To find you with that look upon your face. C’mon you know you’re singing along. 
Long time no talk. I disappeared off to the land of school, work and stress. Still visiting here, (pretty much have set up shop here for the next few years, ah the joys of being a working student…) but I missed y’all. So here I am, re-entering blogosphere. I’ll just jump right in, shall I?
One of my goals this year is to Speeeeed UP! (I’ll do a post on more goals later) How to accomplish said goal? One word: Intervals. Pure and Simple, Intervals will not only whip your body into shape but they will make you faster. What are intervals you ask? In its most basic definition, interval training involves alternating between high and low intensity in measured spurts of exercise. The aim is to get your heart rate up, then briefly bring it down so your body can recover before you raise it again. As a result of the energy required in consistently raising and lowering your heart rate your body burns calories more effectively in a shorter period of time. Not a bad deal, right? A good sign you are doing it right is the huffing and puffing you’re doing, the steam blowing out of your nose and the look on your face that suggests you may keel over at any moment (oh wait, is that just me?) ; )
There are many benefits to interval training, here are just a few: It will build your endurance, burn more calories in a shorter period of time, stimulate your metabolism and body’s ability to burn fat, make you used to operating at a higher intensity (in other words you will be able to run faster), and it will make you feel like a bad ass. This morning I did one of my favorite 65 minute interval speed & hill workouts, which is as follows for you to try for your enjoyment. Intervals can be done with any form of exercise, but this is specifically designed for runners and done on the treadmill.
Burn Baby Burn Workout #1
5 Min W/up @ 6.3 (spd) & 2.0 Incline
.50 Mile @ 7.2 (Spd) & 2.0 Incline
.25 Mile @ 6.4 (Spd) & 2.0 Incline
.50 Mile @ 6.4 (spd) & 5.0 Incline
.25 Mile @ 6.4 (Spd) & 2.0 Incline
.50 Mile @ 7.2 (Spg) & 2.0 Incline
.25 Mile @ 6.4 (Spd) & 2.0 Incline
.50 Mile @ 6.4 (spd) & 5.0 Incline
Repeat Sequence, alternating between the .5 mile hill running, recovery .25 mile run, and .5 mile speed run until you reach 60 Minutes. Adjust speeds and total time to fitness level.
5 Min Cooldown @ 6.3 Spd & 2.0 Incline
Total Time: 65 Min. Total Miles: 7.0 Total Calorie Burn (according to my Polar f4): 630
Let me know if you try it, by the end of the workout you should be feeling both energized and like this:
What are some of your favorite workouts?
Welcome back!!!
I want to speed up too… but I find that I’m still at the point where I’m really getting to KNOW running and just want to enjoy that without killing myself with Intervals… maybe I’ll make it my goal for next year?
My fave workouts are running, spinning (love it!) and yoga
Thanks for the welcome back! : ) There’s always time to speed up, it took me about a year and a half of running before I started getting significantly faster. Spinning is a great interval type work-out too.
Nice blog! This is my first time reading it (stumbled upon it on a comment you left at Fitnessista’s) and I wanted to say that I’m going to try your BBB workout next week. I’m training for my first half marathon and I haven’t been concentrating on speed so much, but after reading this post, I am now inspired. Thank you
Thanks!, I’m still getting back into the swing of blogging. Let me know how you like the workout after you try it. Interval and hill training workouts has cut a full minute and a half off my time over the last year so I’m a huge advocate of them!
[...] Happy almost Friday! I started my day off with a fabulous workout. First I did 50 minutes of the Burn Baby Burn Workour #1 and then followed it with about 35 minutes of strength, doing the following circuit, which is [...]