I have been running for a few months now and decided to put some variety and new challenge in my normal continues running routine, I decided to try out interval training with the aid of my Adidas miCoach at Fort BHS.
The Fort BHS route is approximately 1.3KM per cycle, so 4 rounds would give you roughly 5KM. Begin with a first cycle warm-up round before doing the internal training for the last 3 rounds.
Do sprints on the 7th and 11th Avenue while doing recovery jogs on the 28th and 30th street.
Here’s my Adidas miCoach result of the training run, you’ll observe that my heart rate goes up and recover for each interval. I was really challenged towards the last kilometer as I feel my heart moving past the red-zone, but the feeling after the workout was incredible!
I did some research on the benefits of doing interval training, here’s what i found.
Interval training has been the basis for athletic training routines for years. The first forms of interval training, called “Fartlek” involved alternating short, fast bursts of intensive exercise with slow, easy activity. Fartlek was casual, unstructured training that perfectly fit its English translation: “speed play.” – wikipedia
This repetitive form of training leads to the adaptation response. The body begins to build new capillaries, and is better able to take in and deliver oxygen to the working muscles. Muscles develop a higher tolerance to the build-up of lactate, and the heart muscle is strengthened. These changes result in improved performance particularly within the cardiovascular system.
Interval training also helps prevent the injuries often associated with repetitive endurance exercise, and they allow you to increase your training intensity without overtraining or burn-out. In this way, adding intervals to your workout routine is a good way to cross train. – sportsmedicine.about.com
So have you tried to do Fartlek yet? As a precaution, I don’t suggest this to people who has not done any training yet, and make sure you don’t overdo it.
