While athletes have long used interval training to enhance performance, are there benefits for regular exercisers and even cardiac rehab patients? Intense exercise from interval training means getting one’s heart rate to 85%-95% of the maximal rate (which is 220 minus your age) for brief periods followed by allowing your heart rate to slow down and repeating this pattern. An estimate of this effort is only being able to say a few words before gasping for breath while exercising.
Norwegian University and the Mayo Clinic are using intense exercise on patients who have had a heart attack or after cardiac surgery. After a number of weeks of normal rehab, the patients are gradually introduced to brief periods of exercise that increases their heart rate beyond moderate. The findings were that oxygen uptake was improved in these patients compared to those who just did moderate exercising.
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There are advantages of high intensity interval training for the rest of us. Interval training not only expands the exercise we do for the particular muscle group involved but also our lung and heart capabilities. Also, the energy and calories burned are done in a shorter period of time compared with moderate exercise. Lastly, it breaks up the routine of a daily workout and breaking up the routine is what gives results! (Please undertake high intensity interval training only with qualified supervision.)