Back in 1990, I was looking for a good fitness program as I was not in bad shape, but wanted to be in better shape. I wasn’t exactly sure about what I wanted to do, but I wanted to try something new. Body building was not at the heart of my interest, but I ended up joining Gold’s Gym. They were offering a grand opening special and I couldn’t resist. After taking the grand tour, a body fat analysis and some other agility test, I ended up in a class that I loved. It was a form of interval training that I had not heard of until then. One side of the gym was sectioned off with upper and lower body weight machines outlining the area where the class took place. Down the center of the floor, between the weight machines were cardio machines such as a stationary bike, stair stepper and a couple of steppers that are used in a step class. The class was approximately 40 minutes long and this is how it went. We would start with a series of stretching exercises. Not intense, but enough to get us relaxed and energized and warmed up. Then we would start the class on a cardio machine. It was one minute on the cardio machine, a 15 second break to get to the weight machine and twelve reps on the machine, 15 seconds to get situated on the next cardio machine and take a drink of water, then go for one minute. We would continue until we performed an exercise on every machine. At the end of the run, we would walk for 2 minutes to cool down and then proceed with a series of stretching exercises. Once I was finished there, I would walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes. That class was for any person at any fitness level because each person could make it as intense as they wanted. For me, at the end of the day that combination of cardio and weight-training was the best feeling ever. Unfortunately the class was cancelled and I was not able to find another gym with that very type of class.

I have been involved in many fitness programs and over the past 4 years noticed that I plateau more frequently than before. I came to the conclusion that for me interval training is neccessary. Thwere are a variety of ways to perform interval training, one being spinning, a stationary bike class that allows participants to go at there own pace, frequently changing the intensity level of the bike as well as the speed.

Interval training can be included in any type of exercise. The Body For Life Challenge includes a form of interval training. Bill Phillips, creator of Body For Life describes in his book the mechanics of training the body to burn fat and avoid plateaus by changing up the intensity level of the exercise throughout the workout. The intensity level will vary from person to person because we are all at different fitness levels.

To infer the long term effects of interval training, the constant changing of the workout requires the body to continually adapt to the different levels of intensity, whether it’s an increase in tension or an increase in speed. It will keep your metabolism fired up, while helping you to increase your stamina. There is no limit to how far you can go with interval training. It’s all relative to your fitness level. It is also recommended that you consult with your physician before starting any fitness program.