I have spent the better part of
my lifetime involved in a rollercoaster of a relationship. With whom, you ask?
She is a fickle mistress…running. Running is a polarizing term. To some (my
father and my darling wife, Rebecca) it evokes the notion of the runner’s high,
stress relief, a beloved pastime. To others (myself) it conjures up images of
punishment laps in baseball practice, pounding the pavement, and too much time
alone with one’s thoughts. My dad and my wife are two people whom I love dearly
and I cherish the times I have had with both of them. A consequence of wanting
to spend time with my dad and my wife has been that I too often find myself on
the business end of a run that is well above my paygrade. The latest in this string
of bad running decisions is a 10 mile trail race – The Fall Backyard Burn
Running Series in Annandale, VA.
Why did I sign up for an activity
that involves running? Well, the upsides are numerous: Spending time with my
wife. Being outside. Trying new adventures (first trail race). The downside is
the elephant in the room: it involves running.
The challenge: Can I complete
this 10 mile trail race with Rebecca without having to run for my training?
This conundrum led me to book #
2: The One Minute Workout by Martin Gibala (a professor and chair of the
kinesiology department at McMaster University who has devoted his career to
researching the science of interval training). This was an enjoyable read because it gave me
hope that I could train for the trail race without actually running, and because
it makes me think of 7 Minute Abs in “There’s Something about Mary.” The topic
of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has long been of interest to me. I
have been an active participant in CrossFit (insert trademark symbol here),
which incorporates these principles, had one of my students perform an
in-service on interval training (shout out to Patrick Russo), and one of my
favorite continuing education courses was “Exercise Physiology in the PT
Setting,” in which I learned the science behind, among other things, interval
training (shout out to The Jackson Clinics’ kick-ass continuing education).
10,000 foot view - What is interval training? Bursts of
intense exercise separated by periods of recovery (can be either complete rest
or lower-intensity exercise).
Why do interval training? The American College of Sports Medicine
(ACSM) recommends 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity exercise to reduce
the risk of cardiovascular disease or diabetes. Or you can do 75 minutes of
vigorous exercise (HIIT), and this includes the rest time in your workout. You
can reduce your risk for heart disease and diabetes with 10 minutes per day of
exercise! Not only that, when compared to steady state cardio, HIIT provides
similar changes in aerobic fitness (VO2 max), mitochondrial composition in the
muscles (helps generate aerobic energy), and fat burning capacity during the
workout (weight loss benefits). I am no math major, but deriving the same
health and fitness benefits for a fraction of the time cost? Yes, please!
Why does interval training work? In two words - stress adaptation.
In more words – you push your body out of its comfort zone, so it is forced to
adapt. Gibala describes the following factors that contribute to the
effectiveness of HIIT:
1. HIIT
causes a dramatic shift in the rate
of energy depletion in the body, when compared to steady state cardio.
2. Intensity and duration of the stressful
stimulus impact the adaptation response.
3. Intensity of the stimulus is more important than the duration of the
stimulus.
4. HIIT
recruits more muscle fibers into the
exercise – causes the muscle to use up available fuel sources faster. HIIT
requires use of both fast and slow twitch muscle fibers, whereas endurance
training primarily recruits only slow twitch muscle fibers.
My interval training program, as
prescribed by Martin Gibala: 6 weeks - 3 x week - 4-6 sets of 30 second sprint
on the AirDyne bike – 2.5 minutes rest in between sets.
The AirDyne Bike (AKA my Wedding
Present to Rebecca, AKA our replacement for a living room chair, AKA the bane
of Rebecca’s existence).
The result...
We did it!!
Until next time,
Running from running
