Good Thursday morning from New Zealand. It's 8:30am (Thursday) where I am, and 2:30pm EST (Wednesday) where most of you are...here's today's info and motivation...
Last year I was interviewed by National Geographic magazine about why intervals are so effective. Things got pretty technical during our talk, and I was rhyming off some big ol' scientific terms that I'm relieved to say I still remember from my long days in the lab.
Now all that discussion about interval training made me think about the best interval program for fat loss. It's tough, because there sure are a lot of opinions out there...
Some people recommend 1 minute intervals.
Others recommend repeated intervals of 20 seconds with only 10 seconds of rest between each.
Some endurance-based coaches go as high as 2 minutes on and 2 minutes off.
Others say you should focus on distance, such as running 400m intervals, rather than the time of the interval.
So what do I think?
If I had to bet, I'd say that 30-45 second intervals are the most effective interval length for fat loss.
These have been my favorite intervals since I first developed the concept of Turbulence Training back in the lab in 1999 and have been part of the original TT Fat Loss workout since I first published the original workout in 2001. So not surprisingly, most of the TT success stories are based on the 30 second interval.
But hey, that's just my opinion, albeit one supported by hundreds, and even thousands of TT success stories.
Now I do use longer intervals on occasion and sometimes even shorter-than-30-second intervals. In fact, I think you will probably get your absolute best fat loss results if you vary your interval training workouts - just like you must vary your strength training workouts.
It's very important for you to monitor your training and results - so that you can determine which interval method works best for you. Don't forget to observe the results of your training!
Intervals are the secret to success,
CB
P.S. You'll get my best...
...new inventions in the new membership site: www.TTMembers.com
If you havent been over there to sign up for the Tip of the Week, head over here now!
For only $9.95 you get a 4-week workout, access to the Discussion forums, and the chance to read the latest interviews with experts such as Dr. Berardi, Christian Finn, and Brad Pilon.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Hi,
I’ve just regularly started reading your blog, and I’m really enjoying it (haven’t had a chance to purchase the book yet, because mortgage payments are tight, but I am saving up!).
But I wanted to ask your opinion on the recent study released discussing 8 second intervals with 12 seconds recovery?
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21096920-36398,00.html
Researchers at the University of NSW and the Garvan Institute studied 45 overweight women over 15 weeks, putting them through a 20 minute cycling regime in which they sprinted on a stationary bike for eight seconds followed by 12 seconds of cycling lightly. "They lost three times more weight as other women who exercised at a continuous, regular pace for 40 minutes," UNSW Associate Professor Steve Boutcher said.
I realise they’re comparing it against steady state cardio exercise, so obviously the benefits of interval training is obvious – but I was wanting your thoughts on the length of the interval?
There's nothing magical about 8s on and 12s off. It's also extremely impractical for the majority of my readers that use machines.
That said, people that run outside or do bodyweight squats or other bodyweight only interval methods could use this approach.
But if you compared this approach to 30 on, 30 off, you'd likely get the same results.
As long as you use intervals, that is all that counts,
CB
Hi, Great blog, seriously, am using your workouts, and I've never sweat so much in my life.
But I have a problem, I am confused on whether to do the stationary bike or bodyweight exercises for interval training.
I have the 6 month Bodyweight manual, the 4 week bodyweight manual, and the summertime workout.
In one of your articles you mention that bodyweight intervals is the best method of interval training.
What do you actually say?
Hey,
I've written that sprinting is best. Bodyweight intervals and the stationary bike are very close in effectiveness. I like to switch methods every 4 weeks. That is the best approach.
Thanks!
CB
Post a Comment