Interval Training. How, Why & When?

November 19, 2010 By 1 Comment

There is so much research available now that confirms the huge benefits of interval training, particularly if you want to increase your chances of fat-burning.  Interval training is a great way to exercise…when taking our personal training clients through their individual programs, they regularly perform short bursts of high-intensity exercise.  They see their desired results much faster (when also including the presence of a healthy diet and effective recovery).

However, if you are a newcomer to exercise, have a particular health condition or have never trained this way before, we highly recommend seeking the advice of a professional before commencing an interval training program.  Why?  Because of the nature of training this way, if your body isn’t ready to cope with the extra effort required from short bursts of high intensity, you could risk injuring yourself.  If you have areas of muscle tension, lack of strength or are just unfamiliar with this way of training, getting it wrong could set you back for quite some time.

All of that said, interval training is a fantastic way to burn more calories in a shorter space of time.  If you like to run, cycle, swim, briskly walk or even train at home with bodyweight exercises, increasing your intensity will really pay off.

So, how do you know when you are working hard enough to reap the extra benefits?  Think about how much effort you are putting into your workout.  If you poodle along and could continue the activity for a long time, you are not working hard enough!!!  If you ‘push’ yourself by increasing your intensity and find that you can only continue for a short time (around 60 seconds is a good starting point) then this is around the optimal level.  Short periods of hard work followed by short periods of active recovery, i.e. ease off on the intensity but continue moving, is exactly the way to interval train.

Adding this to your normal exercise routine will not only give you variety, but it will also help you tone up, get fitter and see your desired results more quickly.

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Personal Training Diary…A Wet Sunday Cycle Ride

May 30, 2010 By 1 Comment

Today’s cycle ride looked oh so promising when my personal training client and I left home at 10.00am.  A few miles down the road whilst making our way out to the planned hilly climb (she is training for an endurance event at the end of the summer and I wanted to throw in some heart rate intervals), spots of rain started to fall.  “Let’s keep going, it will only be a short shower.”  Yeah right!!!  Oh well, it was only a bit of water.

One of the great things about this time of year is that as soon as the rain stops and the sun makes an appearance, you know it won’t take long to dry off.  That’s exactly what happened as we started to climb.  A short while later our heart rates were elevated and we were steaming…literally!  The clouds disappeared and the view was spectacular.

We enjoyed the ups and downs of the ride and dried off very quickly.  After a well-deserved short snack stop (to get sustained energy release by mixing carbohydrate and small amount of protein), we made our way back home.

It would have been so easy to turn around at the first sight of the clouds at 10.15am and go do the personal training session inside.  OK, so we got a bit wet, but the enjoyment and sense of achievement for my client at the end was worth a soggy t-shirt for a while!  Once again, she amazed herself at how much stronger she is feeling, especially when the hill climbs are getting tougher.

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Even a Surrey Personal Trainer Can Lose 2% of Body Fat!

June 19, 2009 By 1 Comment

OK, 2% of body fat may not sound like very much.  However, body fat, or more importantly visceral fat (fat that is stored around our organs and that which you cannot see when you look in the mirror) is very stubborn to shift.  There are several factors involved which aid the reduction, and if one is out of balance, the fat may not shift at all!  I’ve mentioned body fat % in previous blogs, but I want to share my own experience of real life.

I manage a team of personal trainers and weight loss specialists in Surrey.  I am a trainer myself and like to think that I practice what I preach (how else could I lead by example and motivate my clients?)  After making changes to my diet and exercise routine after graduating as a mature (ish!) student in 2003,  my body fat % has always been in the ‘healthy’ category.  Specific CV and resistance training, along with a nutritious and well-balanced diet help me to maintain this level. 

After moving to Italy at the beginning of April 2009, I was surprised to see what had happened to my body fat % when I measured it last week.  A 2% reduction in only 2 months.  That’s quite substantial!  So what had I been doing differently:

1) I have increased the amount of interval training sessions each week.  I now enjoy cycling the mountain roads and HAVE to deal with the hills – there is no other way for me to reach my house!

2) A certain amount of stress has been eased, which in turn has decreased the stress response in my body, inhibiting the breakdown of fat due to too much insulin.  (I will blog about this separately as it’s a whole new issue).

3) The quality of the food that I am eating is superior to that which I have eaten before.  There is a lot that can be said for first cold pressed olive oil and locally produced foods.

4) I have REDUCED, not cut out, starch and heavy carbohydrate foods from my diet, i.e. potatoes and rice.   This has eased my digestive system somewhat!

5) I always avoid low-fat foods which have been processed and/or chemically treated.  If the food isn’t in it’s natural state, I stay away from it!

Body fat is stubborn stuff.  By allowing a slow and gradual reduction, you give your body a much better chance of keeping it off.  Yo-yo diets only tend to give short-term results (and nutritional deficiencies), then the fat is piled straight back on, plus more.  My team of Surrey personal trainers deal with this problem every day.  It’s all part of our service.  If it can happen to a personal trainer, it can happen to you!

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