Interval
training is a fitness practice that anyone can use, no matter what their level
of activity. You alternate periods of light exercise, or even rest, with
periods of relatively intense exercise - depending on your fitness level. You
can do this when walking, running, biking, swimming, or using a stationary bike
or other aerobic gym machine. If you don’t enjoy exercise ‘that much’, but know
you should do it, of if you are short on time, the big advantage of interval
training is that you can get results quite quickly. According to Martin
Gibala, professor of Kinesiology at McMaster University in Ontario, 20 minutes
three times a week is the usual time commitment. In these 20 minutes, you
alternate recovery periods with hard effort. The protocol used by Gibala
involves speeding up to 85-90% of your maximum heart rate for one minute, and
then slowing down for one minute - you keep doing this 10 times during the 20
minutes.
So
far, trials of this method have shown that interval training makes the heart a
better pump, makes blood vessels more elastic, and makes muscles better at
using oxygen. Average blood sugar levels were reduced after two weeks of
interval training, in people with and without diabetes. This happens
because exercised muscles have greatly enhanced ability to take up blood
glucose.
People
rode stationary bikes in the McMaster studies, because of the safety of this
exercise, and the relative ease on joints. It’s important to realize that
people can start interval training at any level of fitness. If your usual
exercise is walking around the block, or around your neighborhood, try
alternating faster walking for a minute with slower for the next minute, and
keep this up for 20 minutes. You don’t have to sprint if you are not used
to doing so!
You
should talk to your doctor or nurse practitioner about any proposed new
exercise program if you have been inactive. Remember - it’s also risky to
sit on the couch all day!
A
recent study from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark showed that for
people with diabetes- alternating levels of walking intensity could be much
more effective than walking at constant speed to help manage blood sugar.
They measured insulin secretion after a glucose infusion, and did skeletal
muscle biopsies, before and after a 4 month training period. Only the
people who had been given interval walking training showed improved blood sugar
control and increased insulin sensitivity in in skeletal muscle. People
who walked a comparable amount of time without interval training were the
comparison group.
I
love to walk and daydream, sing to myself, or talk with friends as I
stroll. Whatever activity you like to do - carry on. Interval training
can be effective if done only 3 times a week. “If it’s physical, it’s
therapy” were the words on a t-shirt I saw long ago in Golden
Gate Park. Here are some other great t-shirt slogans:
I
got my shit together with a Clivus Multrum.
Fighting
terrorism since 1492 (a group of Indians with long rifles)
Some
Day my Prince will Come - and I wanna come too.
But
I digress. See you on the road, looking at your stopwatch.
Sadja
Greenwood
