Interval Training: Boosting Endurance, Work Capacity, & Speed

Introduction: When it comes to improving endurance, work capacity, & speed, one training method stands out among the rest for a combination of all three: interval training. Whether you’re an avid runner, cyclist, or athlete seeking to enhance your performance, interval training is a massive game-changer. This training technique involves alternating periods of high-intensity effort with periods of active or passive recovery. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the benefits of interval training, and the science behind it, and provide you with a sample workout to help you get started.

The Science Behind Interval Training: Interval training is rooted in the concept of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), which has gained immense popularity in recent years. The idea behind HIIT is to push your body to its limits during intense bursts of exercise, followed by short recovery periods. This approach challenges both your aerobic and anaerobic energy systems, improving cardiovascular capacity and muscular endurance. Typically HIIT is programmed with aerobic or anaerobic intent. The difference in the outcome of the programming depends on the work-to-rest ratio.

• Aerobic conditioning intervals are programmed with a 1 to 1 work-to-rest ratio, while anaerobic conditioning is programmed with a 2–3 to 1 work-to-rest ratio.

Benefits of Interval Training:

1. Enhanced Endurance: By pushing your body to work at high intensities during intervals, you gradually increase your aerobic capacity or anaerobic threshold depending on the work-to-rest ratio. Over time, this leads to improvements in your body’s ability to efficiently use oxygen, process lactate out of the bloodstream & increase overall work capacity. Once these three adaptations are achieved, the result is enhanced endurance & overall a higher conditioning individual.
2. Increased Speed: Interval training improves your body’s ability to produce energy quickly, leading to faster muscle contractions and overall speed.
3. Time Efficiency: Interval training allows you to achieve significant benefits in a shorter amount of time compared to traditional steady-state cardio workouts. This makes it ideal for individuals with busy schedules.
4. Calorie Burn: The intense nature of interval training elevates your heart rate and stimulates your metabolism, resulting in increased calorie burn during and after the workout.
5. Improved Fat Loss: Interval training has been shown to promote fat loss while preserving muscle mass, making it an effective method for weight management. The high-intensity output of the conditioning session recruits more muscle fibers resulting in less loss of muscle mass at higher heart rate zones.

Sample Interval Training Conditioning Session: Now, let’s dive into a sample interval training workout to help you experience the benefits firsthand. This workout is designed to train the anaerobic threshold first, then train aerobic conditioning. Anaerobic is training prior due to the higher intensity nature as compared to aerobic conditioning.

Warm-up: Begin with a 5–10-minute warm-up of light jogging or dynamic stretches to prepare your body for the workout.

Conditioning example:

1. Anaerobic conditioning (Assault Bike)

• 20 seconds on/10 seconds off x 10 rounds on an Assault Bike

1. Aerobic conditioning (C2 Rower)

• 30 seconds on/30 seconds off x 8 rounds on a C2 Rower

Coaches Note: Please note that aerobic and anaerobic conditioning can be applied in many different methods. Such methods include:

1. Sleds
2. Ski erg
3. Swimming
4. Cycling
5. Sprinting or high-tempo running
6. Calisthenics
7. Rowing

Cooldown: Finish the workout with a 5–10-minute cooldown, consisting of easy jogging or walking, followed by static stretches to promote flexibility and reduce muscle soreness.

Remember, interval training is highly customizable based on your fitness level and goals. You can adjust the duration and intensity of the intervals and the recovery periods to suit your needs. Gradually increase the intensity and duration as your fitness improves.

Conclusion: Interval training is a powerful tool for boosting endurance and speed. By incorporating high-intensity intervals into your workouts, you can maximize your cardiovascular capacity, increase your speed, and achieve your conditioning goals more efficiently. Remember to listen to your body, stay consistent, and gradually progress in intensity to reap the full benefits of interval training.

Please feel free to reach out to connect by sending me a message on Instagram (@Coach_Telegadas) or by sending me an email to my coaching email address: CoachKostaTeleagdas@Gmail.com. I am always open to connecting with anyone who wants to discuss strength and conditioning programming, coaching, etc. Stay strong, stay motivated, & train hard!