My experience of Interval Training

by Andie
(New Zealand)

I'm relatively new to the gym so to the more experienced, this may sound like light work but as it was my first attempt at a workout, I really found it difficult.

I wanted to improve my fitness levels but didn't really know where to start so I asked one of the trainers at the gym. She suggested I try interval training. The entire workout was an hour and a quarter and consisted of:

15 mins of running on the treadmill - alternating between 1min jogging and 1min full sprinting.

10 mins alternating between the boxing bag and the stepper with 1min on each.

15 mins on the cross trainer - alternating between 1min medium difficulty and 1min hard.

10 mins alternating between step ups (which required stepping up and down on a knee height step) and skipping at two min intervals.

15 mins on the stationary bike - 1min medium pace, 1min on the difficult setting and pedaling hard.

10 mins alternating between running up and down a flight of stairs and jumping over a bench - 1 min of each.

The first time I attempted this workout I was unable to complete it and ached for days afterward. After the first 2 weeks however, I finally managed to get all the way through the routine.

I was exhausted by the end of it but I did feel a great sense of achievement once I was finished and it gave me the motivation to better my performance at each gym visit.

I'm still working on improving my fitness levels but that feeling I got knowing I could finally complete my routine and seeing how well my body was responding to the exercise gave me the motivation to keep challenging myself. To tell you the truth it's almost becoming enjoyable...

Andie

Note from Dr. Dan

Andie,

That would be a tough workout for anybody.

If you took just one section of your workout -- for instance the high intensity intervals on the cross trainer -- that would be better exercise than most people ever get.

The high intensity intervals can really boost your metabolism. They're great for breaking through a plateau.

Dr. Dan