Barbara Lockhart, a BYU exercise science professor, says she hasn’t run more than a mile in forty years. But that doesn’t jive with the fact that Lockhart recently completed a day-long hike without a problem. Her secret? Interval training.

What It Is

Interval training is when you do any kind of intense activity to get your heart rate up, and then let your heart rate go down again. Then you repeat the process multiple times. For example, you sprint 800 meters. Then you rest for a minute. Then you go again at 100 percent.

Who’s Doing It

Interval training seems to spit in the face of accepted get-fit tactics, which say sustained high heart beat is the way to go. But Lockhart says steady state exercise isn’t the king of fitness.

“You see people go round and round the track,” she says. “But that isn’t how today’s athletes train.”

She says modern athletes, even distance runners, do interval training, splitting their workouts into sections of high intensity and rest. 

Why

This kind of training improves how well the heart delivers oxygen to the muscles, and how well those muscles receive that oxygen. It is better than regular aerobic exercise at improving the cardiovascular system. In short, interval training improves athletic capacity in ways that steady state training cannot.

Other Benefits:

• Short time commitment, great results.
• Muscle toning.
• Mental benefits: You train yourself to lower heart rate, which helps when you want to lower stress.
• Integrate body and mind: Learn how to control your body better with the constant mental exertion that distance training doesn’t always demand.
• You don’t give up stamina (remember Lockhart can hike all day, no problem).

One woman Lockhart worked with ran a nine-minute mile in her runs. The woman started interval workouts, and decreased her mile pace to seven minutes, even though she ran less mileage to train.

Still, Lockhart says, it isn’t a matter of either or. Steady state workouts have their scientifically proven benefits, as do interval workouts. Mixing it up might be what you need.

A Running Interval Workout to Try

Shuttles. Some shudder at this word. Shuttles are a form of interval training that really hits.

But it is effective, and can be done almost anywhere, be it a basketball court, football field or on the track. In a typical shuttle, you will run about five yards to a marker or line, and then run back to the starting point, all at full speed.

But you don’t stop there. You turn around and run at full speed to a marker ten yards away, turn around and run back. Repeat the process at 15, 20 and 25 yards. After completing the shuttle, rest for two minutes, then do it again.

It sounds brutal, and it is brutal. The sudden changes in direction transitioning into full sprints gives your muscles an excellent workout, and strengthens those fast twitch muscles that distance running doesn’t touch.

Cross-promoted from the NCHPAD News: Volume 12, Issue 1

Written by: Carol Kutik, Director of Fitness & Health Promotion at the Lakeshore Foundation

Never! Even if you have had an inactive lifestyle, research suggests that you are never too old to benefit from exercise. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) report that even moderate physical activity can improve the health of older adults who are frail, or who have diseases that accompany age. A substantial number of research studies confirming the many benefits of regular physical activity for older adults helped the U.S. government to report in its 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans that, compared to less active people, more active people have lower rates of all-cause mortality, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, colon cancer, breast cancer, and depression. The Guidelines add that “regular physical activity is essential for healthy aging.” Note the word essential, as opposed to the word suggested.

Despite the known benefits of physical activity, the NIH reports that rates are low among older people. Only about 30 percent of adults between age 45 and 64, 25 percent between age 65 and 74 years, and 11 percent age 85 and older engage in regular physical activity. Physical activity rates for older adults with physical disabilities are even lower. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding adults age 50 and over, approximately 70 percent of those with disabilities do not participate in recommended amounts of physical activity, as compared to 60 percent of those without disabilities.

As older individuals become less active, they begin to lose their ability to perform standard daily living activities and become discouraged and reluctant to exercise, fearful that it will be too strenuous and cause them harm. All too often, decreased levels of both physical function and independence are accepted as natural consequences of aging, leading older adults to believe that exercise is not “for them” and perpetuating the downward spiral. Research from the NIH shows that the opposite is true – that exercise is safe for people of all age groups, and that older adults hurt their health far more by not exercising than exercising.

The following types of exercise are recommended for seniors who want to stay healthy and independent:

• Strength exercises build muscles and increase metabolism (which helps with weight control). Strength exercises can be performed by using machines, free weights, working with resistance bands, using your own body weight (push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, etc.), heavy gardening, yoga and other methods.
• Endurance exercises improve the ability of your heart and lungs to work efficiently. Any activity that increases heart rate and breathing will help build endurance. Try walking, pushing, swimming, cycling or raking leaves!
• Stretching exercises keep joints and muscles limber, which can give you more freedom of movement. Special attention is important for joints that are particularly tight.
• Balance exercises can help avoid falling, as well as build strength and postural awareness.

The following steps will help guide you in your new exercise routine:

• First, make a commitment to yourself. Keep in mind that research tells us it takes most people 21 days to develop a new habit. Get out your calendar and plan those first 21 days – the rest will follow!
• Start out slowly, especially if you have been inactive for a long time, and set realistic short-term goals. Seek the advice of a fitness professional who is experienced in working with older adults. If you are computer savvy, use the internet to find exercises that you enjoy. Explore NCHPAD’s multitude of exercise programs. Check out EASY (www.easyforyou.info), a website developed to help older adults identify the physical activity programs most suited to their personal needs, preferences, and health conditions.
• Use your own body awareness as your guide. Pay attention to how you feel before, during, and after exercise, and adjust your pace as needed. Keep in mind that it will take you a while to know when it’s just right, but trust me, when you experience that awesome feeling you will be hooked!
• Reward yourself along the way as you reach small goals to keep the habit.

It is well known the regular physical activity among aging adults can maintain bone health and decrease the risk of fractures. A new study presented at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Specialty Day suggests that physical activity and exercise early in life might be equally important.

Bjorn Rosengren, MD, PhD and other researchers performed a controlled exercise intervention among children aged 7-9 in Malmo, Sweden. The intervention group comprised of 362 girls and 446 boys who received 40 minutes of daily physical education at school. The control group consisted of 780 girls and 807 boys who received 60 minutes of physical education per week. The authors collected data on fractures among all participants and assessed skeletal maturity each year.

During the study, there were 72 fractures in the daily exercise group and 143 in the control group. The participants in the exercise group also exhibited higher spine bone mass density than those in the control group.

“Increased activity in the younger ages helped induce higher bone mass and improve skeletal size in girls without increasing the fracture risk. Our study highlights yet another reason why kids need to get regular daily exercise to improve their health both now and in the future,” concluded Rosengren.

This study offers several important messages. First, all of us need to exercise. Even as we get older, we need to take long walks or go for jogs several times a week. Or we can swim, bike, lift weights, or play sports. While bone loss can occur with age, regular exercise can slow its loss. People with healthy bones likely suffer fewer fractures.

A large amount of bone formation occurs in the first two decades of life. As the study demonstrates, activity at these ages can lead to stronger bones that persist later in life. Sports and exercise done as a kid can lead to better bone health as an adult.

Adults should be exercising regularly for themselves. We can also help our children by getting outside and playing with them. Encouraging them to safely play sports and do all types of physical activities is beneficial for the entire family! How do you encourage physical activity at all ages?