On Body for Life, you only need to work out four hours a week. The catch is that each workout must be done at a high intensity. You make up for quantity with quality. While the program prescribes only three cardio workouts a week for twenty minutes a session, these three workouts include intervals as hard as you can go. This method of training is referred to as High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).
I've been reading about the benefits of interval training since I started exercising regularly almost ten years ago. Runners use interval training to increase speed and aerobic capacity, or VO2Max. HIIT can also help rev up your metabolism more than lower interval cardio. Beginners can even use HIIT, even if your high intensity interval is walking one block faster than the last.
The benefits are undeniable. However, that's because it comes at a price. HIIT is hard work! If you are doing it right, at the peak of your interval, you are going as hard as you can. You can't talk, you can hardly breathe, and your heart is pounding out of your chest. The only way I get through the high points is reminding myself that it only lasts a minute. It's wonderful when you can drop back down to a moderate level for your recovery periods.
I can tell I've been improving through my interval workouts. When I started, my "ten" was in a 5th gear on the second ring on my bike. Now, it's the fourth gear on the biggest ring. I believe that HIIT really works, but I still think the best part is that it's over quickly!
Are you sticking to the four hours a week, or have you been adding time? Can you use you pool time here, or is it more prescribed?
ReplyDeleteI can't swim hard for 20 minutes, so swimming isn't a good exercise for me for HIIT. However, you could use swimming as your HIIT if you can swim 20 minutes at a high intensity. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to make it to the pool much since I started the program.
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