How to Determine Your Ideal Interval Rest Intervals

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

There is simply no formula by which to calculate the intervals of rest in interval training, since it all depends on our physical condition at the moment, the level of fitness and even what you decide to eat before training. Sometimes one minute is enough to recover, and sometimes a longer rest is needed. How do you choose the perfect option for the here and now?

Trainer Jenny Hadfield advises using a rest-based strategy: instead of determining the time or distance needed to rest (for example, walking at a calm pace for 1 minute or walking at 500 meters), it is better to focus on the internal sensations of the body.

Your resting phases directly affect your exercise performance, as well as your recovery time after your entire workout. The less time we give ourselves to recover during the intermediate rest, the less energy we will have to do the exercises (or run), the slower the recovery will take place after the completion of the workout.

Rest intervals do not have to be the same. Generally, the closer to the end of your workout, the more time you need to rest, and this is normal.

How much time you need to rest depends not only on your age, gender and level of physical fitness (all this could just fit into the formula), but also on how much you slept before the day of training, how you feel., and even what you choose as a snack a few hours before your workout.

In addition, attention should be paid to heart rate and respiratory rate. With a heart, everyone has their own limit, but it is desirable that the heart rate drops to at least 160 beats per minute (for more advanced ones - to 130–140), and your breathing calms down, and you can safely take a full breath. You should feel like you are in control of your breathing and are ready to adjust it for the next dash.

Practical advice

Customization

When you tune in to your body and can feel the changes that are taking place in it, you can determine when to take a step to rest, and when a light jogging is enough. Being able to feel this difference can help you run faster in each interval, as the quality of the recovery phase depends on the quality of your speed and performance.

Identifying strengths and weaknesses

In determining the strengths and weaknesses, the statistics that are in every sports application will help you best. By analyzing the data obtained, you can understand what time of rest is optimal for your body. Moreover, negative changes, when the body takes longer than usual to recover, can indicate overtraining or illness.

Individual approach to training

If you work with a trainer, he will probably build workouts based on your physical fitness, as opposed to sports apps, which are given the average options. But even in the case of working with a trainer, sometimes you need to deviate from the set norms and follow your inner feelings, because among all sports calculators and formulas, the workout that suits your body exactly on this particular day of its implementation is ideal in terms of effectiveness and efficiency.

Got a New Interval Training Option? Then, for the first time, watch your breathing and heart rate, and let your body tell you how long it takes to recover. After a few workouts with the new option, you can start analyzing statistics and choosing the optimal time for rest.