Interval Training
Interval training is not a new concept. Do you remember doing wind sprints when you were in school? Same idea except it can be applied to most cardio methods.
The wind sprint consisted of you (and all your classmates) sprinting to a designated point and jogging back. The interval works in a similar way. You have a period of activity where you are working very hard followed by a period of activity where you are working less. The less-intense portion is called active recovery. Your RPM class has some intervals. There are periods where you sprint and these are followed by “ride-easy†times where you continue to work, but you have a chance to catch your breath.
A big reason people do not work out or do not work out often enough is that they feel that they do not have enough time. So, the workout goes out the window. Interval training allows you to get a great workout in less time. Here’s why. Regardless of what cardio workout you choose, you can only maintain a certain pace for so long. If you normally spend 45-60 minutes on your cardio workout, you could probably trim this in half and get a great workout (or perhaps even a better workout!) If you use the treadmill, you would start out with a brisk walk to warm up, then add some incline (you are now hiking in the treadmill mountains). Once you reach the five minute mark, increase your speed to a run. And I mean a very healthy, fast run. This should be fast enough that you can maintain the pace for a few minutes. After 2-3 minutes, return to your brisk hill walk. If you are a beginner, you can drop the incline down during the running portion. If you cannot run due to some limitations or you are a beginner, you can increase the speed to a very fast walk and take the incline up to the maximum for the intense period. You will still feel how hard it is. Repeat this cycle (walk/run or little hill/big hill) and you will find those 30 minutes of cardio might be just enough!
