Interval Training

Interval training or sometimes called high intensity interval training (HIIT) has been a trendy training method for a while now, and frankly it's a trend that refuses to die. The simple fact is that most people who train and work out are primarily concerned with fat loss, and interval training is the best way to accomplish that.

Fast twitch muscle fibers use more energy and burn more fat than slow twitch muscle fibers. Conversely, they tire more quickly and lack the efficiency and endurance to perform long term. So work out your slow twitch muscle fibers and last longer or work out your fast twitch muscle fibers and fatigue faster; in the end whichever way that burns more calories is better right?

Wrong. Even if you work out, you don't burn as many calories as you do during the rest of your day. Imagine that you burn 400 calories during a workout session, but 1600 calories while resting. There has to be a way to increase that 1600 right? That's where HIIT comes in. Working out has been shown increase your resting metabolic rate (RMR) by 20 to 25%. Everything from weight lifting to resistance training can improve your RMR, but intensity training puts a new twist on it.

Since fast twitch muscle fibers burn more calories, increasing their metabolism has a greater effect on your RMR. What interval training can do is give you the greatest returns in fat loss for the effort you put in. A combination of strength training, interval training, and low intensity training can increase all areas of your metabolism effectively, but nobody has that much time to devote to working out.

Interval training is generally advocated as a replacement for cardio. Low intensity cardio can be effective in burning calories, but it has minimal effect on your RMR. In interval training, you mix in high intensity exercises into your cardio. For example, after your warmup on a treadmill you perform a max sprint for thirty seconds. After the sprint cool down with light jogging for ninety seconds. Rinse. Repeat. The sprinting allows you to work your fast twitch fibers while the jogging allows you to recover and perform more repetitions.

Similarly performing explosive pushups or box jumps in addition to a bench press or leg press will effectively increase the RMR of your fast twitch muscle fibers. Does this work? Numerous studies confirm the effectiveness of interval training, but more convincing than that is its prevalence in personal training. No trainer wants you to spend an hour on the treadmill. They would much rather you cut that in half by performing intervals. Go try it and see for yourself.

P.S. I'm convinced that DDR is a sort of interval training. You basically perform sprints for two minutes with breaks in between.

http://www.mens-total-fitness.com/fast-twitch-muscle-fibers.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/514737/fast_twitch_muscle_fiber_treadmill_pg2.html?cat=50
http://www.articlesbase.com/weight-loss-articles/how-much-cardio-is-needed-to-burn-fat-801003.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basal_metabolic_rate
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0895.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/interval-training/SM00110
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interval_training