Benefits of Interval Training

With my heavy amount of school work and extracurricular activities, I can barely take time out of my day to go to the gym. I try to go whenever I get the chance, whether it’s in between classes or later at night. But I never am able to get a good amount of time of exercising. Luckily, new studies developed show that short intervals of exercising throughout the day may be more beneficial than a long period of exercise at the gym.

One article explains how a study showed that as little as fifteen minutes of exercise could burn more fat than when exercising for a long period of time. It is proven that the high intensity work outs with short breaks in between increases endurance, stamina, and tolerance. Interval exercising can allow you to work to your highest potential, which long amounts of exercise usually cannot do for you (Sifferlin 2014).

Interval training has been proven to be beneficial to everyone, no matter their health conditions. Another study led by Dr. Thomas Solomon focused on people with diabetes and the exercise that is right for them. They found that short periods of walking, or any type of exercise, throughout the day was more beneficial to people with Type 2 diabetes. They began the experiment by randomly assigning people with Type 2 diabetes into a control group, a group that did interval training, and a group that did continuous training. Participants went for five sessions a week for 60 minutes a day and were given a hyperglycaemic clamp in order to track the amount of insulin being produced. It was shown that blood sugar levels were only better in participants in the interval training group (Eurekalert 2014).

In conclusion, shorter amounts of exercise throughout the day will overall be more effective than long periods of exercise. Short interval training allows you to reach a maximum intensity of exercise that is harder to get than continuous training. Short intervals of exercise can also fit in better with hectic and busy schedules.

Sources:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-08/d-rew080114.php

Short Bursts of Exercise Are Better Than Exercising Nonstop

http://www.clipartbest.com/cliparts/7ia/RB8/7iaRB8L4T.png

http://images.clipartpanda.com/exercise-clip-art-exercise-with-dumbbells-symbol-md.png

One thought on “Benefits of Interval Training

  1. Wesley Scott Alexander

    Alexandra,
    I thought this article was very interesting and I was able to relate to it. Throughout high school I played varsity lacrosse and in the off season we always participated in a very intense training regiment throughout the fall and winter. A huge part of this was interval training. We would do intense sprints or weight lifting for short periods of time, usually in 30 second bursts with then a 15 second break in between. I can attest that this not only was extremely difficult and exhausting, but it also always got me in great shape for the season. It is interesting to see how the science backs the personal experience that I had with this topic.

Leave a Reply