The Science of Sprint Interval Training
Meredith Shirk Dec 24th 2018
I sometimes get questions about Sprint Interval Training and people always ask me how I know that it’s superior to just about every other type of exercising that’s out there right now.
So I wanted to share a little bit of the science behind what I like to call S.I.T. exercise combinations. And again “S.I.T.” stands for sprint interval training.
The American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association are both at the forefront of research for what it takes to get and keep a healthy heart…and over and over again, they keep recommending combination-based sprint interval training to people.
The reason is because this type of exercising gets your heart beating, but it’s not a long enough exercise session to stress your body out.
Instead, what happens is that these short bursts of activity “shock” your body into getting stronger over time. They help you to have increased cardio endurance. And your metabolism gets a tremendous boost, too!
In fact, a 2016 article in the NY Times talked about research that was being done at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada…
…and what they found was that 1 minute…just ONE minute…of all-out exercise can give you the exact, same benefit as working out for 45 minutes.
And you never have to max out your heart rate – which is great news for people with heart disease.
You never place your body into a state of stress that’s equal to what long distance runners go through after they’ve been running for a long time…
…and most of all, you’re not spending hours in a gym, trying to reach your fitness goals.
You’ve probably heard of high intensity workouts, right…
…and you might have heard good or bad things about that style of exercising….like it’s bad for your heart or it’s too hard if you’re not already in shape.
Well…here’s the surprising thing discovered in my research. Not all high intensity workouts are the same.
See…some of them require you to workout as hard as you can for one minute and then rest for a minute.
Others make you run on a track as fast as you can for a certain distance and them walk to recover.
And other high intensity workouts require that you use a machine…like an spin bike and there are designated times for you to exert yourself and times for you to cool down.
But please pay close attention to what I’m about to share, because it’s important for you to understand that…
…the problem with most of the high intensity workouts in the market is that they don’t take into account the human factor.
For example, if you are really sedentary and you sit a lot for work or just in general, the dead last thing you’re about to do is go anywhere and start running as hard and as fast as you can.
Just thinking about that is painful for most people who are looking for solutions and who want to get in shape.
And if you’re already not comfortable with how your body looks, you don’t want to go to a crowded gym or a spin class filled with people who look way better than you.
This is where S.I.T. training comes in… You don’t have to go get weights or go somewhere and run on a track.
You can actually workout in your home and turn on the fire in your metabolism for good…
… And all it takes is 7-minutes a day!
About Svelte Training
Svelte Training has evolved over the years from a simple private fitness service into several different health and fitness businesses. Meredith and her team have developed a variety of health oriented products ranging from foods to books to even online coaching, all of which have created a reputation of authority in her field.
About Author:
Meredith Shirk
For the past decade, Meredith has been passionate about achieving peak performance. Her keen self-awareness and innate understanding of human interactions has helped her clients gain confidence in their professional, personal and athletic careers.
