Once you have been training for a reasonable amount of time and have established your basic fitness level, interval training is a powerful way to improve both your overall fitness and specific running ability. By understanding and applying the science of intervals, you will find that when the training plan on the wall calls for interval training, you are energized by the challenge instead of finding reasons to skip the workout. Why Interval Training Works Interval training is a form of exercise that involves varying the pace of your workout session anywhere from an easy jog right through to a maximal effort. This combination engages both your aerobic energy system and type I muscles - which are used for endurance - and anaerobic energy systems and type II muscles which are used for power and speed. The endurance parts of your system are highly efficient and produce very little waste, but they do not generate a significant amount of power. The strength parts of your system produce the burst you need for sprinting or heavy lifting but are highly inefficient and produce a significant amount of waste in the form of lactic acid. By engaging both systems at once you teach your body how to process metabolic waste while running, which improves your ability to recover after a hill or short sprint, and enhances your overall fitness. Intervals are shorter exercise blocks (usually from 10 seconds up to a few minutes long) that are separated by a rest period. For example, 45 seconds at 50 per cent effort followed by 45 seconds at 65 to per cent effort, repeated a number of times. As your fitness improves, you can lengthen the amount of time you spend at the higher exertion level from 45 seconds up to 10 minutes or even longer. You can also adjust the easy effort portion of the workout to make the training more difficult (less rest) or easier (more rest). The total duration of the interval-training set can be adjusted from just a few minutes when starting out up to 60 minutes for highly trained athletes. Make sure you work with a trainer or fitness professional to design the interval-training sessions and properly incorporate them into your overall fitness program. And always make sure you warm up properly before doing your interval set. You can use a heart rate monitor to measure your effort, or you can also use your breathing to know how you should be exerting yourself. At easy running speeds, you should be able to carry on a conversation. Once youre past your first threshold where the anaerobic system starts to be activated, you should be able to hear yourself breathe. As you increase your intensity beyond the threshold where the anaerobic system is contributing a significant amount of energy, you wont even be able to speak because youre breathing so hard. Many interval training sets demand that you work in the breathing too hard to speak zone. I often use this as a test to see if my athletes are working hard enough. If they can answer my questions after an interval I know theyre not working hard enough! Some runners use a track for their interval workouts so they can easily measure distances and others use more informal methods like picking up the pace between lamp posts along the side of the road. You can also use your heart rate monitor to track your recovery between fast pieces. As your fitness improves, your heart rate will drop back to pre-interval levels faster. What The Research Tells Us Research has shown that interval sessions can improve overall endurance despite the fact that the total running distance may be quite short. One study discovered that cyclists who engaged in 2.5 hours of interval training a week generated the same improvement in their capacity for endurance as riders who had done 10 hours of endurance-type training. (1) Intervals are also beneficial because they increase calorie burn post-exercise. This is a phenomenon called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) and is commonly known as "afterburn." Afterburn occurs because the body needs to restore itself to the state it was in prior to the workout. During afterburn, your body has to synthesize a substance called ATP, make repairs to your cells and fibres and process the lactic acid you created. All of these processes improve your overall level of fitness. Research has also found that afterburn may last up to a day after intense anaerobic strength training and that the bodys metabolism is elevated for several hours after the athletes heart returning to its resting rate. (2) Improve Your Performance To access the benefits of interval training, consider the following tips: - Make sure you warm up properly. Light activity like walking or jogging, dynamic activation exercises, and some short duration speed work such as a few sprints to activate your anaerobic system should all be done before you start your interval training session.- 1-2 interval training sessions per week is often enough to stimulate adaptation in your muscles- Maintaining a heart rate of 50-55 per cent of maximum during recovery will teach your body to efficiently remove waste products between intervals because you are moving oxygen through the muscles but not producing lactic acid.- Keep the interval session distance shorter than your typical running workout.- Concentrate on maintaining proper running form when you increase your speed.- Concentrate on smooth transitions from slow to fast running and also when youre slowing down.- Consider training with other people who will help you maintain your pace and increase your motivation.- Always include an active recovery/cool down phase to help your muscles clear out waste products and to speed recovery. I recommend at least 10-15 minutes of light exercise after your interval training session. Nutrition and Psychology In terms of nutrition and fueling, it is essential that you support your interval training with a proper recovery process. Cooling down properly, taking in proper amounts of carbohydrates and proteins after the workout to fuel regeneration, consuming appropriate fluids to rehydrate and getting plenty of sleep to ensure muscle repair are all critical. We will have another video and article on the details of post-exercise recovery and sleep. Interval training requires a different kind of mindset than normal training. You need to be relaxed and calm so that you can breathe freely and run smoothly despite the intensity that comes with a near all-out effort. Sustaining your effort during intense portion of your interval sessions is critical if you are going to optimize the benefits to your cardio-vascular and muscular systems. References (1) Gibala MJ, Little JP, Essen MV, Wilkin GP, Burgomaster KA, Raha S, Tarnopolsky MA. (2006). Short term sprint interval versus traditional endurance training: similar initial adaptations in human skeletal muscle and exercise performance. J Physiol 575(3): 901-911. (2) Shuenke MD, Mikat RP, McBride JM (2002). Effect of an acure period of resistance exercise on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption: implications for body mass management. Eur J Appl Physiol 86(5). 411-417. Greg Wells Ph.D. (www.drgregwells.com, @drgregwells) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto in the Faculties of Medicine and Kinesiology. He was the sport science analyst for the Olympic Broadcast Consortium during the 2010 & 2012 Games, and is the author of Superbodies: Peak Performance Secrets from the Worlds Best Athletes. Jessica Caterini is a member of the Human Physiology Research Unit in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Toronto. http://www.drgregwells.comhttp://www.twi....superbodies.tvFake College Jerseys From China .Y. -- Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse have another World Cup gold medal after winning the two-women bobsled race on Saturday in Lake Placid, N. Fake College Jerseys . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said. https://www.fakecollegejerseys.com/ . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. Cyber Monday College Jerseys . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. Custom College Jerseys . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night.This story appears in ESPN The Magazines October 31 NBA Preview Issue. Subscribe today!ITS JAN. 28, 2011. Doc Rivers powerhouse Celtics, featuring a Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, are seven months removed from their second Finals in three years. Theyre 35 -- 10 on the season, winners of seven of their past eight, and visiting the 20 -- 24 Suns. Prediction: blowout.From the start, though, the Celtics stumble in startling fashion. Garnett throws a pass to no one, then gets tossed for striking Suns forward Channing Frye in the groin. Boston shoots a season-worst 34.2 percent against one of the NBAs worst defenses. The Suns roll 88-71.Rivers, incensed, rides out most of the game from the visiting locker room after being ejected for jawing at the officials. Watching it all unfold, he wonders, Jesus Christ, was the whole team drinking last night? But the Celtics longtime trainer, Ed Lacerte, has another theory: We should see the sleep doctor. This is the game he pointed to.The sleep doctor was Dr. Charles Czeisler, the director of the Sleep Health Institute at Brigham and Womens Hospital and of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School, whom Rivers had consulted before the season, asking him to identify trouble spots on the schedule. Czeisler noted that the Celtics would be flying into Phoenix after facing the Trail Blazers in Portland the night before -- and Cleveland in Boston two nights before that. With so much travel across so many time zones in just three days, your instincts will be bad, he said. Itll be like playing drunken basketball. You will not win this game.After the loss, Rivers realizes that Czeisler was right and that its time to start adjusting routines. He calls his Big Three into the office: Were changing, immediately.The players push back. They like their routines. This is what we do! Garnett says.Replies Rivers: Well, were not doing it anymore.EVERY SEASON, NBA teams are forced to play games that, as Rivers learned in 2011, are all but unwinnable -- not because of the opponent but because of how the schedule unfolds leading up to them. In many organizations, these games are actually referred to as scheduled losses. Says Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau: Sometimes the schedule can get you. That happens.Spurs coach Gregg Popovich circles these problem games on the schedule and prescribes the one cure for them: rest. The guys appreciate it, he says, and it makes them even more committed to the program because they know youre taking care of them and theyre not just a piece of meat that youre going to use to win and move on.Current Celtics coach Brad Stevens, who has consulted numerous sleep experts, says he has received similar advice. Its very point-blank -- like, this schedule is not great for sleep. But the bottom line is the schedule hasnt changed, its not going to change, so how do you manage it the best you can? Thats why when the schedule comes out, for me, I go through the whole thing that day and plan the whole year and think about it.And now so can you. To identify the NBA games in which its not one team against another but one team against the schedule, ESPN enlisted multiple experts, including sleep doctors who consult with NBA teams. In partnership with ESPN Stats & Information, they ranked the seasons 488 back-to-back games on several factors, such as whether the game is home or away, the time elapsed between tip-offs (including hours lost from flying east), how rested the opponent is from play orr travel and whether its part of a longer run of four games in five nights, or five games in seven.dddddddddddd The result: There are 42 games in the 2016-17 season in which the schedule creates a distinct competitive disadvantage for one team. The seven most extreme cases are identified below. Were calling them schedule alert games.Does it work? Cheri Mah, sleep consultant to NBA teams and a research fellow at the UC San Francisco Human Performance Center, helped construct the formula. Last season, using a similar formula, her system correctly picked losers with up to 78 percent accuracy. Those predictions were blind to the quality of the teams -- showing how strong the impact of back-to-back games is. The reality is, if I could craft an NBA season, Mah says, it would not have back-to-backs.TODAY, RIVERS IS keenly aware of which games are unwinnable -- so much so that hes actually considered the once-unthinkable: forfeiting. Rivers, now the Clippers coach, recalls that LA was scheduled in 2014 for back-to-back games, the second on the road, immediately following a seven-game road trip. I contemplated keeping the team home, literally, Rivers says. We knew we were walking into getting our ass kicked, and thats what happened.What is it they say? If you have less than five hours of sleep for three days in a row, your reactions are that of a legally drunk driver? Weve seen that with our own eyes.Schedule alert!Do you like to prepare mentally for your favorite NBA teams losses, even months ahead of time? Then this is for you! With the aid of sleep scientists, weve devised a formula to identify the seasons schedule alert games-those that are the most unwinnable because of the schedules travel impact and resulting fatigue issues. Heres an exhaustive look at the season.Mah Score is based on eight fatigue factors, ranges from 0 to 12, with higher scores indicating greater disadvantage.1. 11/29: Hornets (Pistons): 8.5 Mah score Leaving Memphis, the Hornets lose an hour flying home-and less than 24 hours later cap a four games-in-five-days stretch vs. the rough-and-tumble Pistons.2. 12/3: Lakers (Grizzlies): 8.5 A back-to-back for LA starting in Toronto means a late trip through customs and no rest. Even tougher: This next game is the fourth in five nights-all on the road.3. 12/6: Bulls (vs. Pistons): 9.5 Chicago, in the closest thing to certain schedule defeat, loses an hour in the air heading to Detroit -- plus the haul toward Auburn Hills, Michigan -- after playing Portland at home, to cap a four-in-five run.4. 12/11: Warriors (Timberwolves): 8.5 This is a genuine test for Golden State, its fourth road game in five nights after playing in Memphis the night before. Plus: an early 6 p.m. start vs. a young team.5. 2/4: Denver (Spurs): 8.5 After facing Milwaukee at home, Denver loses an hour heading East, only to cap a four-in-five against the Spurs, who have a one-day recovery edge.6. 3/11: Wizards (Trail Blazers): 8.5 Capping not just a four-in-five but a five-in-seven stretch, this road game comes against a Blazers team that will have a one-day rest advantage.7. 3/15: Trail Blazers (Spurs): 8.5 For Portland, this marks the third road game of a five-game trip, the fourth game in five nights, the fifth in seven ... and its against the Spurs. Ouch.Additional reporting by ESPNs Jackie MacMullan, Tom Haberstroh and Kevin Arnovitz ' ' '