The Return of "Saving 39 Minutes"
Greetings,
Back in my private training business days, I had a little slogan for a while that was "Saving 39 Minutes". It was in reference to the 21 minute workout strategy I had, which I felt was superior to most traditional, 60 minute, steady-state exercise routines of the past. You know, the ones that say "walk for an hour a day, you'll get fit."
Well, my feeling was you could save 39 minutes from that hour if you carefully crafted a workout to the times of 21 minutes (or less, even!).
I still take that same approach to training today.
So, how are you Saving 39 Minutes?
Are you doing such things as timed super-sets, going for more total reps in the end of each timed set, from workout to workout?
Are you doing high intensity interval methods for your running workouts?
Or, are you peddling away, endlessly it seems, on a treadmill at the same pace, while watching a TV show in the process?
(Don't get me wrong, but if you got the TV on, you can certainly do a hard interval workout with a timer helping you out, like I do with my GymBoss timer for Tabata intervals. TV stations even have a built-in cardio interval called "Commercials". Go easy when your show or news clips are on, then go hard for the brief commercials.)
Back when I'd work in a fitness center as a trainer/manager of the place and I'd have some downtime, I'd sit back & witness some crazy stuff. I'd see the same people coming in, darn near daily at the same times, going at the same paces & speeds, or doing the same 'hill workout' on the pre-programmed selections, while watching the same TV shows.
It just bugged me as a trainer, because some of these people would ask me how to change up their workouts, and I'd preach the benefits of shorter, more intense workouts, and why they were superior.
But...to do such a thing would require some people to get out of their comfort zone (which is actually a slow enough speed to be labeled the "Fat Burning Zone" on most cardio machines!).
People get comfy with the same speeds, same programs, same TV shows they watch during their exercise.
Maybe that's why I've taken some nasty 'hits' from the running community with my highly unorthodox approach to training for running.
The comfort zones of doing long, slow distance training of high mileages, for any race distance it seems from the mile to the marathon, is too easy to prescribe.
"Here, run X miles a week, here's a plan to run X miles a day, and try some speed work now & then, and you should be ready for race day."
I hate seeing programs like that.
I hated making programs like that, when I first started as a trainer.
In fact, I created a spreadsheet program called "Run It Off", where I'd figure in the person's weight, speeds to run at, and mileages to run for workouts per week, in order to help them burn calories for losing weight.
What this spreadsheet failed to measure, and what I didn't know about at the time, was how this type of programming is only focusing on the workout duration itself for calorie-burning.
It didn't take into account what that type of exercise strategy did to the body after the workout.
Basically, the body gets stimulated, steadies itself, and then shortly comes back down to normal after the workout.
What high intenstiy interval training does is rev-up the metabolism after your workout. Even though you are compiling less distances and durations, the effect it causes on your body is amazing, as its turning your body into a fat-burning, fat-store-raiding machine!
One of my first foray's into interval training was following a jog/sprint plan that went from 4 minutes a workout to 15 minutes a workout.
I did this workout my 4th year in college, and I lost all that freshman 15 I gained, by doing this program.
Here it is, from memory: A 3-days/week program over 8 weeks.
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3
Week 1 4 min 4 min 5 min
Week 2 5 min 6 min 6 min
Week 3 7 min 7 min 8 min
Week 4 8 min 9 min 9 min
Week 5 10 min 10 min 11 min
Week 6 11 min 12 min 12 min
Week 7 13 min 13 min 14 min
Week 8 14 min 15 min 15 min
It's a progressive build-up to 15 minutes of a lot of work.
What was pretty unique with this workout was that I did a pre-test & post-test of the 12 minute run test as part of a college class I was taking.
I went from 1.5 miles in 12 minutes, to 200m shy of 2 miles in that same time, from pre to post.
The professor asked me if I ran cross-country in high school, I told him we didn't have it at my school.
A funny thing happened just 3 years later: I started my coaching career as a cross-country assistant coach.
A year after that, I was using a thing called a GPS watch, which ended up re-shaping even more on how I looked at running & speed training.
3 years after that GPS experience, I wrote an article for the NCSA's Strength & Conditioning Journal on the topic of using GPS for outdoor athletes.
Believe me, I was thrilled the day I became a "reference"!
Karboviak RJ (2005) Using GPS technology to monitor intensity, speed, and training volume in outdoor athletes. Strength Conditioning J. 27(2): 24-25
It led to me creating my e-book "Endure!", which I chronicled my usage of GPS speed monitors with the cross-country and track teams I coached. This book has sold in 5 countries and I've corresponded with people in Austria and Australia about the usage of it. In fact, even a couple nights ago, I got a call from a guy in Indiana about it. So, to this day, I'm still getting asked about this topic.
I've even blended the benefits of Endure! with kettlebell training workouts, found at http://kettlebolics.com .
Enough of the story-telling. My point is that my experiences with high intensity interval training have helped me re-shape the ways I create programs for all walks: from high school athletes to their grandmothers.
It has helped me, help others, Save 39 Minutes, and perhaps even more time than they think.
You can find out more ways on how I help others Save 39 Minutes by going to http://ASAPWorkouts.com. I'm getting back into doing personal training sessions once again, and I can't wait to help out more people, face to face this time, on how to make the most of their time!
Run Strong, Run Fast...
Run So As To Win!
Coach Rick Karboviak
http://1MileNation.com
Back in my private training business days, I had a little slogan for a while that was "Saving 39 Minutes". It was in reference to the 21 minute workout strategy I had, which I felt was superior to most traditional, 60 minute, steady-state exercise routines of the past. You know, the ones that say "walk for an hour a day, you'll get fit."
Well, my feeling was you could save 39 minutes from that hour if you carefully crafted a workout to the times of 21 minutes (or less, even!).
I still take that same approach to training today.
So, how are you Saving 39 Minutes?
Are you doing such things as timed super-sets, going for more total reps in the end of each timed set, from workout to workout?
Are you doing high intensity interval methods for your running workouts?
Or, are you peddling away, endlessly it seems, on a treadmill at the same pace, while watching a TV show in the process?
(Don't get me wrong, but if you got the TV on, you can certainly do a hard interval workout with a timer helping you out, like I do with my GymBoss timer for Tabata intervals. TV stations even have a built-in cardio interval called "Commercials". Go easy when your show or news clips are on, then go hard for the brief commercials.)
Back when I'd work in a fitness center as a trainer/manager of the place and I'd have some downtime, I'd sit back & witness some crazy stuff. I'd see the same people coming in, darn near daily at the same times, going at the same paces & speeds, or doing the same 'hill workout' on the pre-programmed selections, while watching the same TV shows.
It just bugged me as a trainer, because some of these people would ask me how to change up their workouts, and I'd preach the benefits of shorter, more intense workouts, and why they were superior.
But...to do such a thing would require some people to get out of their comfort zone (which is actually a slow enough speed to be labeled the "Fat Burning Zone" on most cardio machines!).
People get comfy with the same speeds, same programs, same TV shows they watch during their exercise.
Maybe that's why I've taken some nasty 'hits' from the running community with my highly unorthodox approach to training for running.
The comfort zones of doing long, slow distance training of high mileages, for any race distance it seems from the mile to the marathon, is too easy to prescribe.
"Here, run X miles a week, here's a plan to run X miles a day, and try some speed work now & then, and you should be ready for race day."
I hate seeing programs like that.
I hated making programs like that, when I first started as a trainer.
In fact, I created a spreadsheet program called "Run It Off", where I'd figure in the person's weight, speeds to run at, and mileages to run for workouts per week, in order to help them burn calories for losing weight.
What this spreadsheet failed to measure, and what I didn't know about at the time, was how this type of programming is only focusing on the workout duration itself for calorie-burning.
It didn't take into account what that type of exercise strategy did to the body after the workout.
Basically, the body gets stimulated, steadies itself, and then shortly comes back down to normal after the workout.
What high intenstiy interval training does is rev-up the metabolism after your workout. Even though you are compiling less distances and durations, the effect it causes on your body is amazing, as its turning your body into a fat-burning, fat-store-raiding machine!
One of my first foray's into interval training was following a jog/sprint plan that went from 4 minutes a workout to 15 minutes a workout.
I did this workout my 4th year in college, and I lost all that freshman 15 I gained, by doing this program.
Here it is, from memory: A 3-days/week program over 8 weeks.
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3
Week 1 4 min 4 min 5 min
Week 2 5 min 6 min 6 min
Week 3 7 min 7 min 8 min
Week 4 8 min 9 min 9 min
Week 5 10 min 10 min 11 min
Week 6 11 min 12 min 12 min
Week 7 13 min 13 min 14 min
Week 8 14 min 15 min 15 min
It's a progressive build-up to 15 minutes of a lot of work.
What was pretty unique with this workout was that I did a pre-test & post-test of the 12 minute run test as part of a college class I was taking.
I went from 1.5 miles in 12 minutes, to 200m shy of 2 miles in that same time, from pre to post.
The professor asked me if I ran cross-country in high school, I told him we didn't have it at my school.
A funny thing happened just 3 years later: I started my coaching career as a cross-country assistant coach.
A year after that, I was using a thing called a GPS watch, which ended up re-shaping even more on how I looked at running & speed training.
3 years after that GPS experience, I wrote an article for the NCSA's Strength & Conditioning Journal on the topic of using GPS for outdoor athletes.
Believe me, I was thrilled the day I became a "reference"!
Karboviak RJ (2005) Using GPS technology to monitor intensity, speed, and training volume in outdoor athletes. Strength Conditioning J. 27(2): 24-25
It led to me creating my e-book "Endure!", which I chronicled my usage of GPS speed monitors with the cross-country and track teams I coached. This book has sold in 5 countries and I've corresponded with people in Austria and Australia about the usage of it. In fact, even a couple nights ago, I got a call from a guy in Indiana about it. So, to this day, I'm still getting asked about this topic.
I've even blended the benefits of Endure! with kettlebell training workouts, found at http://kettlebolics.com .
Enough of the story-telling. My point is that my experiences with high intensity interval training have helped me re-shape the ways I create programs for all walks: from high school athletes to their grandmothers.
It has helped me, help others, Save 39 Minutes, and perhaps even more time than they think.
You can find out more ways on how I help others Save 39 Minutes by going to http://ASAPWorkouts.com. I'm getting back into doing personal training sessions once again, and I can't wait to help out more people, face to face this time, on how to make the most of their time!
Run Strong, Run Fast...
Run So As To Win!
Coach Rick Karboviak
http://1MileNation.com
Posted by 1 Mile Nation at 11/20/2009 7:47 PM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: circuit training interval training
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: circuit training interval training
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