the interval way etc

interval training and circuit training

Check the post I wrote on January 25th entitled "FDFS - For those interested in rapid musculuar growth". It's not the post you should read but further down: Mark Dowds replied to that post and then I replied back and talked about interval training in detail. Here's what I wrote:

Interval training is basically a solution to fight your body's ability to get too used to something too fast... If your body gets used to the way you do cardio, you sessions will become less and less efficient.

Most people do their cardio at one speed / one level of difficulty / on one cardio machine and keep this up every session for months. This is not bad but you get MUCH better results if you vary things! They recommend doing a major change every 6 weeks (the time it takes for your body to start getting used to something).

The typical interval training description goes like this. Do 5 minutes of easy cardio to warm up, then start the intervals: 2 minutes real hard, 1 minute of cooling down where you can actually stop or simply do your exercise at the easiest level to recuperate. Start again. Do this five times.

This will last twenty minutes.

Some people say the hard intervals could be as short as 30 seconds, some say the easy part could be varied and could simply be based on "when you are ready to do the hard interval again".

Some people suggest to increase the variety by doing this on different cardio machines (elliptical, step machine, threadmill, stationary bike, etc) and to vary the intensity on each. I like doing this. I call this by triathlon workout! ;) It's less boring to stay on one machine for less time too!

Some people say you should aim to make your hard intervals harder every few days and easier ever few other days.

The whole point being you must NOT let the body get used to ANYTHING!

Interval training is considered the number one best way to lose your gut by experts around the world. Read about it on the net!

Conclusion: You think your exercises are not improving your situation as it used to? Time for interval training!

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You also talk about " moving round different machines repeatedily rather than doing 3 sets on a machine at one time".

This is called circuit training (you decide on a sequence of exercises and this is your circuit).

Circuit training is an excellent way to improve mobility, strength and stamina. The circuit training format utilizes a group of 5 to 10 strength exercises (usually) that are completed one exercise after another. Each exercise is performed for a specified number of repetitions or for a prescribed time before moving on to the next exercise. The exercises within each circuit are separated by brief, timed rest intervals, and each circuit is separated by a longer rest period. The total number of circuits performed during a training session may vary from two to six depending on your training level (beginner, intermediate, or advanced), your period of training (preparation or competition) and your training objective.

Advantages? The first one is you waste less time! Normally, if you stay at just one machine and really work hard, you should wait about 2 to 3 minutes between each set. BUT, if instead you go to a different machine that works a completely different set of muscles (like doing your biceps on one machine and doing your legs on another), then you don't need to wait at all... Well, just enough time to catch your breath! ;)

This means you can do a lot more in a lot less time...

Here's the link to the wikipedia page on circuit training : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuit_training

Switching to a different training type (like circuit training!) is also a way to keep your body guessing, as I said above when talking about interval training... The same applies to strength training! You must switch routine or training type every 6 weeks for optimum results. As you see, your two topics where linked and are two of the most important notions in both losing weight and building strenght.

Cheers!

Stéphane

Posted by xmaestro on Mar. 18, 2009 at 04:00PM