Baby Boomers U. S. (The Blog)

Posted: 04 Sep 2011 04:36 AM PDT

This is a Guest Post by Ron Fritzke of Cycling Review.com. If you would like to Guest Post for Baby Boomers US, check out our Guest Post for Us page.

The word is out. What hardcore runners, cyclists, and swimmers have used for decades to achieve maximum fitness has hit the mainstream fitness world consciousness. I’m talking about high intensity interval training (HIIT).

As far back as 1972, we were using relatively short bursts of very high intensity efforts to achieve a level of conditioning that wasn’t possible from merely running at a cardio level. Now you can use the the same approach to turbo-charge your weight loss program.

Before we get any further, let me insert the ‘check with your doctor before performing any exercise program’ disclaimer.

How HIIT Helped Me Lose Weight!

After I retired from competitive running, I continued to run for fitness. But I noticed something I didn’t like…my weight was edging up. It didn’t seem to matter that I was running regularly; putting in quite a few miles each week. All of that cardio level effort was good for my heart and lungs, but did little for keeping me ‘lean and mean’.

It wasn’t until my kids started running competitively that I rediscovered high intensity interval training. I had them begin doing some hill repeats.

I picked out a hill near our house and had them running just about as hard as they could up the hill, followed by easy recovery down the hill. They repeated this six to ten times. I knew from my past just how painful that style of running can be, so in order to pacify my guilt I ran along with them.

You know what happened? My weight started to go down.

What I noticed was that my metabolism remained elevated for hours after that type of workout. My heart rate was elevated 15-20 beats per minute, and I’d start sweating at the drop of a hat. So there it was…the magic of high intensity workouts in the world of losing weight.

Put High Intensity Workouts To Work For You Too

Please don’t think that you have to run up a steep hill six times in order to get some benefits from ‘intervals’. One of the most do-able HIIT workouts I seen demonstrated on YouTube went something like this…

10 minutes easy warmup
Alternate 10 seconds of very hard effort with 10 seconds of very easy effort for 10 minutes
10 minutes easy warm-down

The YouTube workout I watched was on a stationary bike. I’ve done countless interval workouts like this on an indoor bike trainer like the Kinetic Road Machine. I know that HIIT is a lot easier done on a bike than it is ‘on foot’, largely because the amount of shock to the joints is non-existent when pedaling.

The Advantages Of A Bike That Goes Nowhere

Of course you may choose to do a HIIT workout outside on your bike, but there are advantages to riding indoors now and then.

I’d sum up the advantages of stationary riding with the word ‘control’.

Control over the road surfaces- ice, sleet, and snow won’t stop you.
Control over the traffic lights- there won’t be a red light just when you want do a hard effort.
Control over cars- nothing gets in the way of a strong effort like a car turning in front of you.

Accelerate Your Weight Loss By Riding Intervals On Your Bike

Maybe you’ve seen them just as I have. You know… the baby boomers who faithfully exercise every day, but still have that Pillsbury Dough-boy look. They jiggle down the road regularly.

Who knows? Maybe you’re struggling with your weight even though you do plenty of cardio workouts. Try incorporating a day or two a week of up-tempo workouts (HIIT). It may do wonders for your body composition, allowing you to better cash in on all of your exercising efforts.

About the author: Ron Fritzke, DC practices as a Chiropractor in Mount Shasta. In addition to seeing patients in his private practice, he is a member of the sports medicine team at the College of the Siskiyous. When he isn’t riding his bike, he reviews cycling gear on his website, cycling-review.com.

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