WHAT IS INTERVAL-BASED TRAINING (I.B.T.)??
LIKE STRENGTH TRAINING, INTERVAL-BASED TRAINING HAS BECOME AN INTEGRAL PART OF FITNESS. I WOULD ARGUE THAT IT’S A LOT LIKE “TREKKIE” CULTURE. 😂 IT HAS A CULT-LIKE FOLLOWING AND EVEN HAS DEVELOPED ITS OWN LANGUAGE (NOT KLINGON).
CROSSFIT INCORPORATES A LOT OF I.B.T. THEORY, THOUGH I’M NOT SURE THEY WORD IT AS SUCH. I.B.T. IS A GENERAL CATEGORY ENCOMPASSING H.I.I.T. AND OTHER FORMATS OF INCREASED INTENSITY TRAINING. I.B.T. CAPITALIZES ON THE THREE MAIN ENERGY PATHWAYS ATP-CP, GLYCOLYSIS, AND OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION.
SIMPLY PUT:
- ATP-CP (PHOSPHAGEN) IS FOR VERY HIGH-POWER OUTPUT WITH AN INCREDIBLY SHORT DURATION (I.E. 1RM LIFTS AND SPRINTS)
- ANAEROBIC GLYCOLYSIS IS FOR MEDIUM-HIGH POWER OUTPUT WITH A LIMITED DURATION, USUALLY AROUND 2 MINUTES. (I.E. WEIGHTLIFTING SETS EXCEEDING 10 SECONDS IN LENGTH, QUICK BURST JOGGING/RUNNING).
- OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION IS FOR LOW POWER OUTPUT AND A PROLONGED DURATION, USUALLY FROM 2 MINUTES UNTIL YOU DECIDE TO STOP. HAHA! (I.E. MOST STEADY STATE CARDIO) I CAN’T IMAGINE PERFORMING A SINGLE SET OF LIFTING FOR LONGER THAN 2 MINUTES! GROSS!!
I SNAGGED THE PICTURE ABOVE FROM A PHYSIOLOGY BOOK. JUST THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE COOL TO PUT THE PATHWAYS IN PERSPECTIVE.
HOW TO: I.B.T.
LET'S GET INTO THE NITTY GRITTY...
I EXCLUSIVELY FOLLOWED I.B.T. THROUGH THE FIRST 5 YEARS OF WORKING OUT. I REALLY STARTED I.B.T. BECAUSE I DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO LIFT. I HAD NO IDEA HOW TO USE FREE WEIGHTS OR WHAT THE MAJOR LIFTS EVEN WERE. I JUST ALWAYS ASSUMED THAT IF IT’S JIGGLING; I’M WORKING IT. HAHA! I HAVE SINCE DEVELOPED MY OWN SYSTEM FOR I.B.T. BASED ON THE ENERGY PATHWAYS LISTED ABOVE. SOME EXAMPLES OF MY PROGRAMMING ARE THE FOLLOWING (WORK/REST):
- 20/10 – H.I.I.T., ATHLETIC TREADMILL SPRINTS
- 20/20 – BEGINNER TREADMILL SPRINTS
- 20/40 – STAIR SPRINTS, LIGHT-MODERATE SLED PUSH/PULL
- 20/180 – 1RM AND 3RM LIFTS
- 30/10 – ATHLETIC TRAINING, LONGER DURATION (MY FAVORITE!)
- 30/15 – BEGINNER INTERVALS (WHERE I PUT MOST OF MY CLIENTS.)
- 30/30 – INTERVALS FOR THOSE “AT RISK”, OR BEGINNERS IN THE OLDER POPULATION.
- 30/60 – 3RM-5RM LIFTS (ELITE) AND EMOM
- 30/90 – 3RM-5RM LIFTS (MODERATE)
- 40/10 – MIXED INTERVAL. (ATHLETIC CR FITNESS, BEGINNER STRENGTH ENDURANCE)
- 40/20 – MIXED INTERVAL. (MODERATE CR FITNESS, BEGINNER STRENGTH ENDURANCE)
- 40/40 – MIXED INTERVAL (BEGINNER CR FITNESS, BEGINNER STRENGTH ENDURANCE)
- 45/15 – MIXED INTERVAL (ATHLETIC CR FITNESS, MODERATE STRENGTH ENDURANCE)
- 45/45 – MIXED INTERVALS & EMOM (BEGINNER CR FITNESS, MODERATE STRENGTH ENDURANCE)
- 50/10 – STRENGTH INTERVAL. (ELITE PERFORMER)
- 50/25 – STRENGTH INTERVAL (MODERATE PERFORMER)
- 50/50 – STRENGTH INTERVAL (BEGINNER)
- 60/15 – SPARTACUS INTERVAL (ELITE PERFORMER)
- 60/20 – STRENGTH INTERVAL (ELITE PERFORMER)
- 60/30 – STRENGTH INTERVAL OR EMOM (MODERATE PERFORMER)
- 60/60 – STRENGTH INTERVAL (MODERATE PERFORMER) AND MODERATE LIFTS (ALL LEVELS)
- 60/90 - MODERATE-HEAVY LIFTS (ALL LEVELS)
- 60/120 – HEAVY ENDURANCE LIFTS
**CR = CARDIORESPIRATORY FITNESS**
I THINK IT’S EVIDENT THAT INTERVALS AND INTERVAL RATIOS CAN BE PROGRAMMED WITH VIRTUALLY UNLIMITED COMBINATIONS. THE GENERAL GUIDELINES ARE:
- THE LONGER THE INTERVAL, THE MORE STRENGTH EXERCISES CAN BE SAFELY AND EFFECTIVELY INCORPORATED.
- THE SHORTER THE INTERVAL, THE MORE CARDIO-FOCUSED THE EXERCISES.
- THE LONGER THE REST, THE MORE INTENSIVE THE EXERCISES; THE SHORTER THE REST, THE SHORTER THE RECOVERY.
IN A GOOD I.B.T. PROGRAM THE INTERVALS WILL BECOME PROGRESSIVELY MORE CHALLENGING. OFTEN, I FIND MYSELF IN MUSCLE FAILURE BEFORE THE INTERVAL HAS CONCLUDED. THIS ISN’T NECESSARILY A SIGN THAT I’M USING “TOO MUCH” WEIGHT OR PUSHING MYSELF “TOO HARD”. IT IS MERELY AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE WHERE I HAVE ROOM TO IMPROVE.
FOR EXAMPLE...
- LET’S ASSUME I’M DOING A 45/15 STRENGTH INTERVAL OF FLOOR PRESSES WITH 40-POUND DUMBBELLS. MY FIRST ATTEMPT FAILS AFTER 8 REPS. I BREATHE, RECOVER A LITTLE, AND MAKE A SECOND ATTEMPT WITH 6 REPS. WITH 10 SECONDS LEFT, I’M ABLE TO SQUEEZE OUT 3 MORE REPS. WAS THIS INTERVAL A FAILURE? NOT IN THE LEAST! I DID 17 REPS. THAT EQUATES TO ABOUT THREE HEAVY SETS OF STRENGTH TRAINING, OR ONE BURNOUT SET.
AN EXAMPLE WHERE YOU MAY NEED TO RECONSIDER YOUR INTERVAL MIGHT BE SOMETHING LIKE THE FOLLOWING:
- I AM DOING A 45/15 STRENGTH INTERVAL OF WIDE-GRIP BENT-OVER ROWS WITH 55-POUND DUMBBELLS. I COMPLETE 2 REPS IN MY FIRST ATTEMPT, AND I RECOGNIZE THE I’M UNABLE TO COMPLETE ANY MORE REPS WITH PROPER FORM. IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS THERE ARE TWO OPTIONS. ONE, REDUCE THE WEIGHT, OR TWO, MODIFY THE EXERCISE. TO AVOID DITCHING THE INTERVAL, I MAY BE ABLE TO CONTINUE BY OPTING FOR NEUTRAL-GRIP BENT-OVER ROWS. IF I STILL CAN’T CONTINUE, I WOULD PROBABLY DROP ONE WEIGHT AND CRANK OUT MODIFIED T-BAR ROWS WITH A SINGLE DUMBBELL TO FINISH THE INTERVAL AT LEAST. THERE IS ALWAYS A MODIFICATION.
THERE IS NEVER AN EXCUSE TO GIVE UP AND DITCH THE INTERVAL OR DUMP THE WORKOUT.
THE SKINNY ON H.I.I.T.
WHO NEEDS H.I.I.T., AND WHAT IS IT?
EVERYONE, IN MY OPINION, NEEDS TO INCORPORATE H.I.I.T. INTO THEIR TRAINING ROUTINES (EXCEPT THOSE POSING A SEVERE HEART RISK). I WOULDN'T WANT TO SEE ANYONE DIE, MAYBE JUST FEEL LIKE THEY COULD. 😂
H.I.I.T., ALONG WITH I.B.T., IS PROBABLY MY FAVORITE METHOD FOR BANGING OUT SOME CARDIORESPIRATORY CONDITIONING. IT TAKES VERY LITTLE TIME, SMOKES CALORIES (VIA E.P.O.C.), AND DOESN’T EAT UP A BUNCH OF MUSCLE IN THE PROCESS [1]. I’M NOT GOING TO WASTE A TON OF TIME CITING A THOUSAND SOURCES OUTLINING WHY H.I.I.T. IS THE BEST. IF YOU’RE CURIOUS, GOOGLE IT. I WILL SAY THAT HIIT HELPED ME IMMENSELY. IN VERY SHORT ORDER, I PUT ON A TON OF MUSCLE, LOST A BUNCH OF FAT, AND MY ABILITY TO WITHSTAND INTENSE EXERCISE (CARDIORESPIRATORY FITNESS) INCREASED DRAMATICALLY.
GENERALLY, H.I.I.T. CAN BE ANY SHORT (10-30 SECONDS) WORK INTERVAL FOLLOWED BY AROUND A 50% (5-15 SECONDS) REST INTERVAL FOR A TOTAL TIME OF 20 MINUTES OR LESS. THAT'S THE TRUE H.I.I.T. WE'RE MOSTLY ACCUSTOMED TO SEEING IN FITNESS CLASSES AND TRAINING STUDIOS.
THE MOST WIDELY KNOWN FORMAT FOR H.I.I.T. IS PROBABLY THE TABATA PROTOCOL. TRADITIONALLY PERFORMED ON A STATIONARY BIKE IT HAS BEEN MODIFIED, ADAPTED, OR BASTARDIZED TO FIT ANYONE’S ATTEMPT TO REINVENT THE WHEEL.
THE ORIGINAL PROTOCOL IS 4 TOTAL MINUTES OF 20-SECOND WORK INTERVALS FOLLOWED BY 10-SECOND REST INTERVALS AT 90-100% OF YOUR MAX EFFORT. IN THE INTEREST OF SAFETY, I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND PERFORMING A TABATA USING WEIGHTED EXERCISES. SPEED RARELY EQUALS SAFETY OR EFFECTIVITY WHEN LIFTING WEIGHTS.
A FINAL NOTE: H.I.I.T. WILL MAKE YOU SWEAT AND GIVE YOU THE CALORIE BURN YOU NEED WITHOUT SACRIFICING MUSCLE, OR PLACING UNDUE STRESS ON THE BODY, UNLESS YOU ABUSE IT. H.I.I.T. REALLY IS JUST THE MOST EFFICIENT MEANS FOR PARING DOWN AND DROPPING SOME FAT (AS LONG AS YOUR DIET IS ON TRACK).
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN TRYING I.B.T. AND H.I.I.T.?
VISIT THE FYT GYM TO TRY A FEW PROGRAMS!
RECOVERY FOR I.B.T.
INTERVAL-BASED TRAINING CAN BE BRUTAL...
IT DOESN'T MATTER WHETHER YOU'RE DOING CROSS-FIT, ORANGETHEORY FITNESS, OR SOME OTHER FORM OF INTERVAL-BASED INTENSE EXERCISE, RECOVERY IS IMPORTANT.
IF YOU AREN'T FULLY RECOVERED FROM YOUR LAST BOUT OF EXERCISE, IT CAN BE HARMFUL TO INITIATE ANOTHER BOUT. MUSCLES DON'T LIKE TO BE OVERTRAINED; DOING SO WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD TO INJURY AND ALTERED MOVEMENT PATTERNS LIKE YOU SEE IN THE CUMULATIVE INJURY CYCLE BELOW.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO PROMOTE PROPER RECOVERY BETWEEN BOUTS OF INTENSE FULL BODY EXERCISE IN ANY/ALL OF THE FOLLOWING WAYS:
- STRETCHING
- SELF-MYOFASCIAL RELEASE
- MASSAGE THERAPY
- SLEEP!
- HYDRATION
- ADEQUATE PROTEIN
- CRYOTHERAPY
- ICE BATHS/SHOWERS
- BREATH WORK
- CHIROPRACTIC CARE
