Intervals: The Cutting Edge

During my recent contest prep I was asked a very simple question, and of course it involved a very simple answer. “Hey you must do a lot of cardio huh?” Now for those of you who know me, know that my “keep it real” meter is always very high, so no one was surprised with a blunt answer, but very surprised with the word I use...”NOPE” . My cardio sessions honestly only lasted maybe 15-20 min if I was lucky. Sure it was a very tough and intense 15-20 min, but 15-20 none the less.  

I can’t help but notice no matter what gym I walk into, I see the same thing over and over and over. This “cardio person” we’ve all seen them, it’s like they’re robots, all have different clothes and hair, but their actions and results are identical!

Action: Running along (at a leisure pace) listening to their iPod watching whatever is on TV… 25-30 min later step off treadmill wipe down machine, go home.

Result: Nothing….. (Unless you are getting ready for a marathon, or a long distance run) but let’s “keep it real”, most of us come to the gym to tone up, look and feel good. Running at this steady state really isn’t going to get you the results you are looking for; it’s going to keep your body in a catabolic state, where intervals will put you in an anabolic state.

Now of course I went the interval route…

Action: After discussing a plan with Nick, Lyndsi, and Brad. We decided to start off with a simple 3min warm up (after medicine ball warm up) followed by 10 min of intervals, and then a cool down. That’s it! Now for the 1^st couple weeks during the interval I went 30sec on 30 sec off. Then Lyndsi suggested cranking it up to 1 min on 45 off. Now during these intervals I mixed in sprints, and bike. After a couple weeks there we switched to 1 min on 30 sec off. It was during this time I would make a switch from sprints, bike, and then stairs. The final 2 weeks intervals were 1 min on 15 sec off. Of course mixing in sprints, bike, and stairs

Result: Going from 9% body fat to 4.03% body fat.

Now I’m results driven, and I also don’t like cardio. Soooo to me it only makes sense to get the results you’re looking for while not wasting time running on a treadmill like a hamster on a wheel. Keep in mind, during your intervals; you really have to push it. By the end of my intervals I was completely done, if you’re not, well then you prolly need to check yourself and see how hard you’re really working.

If you would like more information on Intervals, or getting the results you’re looking for stop by and ask one of the Go Fitness Coaches and we’ll be glad to explain and help.

As always “Keep it Real” – Coach Joe