Interval Training
April 6, 2010 by Nicola · Leave a Comment
I was reading an article that a client of mine sent me today- “High-Intensity Interval Training Is Time-Efficient and Effective, Study Suggests” (ScienceDaily (Mar. 12, 2010)).
Here is a little snippet of the article:
“The study, from scientists at Canada’s McMaster University, adds to the growing evidence for the benefits of short term high-intensity interval training (HIT) as a time-efficient but safe alternative to traditional types of moderate long term exercise. Astonishingly, it is possible to get more by doing less!
“We have shown that interval training does not have to be ‘all out’ in order to be effective,” says Professor Martin Gibala. “Doing 10 one-minute sprints on a standard stationary bike with about one minute of rest in between, three times a week, works as well in improving muscle as many hours of conventional long-term biking less strenuously.”
HIT means doing a number of short bursts of intense exercise with short recovery breaks in between. The authors have already shown with young healthy college students that this produces the same physical benefits as conventional long duration endurance training despite taking much less time (and amazingly, actually doing less exercise!) However, their previous work used a relatively extreme set-up that involved “all out” pedaling on a specialized laboratory bicycle. The new study used a standard stationary bicycle and a workload which was still above most people’s comfort zone -about 95% of maximal heart rate — but only about half of what can be achieved when people sprint at an all-out pace.”
This less extreme HIT method may work well for people (the older, less fit, and slightly overweight among us) whose doctors might have worries about them exercising “all-out.” We have known for years that repeated moderate long-term exercise tunes up fuel and oxygen delivery to muscles and aids the removal of waste products. Exercise also improves the way muscles use the oxygen to burn the fuel in mitochondria, the microscopic power station of cells.
The “secret” to why HIT is so effective is unclear. However, the study by Gibala and co-workers also provides insight into the molecular signals that regulate muscle adaptation to interval training. It appears that HIT stimulates many of the same cellular pathways that are responsible for the beneficial effects we associate with endurance training.
From what I have read and learned, interval training will show huge gains in fitness over the short term. The question that no one seems to be able to answer is, what does it show over the long term? Most scientists do not conduct these kinds of studies for more than a few months. From my own experience, the more high intensity exercise one performs, the more likely they are to get injured. As well, constant high intensity exercise over time will cause a plateau in training. You will get better and better over weeks and months, but eventually fitness gains will slow down.
When you see articles such as these, I urge you to err on the side of caution and do a little bit of research yourself before you dive into a high intensity interval training program such as the one described above. There is no doubt a time and place for HIT, especially in training, but it may not be something to do all year round. If you do choose to hit the gym for a HIT, remember to pack your favorite Elevate Me recovery protein energy bar!
Until next time,
Nicola Gildersleeve, Athlete/Ambassador
Resolutions… Really?
January 12, 2010 by Alison · Leave a Comment
So this time of year many people are trying to follow new “fads” to quickly reach their new-year resolutions. I find with resolutions you have to be very careful because many people do crazy diets or workout regimens that are so out of the ordinary. If your new workout plan is so far from your regular schedule it makes in close to impossible to stick with it because life will get in the way!
What works best for me is changing the little things in my daily routine to reach my ultimate goal. If you want to lose weight try not to have ice cream in your freezer all the time or make sure that you eat small portions every two hours- none of this crazy dieting! This year I really want to become more flexible. It will help me with racing and training and be another defence against injuries! What I have planned is to go to workouts 10 minutes early 3 times a week to get in a little extra stretching. I am also looking into another yoga class that is scheduled on my day off so no conflicts will happen. The more conflicts this resolution causes within your life means the harder it will be to accomplish.
Baby steps in changing over time will work better than huge change all at once. Plus your body or lifestyle won’t have to go on a roller-coaster ride some resolutions can send you on!
So one thing I love doing is having smoothies after my workouts. My favourite is banana, 1/3cup milk, chocolate protein powder (I use Genisoy) and 1 and 1/2 tablespoons almond butter. Or if you’re not a chocolate person- vanilla powder and then instead of almond butter add different types of berries and orange juice. This seems to gets me through the morning and provides me with the protein and fruit I need for my routine.
I have also come across these new microwave egg cookers- you can find them as freebies at most Running Rooms. It is really simple and takes about a minute to cook an egg! Tastes great and is perfect for a good addition of protein to your breakfast even if your in a hurry like myself.
Here is a link about the egg cookers-
http://blog.getcracking.ca/microwave-egg-cookers-cooking-tips-and-recipes
To sum up this post: SIMPLE=ACHIEVE.
Thanks,
Alison Hooper – Canadian Junior Elite Triathlete
ElevateMe! Natural Protein Bars – The Story Continued
May 1, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment
So we got out the food processor and started working off mom’s recipe of whey protein isolate mixed with almonds and various whole dried fruits. We found an old guy with a packaging machine who worked on a per bar basis and we used an inkjet printer to make labels.
We didn’t want to be just another bar so we chopped each one into 3 bite size chunks. We’d make a batch, drive them in our 1979 Toyota Corona to the wrong side of town to package, then cold-call the stores.
After a few months we had like 20 stores and we were ready to rock so we got a business plan together, borrowed some cash from the bank and once that check cleared we promptly quit our corporate jobs to focus on the biz.
So we basically had enough money to last 6 months. That’s pressure but it worked and we had almost 100 stores by mid 2003 and it slowly grew and evolved from there: Apartment to nightly rental of catering kitchen to tiny garage factory to 1 employee to 2 employees to 5 employees to second leased space to 10 employees and now we make about a million Elevate Me’s a year in 7 flavors.
Are we rich? No.
Do we work our own hours? No. We work whenever the company needs us to get something done. Such as now, it’s 9pm on a Thursday and I’m sitting on the patio typing under the moon.
Is it worth it? Hell yes, so far so good.
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