If you aren’t doing interval training as a part of your training – you should be. If you aren’t familiar with the idea, it’s push it super-hard for a short period of time, rest briefly, repeat.
Tabata intervals are one of the most popular protocols out there (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off for 8 rounds – which is 4 minutes). One set of Tabata kettlebell swings – if you are working at proper intensity – is enough for most people.
While Tabata is popular, other interval timing works just as well. As long as the work period is hard and the rest period is short, it remains effective.
Some of my favorite options are:
- Jumprope: One minute on, one minute off for a total of 20 minutes.
- Swings: One minute on, 30 seconds off for 6 or 7 rounds.
- Tabatas: Swings, squats, or burpees.
Having a good timer for this makes interval training much easier. My personal favorite is the GymBoss. It’s $20, and a tiny little device (about the size of a clip-on pedometer). You can set either one or two times (e.g. 1 minute rounds or 1 minute on, 30 seconds off). To let you know your time is up, it will vibrate or beep at one of two noise levels. The loudest level is loud enough that I can use it for my small group classes. It then counts the total number of rounds so you know how much work you have done. Other than actually doing the work for you, it pretty much does it all!
Of course, if you are an iPhone user, there is an app for that! If you search the App Store on interval timer, you will get about a dozen results. Since none of them are free and I love my Gymboss, I haven’t checked any of them out, but if you have, let me know!
About Jen Waak