d like to find something with similar cardio without joint damage. Rowing mentioned above seems like it would fit the bill.
 
Chuckanut said:
What I have learned is that most of these books and plans are aimed at younger folks who don't get hurt as easily and heal more quickly. One good injury, say to a shoulder or the back, can end an exercise regime for weeks if not months.
Click to expand...

My data, from doing HIIT runs once/week for years:

Groin pull on 7/28/2016
Groin pull on 11/20/2018

I did some long slow running two weeks ago, and my knee got sore.

I did the first HIIT since the injury a few days ago. The day after, it was clear that the injured groin muscle wasn't pulling its weight. That is, I could only raise that knee about 90 degrees instead of about 130. But it's back to normal today.

I've dialed it back a tiny bit, and I pay very close attention to how the muscles feel as I'm running.
 
Ronstar said:
I was doing HIIT running last fall. Run / walk 4 miles. Run (near sprint) until heart rate reached 145-150. Then walk until heart rate reached 125-130. Then repeat for 4 miles. Joints couldn’t take for more than a few months. Great cardio workout. I’d like to find something with similar cardio without joint damage. Rowing mentioned above seems like it would fit the bill.
Click to expand...

4 miles? That seems like a pretty long distance for HIIT. How long did it take to complete that?
 
ExFlyBoy5 said:
4 miles? That seems like a pretty long distance for HIIT. How long did it take to complete that?
Click to expand...



Around 45 minutes. I estimate that I was walking and running for about the same time intervals. My running pace was about 3 times my walking pace. So I walked about 3 miles and ran 1 mile in 4 miles.
 
Ronstar said:
Around 45 minutes. I estimate that I was walking and running for about the same time intervals. My running pace was about 3 times my walking pace. So I walked about 3 miles and ran 1 mile in 4 miles.
Click to expand...

Should be "ran 3 miles and walked 1 mile", right?
 
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