Keep Cardio on Track

[NWOWolfpack]

It's no secret that intense, anaerobic conditioning (also called interval training, HIIT, etc.) has become more and more popular in recent years. I won't go into all the reasons why, but a "cliff notes" version of key benefits include:

– more calories burned after the workout is over

– increase in anaerobic endurance

– increase in aerobic endurance (this being key)

– takes much less time to perform

– due to the intense nature, is much less likely to lead to muscle loss

I could go on for a while and write an entire article just on interval training (which I've done before), but you can find one pretty easily around the net if you look.

There is one major problem with interval training though – many people screw it up.

When it comes to conditioning, there are two main factors to consider: length/volume and intensity. In simple terms: how long you go and how hard you go.

The two are inversely proportionate; as one gets bigger, the other has to get smaller. The longer you go, the easier you have to go. On the flip side, the shorter you go, the harder you have to go.

Look at it this way, you see runners running marathons, or sprinting the 100 meters. But there is nobody sprinting marathons. There is no way to keep up that kind of pace. To complete something that long, you have to go much easier in order to be able to have a pace that you maintain. And on the contrary, if you're only going to go 100 meters, then you'd better haul ass and get it done.

The problem is that too many people aren't going long and easy or short and hard... they go short and not hard (maybe not easy, per se, but not as hard as they should).

One of the main allures to interval training is that it is short in duration. Many think that even if they have to go hard, it's easier to replace a 30 to 45-minute conditioning session with a 15-minute session that they get to rest during. After all, who wouldn't want to be done in half to a third of the time? Hell, look at the traditional "tabata" protocol - 8 rounds of 20 seconds of work followed up by 10 seconds of rest. That's only 4 minutes (not including a basic warm-up or cool-down)... and that includes rest breaks!

The problem is that many folks aren't putting in sufficient effort when they do their interval training. Intervals are to be done at 100% intensity – balls to the wall, flat out, hard as you can go. And many don't do that. They might go harder than normal, but it's just not enough.

Let's look at an example. Let's say that we can measure effort on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being the easiest, 10 being the hardest). You can go jog for 5 miles, but your effort is only a 3. Then let's say that you do intervals, but your effort is a 9 to 10.

Either of those situations is fine; they're being done like they're supposed to be.

However, many don't do this. What you'll often see is people doing their intervals at an effort level of 5-6. Sure they're going a little harder than they would if they had gone for a jog, but it's certainly not hard enough. The lack of sufficient effort is going to lead to them not getting the many benefits from interval training, but because they're attempting to, they're not going a long distance either. They're going short and easy, the worst of both worlds.

There are alternate methods to either the long, slow option, or intervals. I like MFD (Medium Fast Distance), which I've discussed here at MMAWeekly more than once. It's sort of a cross between intervals and jogging in that you're going a more medium distance (not as short as intervals, not at long as jogging) at a faster pace (not as slow as jogging, not as fast as intervals). Think of running 2 miles at an effort level of 7.

I've used MFD for both running and on a rower with great benefits. In fact, a pro mixed martial artist just emailed me the other day that it was "key" in his training, and I used it extensively in my new 12-week MMA Workout Program available at http://www.WorkingClassFitness.com.

But I digress...

Interval training is a GREAT way to train, and I recommend it very highly. Just be sure that you're doing hard enough, or else you're short-changing yourself, and might actually be going backward in terms of progress.

How do you know if you're going hard enough? Well, honestly, if you have to ask that question, then you'd better kick it up a few notches. A good interval training workout should leave you beat, tired, sucking air, and wishing you were dead... or would at least just pass out. They don't call it "100% intensity" for nothing.

Train Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard.

Matt "Wiggy" Wiggins is a strength coach and author living in Cameron, N.C. Having trained and designed Workout Plans for 16+ years, Wiggy is a strength moderator at mma.tv, columnist for MMAWeekly.com, and an avid fan of Mixed Martial Arts Training. His site, Working Class Fitness.com, is dedicated to designing low-tech, high-result Workout Programs; earning praise from the likes of UFC commentator and martial artist Joe Rogan, Ultimate Fighter alumnus Jules Bruchez, world famous strength and conditioning coach Charles Staley, UFC veteran Leigh Remedios, and others.


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