Exercise Technique

November 23, 2006 12:10 PM

I read somewhere that a combination of strenous periods and moderate periods during an exercise session are best, but I can't find the specific information.

There was a study done that stated that when exercising, if one were to (cyclically) walk as fast as they could for say 5 minutes and then slow down to a moderate pace for say 10 minutes, the effectiveness of their workout would be increased twofold.

I'd like to know why this would be so (scientifically speaking), find this specific (or a similar) study, as well as find the actual amount of strenuous minutes and moderate minutes.

I'm pretty sure that the article was in print and not online.

posted by eunoia to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

Best answer: It sounds like you mean interval training. This article references a study on the effectiveness of interval training; perhaps that's enough to search with. Apologies for such a short answer and not doing the digging myself.
posted by hackwolf at 12:15 PM on November 23, 2006

Best answer: It's called Interval Training, and is considered an essential strategy for becoming a faster runner, swimmer, cyclist, etc. There's no shortage of literature in mainstream sports science that supports its validity -- just google for it.
posted by randomstriker at 12:19 PM on November 23, 2006

BTW, a lot of "trainers" might also claim that interval training makes you burn more fat -- but this claim isn't well supported by mainstream research.
posted by randomstriker at 12:22 PM on November 23, 2006

The Tabata method is similar to what you're talking about, but the intervals deal in seconds rather than minutes. The idea here is to do as many reps of an exercise* for 20 seconds then rest for 10 seconds, repeating 7 more times for a total of 8 rounds (4 minutes).

Here's the abstract from Tabata's study, "Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max on PubMed.

It is pretty amazing how fried one can get in 4 minutes, so be conservative the first time, if you try this.

*body weight squats, jumping rope, thrusters, dips, pull ups, running, push press, and more
posted by ArcAm at 12:27 PM on November 23, 2006

a few links i found by searching for HIIT, which always seems to get banded about on the forums i post at.

No1
No2
posted by moochoo at 12:31 AM on November 24, 2006

Try this site. Lots of info.
posted by BoscosMom at 1:08 AM on November 24, 2006