Interval Training Tips from Three Trainers

Interval training is confusing–how hard is too hard? how slow is too slow? Geezer is never quite sure. L.A. Times fitness writer Jeannine Stein found an excellent way to help: she asked three personal trainers what they tell trainees who come in for interval training.
Trainer number one,  a master instructor for the National Academy of Sports Medicine, uses a three zone structure, in which Zone 1 is 65 percent to 75 percent of maximum heart rate,
and Zone 2 is 80 percent to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. Zone 3 is 85 percent to
90 percent of your maximum heart rate. Trainer number believes that trainees should be able to sustain the upper level of
Zone 1 for 30 minutes before trying to do some interval training. If
you’re able to do half an hour to 45 minutes in zones 1 and 2, you’re a
good candidate to incorporate some Zone 3 work in small intervals,
within a workout that utilizes zones 1 and 2. Ultimately, he says, the goal is to get everyone to
that point where they could exercise at the level of intensity of Zone 3.
Trainer number two, co-owner of a health club in Santa Monica,  says everyone should always do intervals, and they should vary the intensity. He tells Stein that if
you’re working out four times a week, maybe you’ll have one day when
those intervals are really intense and you’re going to push yourself.
And then there are going to be days you’re going to cruise at 70 percent.
Don’t drive the intensity every time, he says.You want some recovery time and
you want to mix it up.
Trainer number three, the general manager of a health club in Santa Monica, advises trainees who are doing cardio to try a 2-1 ratio. If you’re on the elliptical
trainer, she says, do a 30-second sprint with a minute at an easy pace. If
you’re doing a 30-minute workout, you could sprint five times for 15 to
30 seconds. Then you can add in one more interval the next week, then
the next week go back down to five, then back up to six. Trainer number three tells people not to keep
upping it all the time because it will make you more prone to injury,
and you’ll get discouraged, because no one can keep that up.
Read more in the L.A. Times.