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Jun 23

Torch fat quickly: a beginners guide to interval training with wearables – Gadgets & Wearables

You may not know this, but interval training is a get-fit-quick scheme that works brilliantly well at burning fat. Itis the perfect answer ifyou need to shake up your fitness routine andlose weight, but you dont have any more time to devote to it.

Serious athletes have long known about the benefits of this type of exercise.It is seen as the ultimatecardiovascularworkout.

Ifyoure not already on-board with intervaltraining, read onto get seriously motivated to start.

Interval training is a type ofphysical trainingthat involves a series of high intensity exercise workouts interspersed with rest or relief periods.Or even more simply put, you run, cycle or row fast for a bit, then slow down for a bit.

The length of both the sprint and recovery periods can vary from as little as 6seconds to a few minutes. This can be tailoredto meet your level of fitness and goals.High-intensity periods are typically at or close toanaerobic exercise, while the recovery periods involve activity of lower intensity.

Essential reading: Heart rate zone training with wearables

Coaches around the world favor this type of training as it is one of the most effective and quickest ways to improve speed and endurance. Thetechnique is particularly employed by runners, but athletes in many disciplines useit.

The stop-start pattern of this type of workout trains your body to recover quickly and adapt between high-intensity bursts.Varying the intensity of effort exercises the heart muscle, providing acardiovascular workout, improving aerobic and anaerobic capacity and permitting the person to exercise for longer and more intense levels.

There is alsoscience to back up justhowcrazy-efficient high intensity workouts really are.

In particular, studies have found that high intensity interval training boosts your endurance, as seen through measures such as improved blood pressure and higher counts of mitochondria. It is alsogreat for your heart, contributing to the flexibility and elasticity of arteries and veins.

There is, of course, the additionalbenefit of helping torch fat quickly. Plus youll keep burning calories for hours after your workout. This is confirmed in arecent report published inThe Journal of Obesity, which found thathigh-intensity intermittent exercise induces far greater fat loss than steady exercise.

This is because musclecarbohydratereserves, glycogen, areseriously depleted with bursts of high intensity activity.Carbohydrates are used as the main source for fuel.Once the glycogen reserves have been exhausted replacement is necessary through the fuel source fat.

Essential reading: Top health and fitness gadgets for 2017

The report, for example, cites a15 week study, where a group ofwomen participated inthree 20-minute high intensity workout sessions per week (an 8-second sprint followed by 12seconds of low intensity cycling). At the same time, another group of women carried out an aerobic cycling protocol that consisted of steady state cycling for 40min. Results showed that women in the high intensitygroup lost significantly much more subcutaneous fat (2.5kg) than those in the steady state aerobic exercise program.

There are many other studies we could cite showing the link between interval training and fat loss.

Anyone can add interval training to theirfitnessroutine. Its not too difficult.

Training involvessets of race pace speed of 200m, 400m or 800m, with recovery sets equal to or less than that distance.You could evenfind objects at regularly spaced distance, such as telephone poles, and use them to judge your intervals. Or simply count your steps.As your fitness level increases, increase the speed of your walk or run.

A more structured option is to go by the clock. Time the high intensity bursts to around 10-60 seconds in length.Make sure you work at max effort. The low intensity recovery period shouldlastbetween 1 and 4 times the duration of the quick burst.

Interval training is very demanding.If you have any heart problems or circulation issues, or are very much out of shape it is best to opt out. Also,you should not be doing this every day. Your body will be working hard, so needs time to recover.

Start off by doing itonce a week, and then build up.Just by practicing interval training once a week, you will be able to take advantage of a number of benefits, from more effective oxygen intake to a slower heart rate.

The added benefit of doing this type of exerciseis that youcan get the same, if not greater, results inhalfthe time of low-intensity longer duration workout sessions. Simply put,you getmore bang for your buck. Also, because its shorter in duration, you are less likely to become bored and more likely to stick to the workout.

With the help of running watches and activitytrackers, it isnow easier than ever tointegrate interval training into your fitness routine.

Such traininghas long been a staple of any self-respecting runners watch. Check out our selection of GPS running watches to get you started.The integrated GPS means they track the distance for you, andmany of themhave the added benefit of the latest crop of heart-rate sensing tech, meaning you can get a precise picture of the intensity of your workout. Or you could opt for a heart rate chest strap instead.

Essential reading: Top 10 GPS watches for running and training

For those who are less serious about interval training, or are just starting out, some run-of-the mill activity trackers have started to include this functionality as part of their feature-set.

For example,the Fitbit Charge 2 comes with a built-in interval timer that takes the work out of setting up and following an interval workout. You can even tweak the settings to create a tailored session.

For instance, if you want to complete a 20-minute workout made up of 1-minute intervals, the work period would be 1 minute, the rest period would be 1 minute, and the total number of rounds, or times you want to repeat those intervals, would be 10.You can program your Charge 2to track these intervals by customizing the Interval Workout setting via your Fitbit app or the Fitbit.com dashboard.

When youre ready to begin your actual workout, press the button on the side of your Charge 2 until you see an exercise option. Tap the screen until you see Interval Workout.Press and hold the side button to begin. Your tracker will vibrate and tell you to move or rest depending on which interval youre on.

And lets not forget the Apple Watch. Watch OS4 comes this fall with enhanced fitness tracking. The Workout app will upgradedwith better coaching, monthly challenges, fancier visuals, and a new mode forHigh Intensity Interval Training. There is also enhanced swim tracking and more.

Now that you have the basicinformation, it is easy to see that benefits of interval training. Next time youre outon a run, do a sprint for just 30 seconds. Even one burst of high intensity activity during a steady runcan boost your endurance and overall health.

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Torch fat quickly: a beginners guide to interval training with wearables - Gadgets & Wearables

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