Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Intervals

Training
1

for fat loss.

first, a little background: due to a childhood football injury, sprinting, running, jogging… even walking are out, for me, as far as cardio/energy systems work goes. they really irritate the left knee. this being said, i completely recognize the utility/necessity of performing some type conditioning work for both aesthetic and health purposes.

luckily for me, the elliptical machine is one that i can use with relatively no deleterious effects whatsoever. i’ve actually used it with great success, mind you, even working my way down to the single digits with nothing more complicated than steady state work of sufficient amount.

something that i’ve started doing recently, though, as the steady state stuff is becoming impossibly boring and tedious to me, is really cranking up the resistance on the thing (“really” meaning all the way up, in some cases) and performing intervals.

the intervals i’ve been doing, however, although somewhat longer in duration than the typical prescriptions i’ve read about, are only slightly less draining/miserable to perform than say, 200 meter repeats with incomplete rest periods… and, most importantly, they don’t seem to bother the knee one bit.

i was basically wondering if anyone here had ever tried this type of thing before and, if so, what kind of results they got with it. i’m calling them “aerobic” intervals, for lack of any better term. in contrast, obviously, “anaerobic” intervals would be the typical tabata-esque stuff that people usually do.

fyi, i’ve been doing 2 types of intervals, both at a work:rest ratio of 1:1.

  1. 3 min 45 sec @ 25 (max resistance)
  2. 7 min 30 sec @ 20
    for the rest interval, i’ve been doing it at 5.

any comments are both welcome and appreciated.

2

I do 20 all out, 40 very slow on the elliptical. Can not point to it being more effective than SS cardio for fat loss as generally I’m watching calories, carbs and doing SS too if leaning up.

3

So you read Coach Nicks’ article about “6 tabata workouts…”? Perhaps there are moves in there that would work for you. A co-worker of mine is in a similar boat as you. His knee pain is more from the impact of running, jumping jacks ect…but bending his knee (while doing lunges lets say) gives him very little problems. He is also able to use a rowing machine if that’s an option for you.

Might be worth a try if you really like doing your conditioning work on machines. Good luck.

4

sorry about the double post. i deleted one of them.

5

thanks for the input. i did read that article about tabatas, but i’ve actually been familiar with them for years (huge fan of dan john and his stuff.) i was lucky enough to interview him over the phone for my senior project in college, in fact… he gave me an earful, for sure.

it’s definitely not that i prefer to do my conditioning on machines, either, mind you… quite the opposite. but there’s just something about running (or the elliptical version of running, which is really quite similar) that just wears you out in short order.

and what i’m really trying to do with the conditioning is just find something that is as close to running or sprinting as possible, minus the knee pain it causes.

i guess what i’m really wondering is whether or not anyone has ever experimented with “longer” yet still super “intense” intervals and whether or not they’re a good fat loss tool, in general.

on a different note, is that your kit in your avatar? that’s nuts! it looks like something alex van halen woulda played in 1984… i play a 3 piece, myself. call me a minimalist.

6

It’s not similar to running, but kb intervals have been awesome for me and my knees feel great. I have been doing kb snatches, but swings work well too. I’ve been doing Viking Warrior Conditioning from Kenneth Jay. 15 seconds or 7-8 reps one side, rest 15 seconds, then 15 seconds or 7-8 the other side. Lather rinse repeat for whatever time you choose. Euphoria

7

i don’t currently do snatches or swings… but if they’re anywhere near as brutal as the clean and jerk, which i do use, then i’ve no doubt you’re correct. thanks for the input.

8

What you’re describing are basically lactate threshold intervals. Shorter (1 minute or less) intervals should be hard enough that you are using your anaerobic system. Five to ten minute long intervals should be right at the point where your body is removing lactic acid at the same rate it is being produced. Doing these consistently can help raise your lactate threshold, which means you can maintain a higher work rate for longer.

I don’t know if they are any better for fat loss than shorter anaerobic intervals, but they are fantastic for conditioning. Of course, a one minute anaerobic interval is over in one minute; if you do these right the last two minutes of a ten minute interval will fell like they take forever.

9

it’s funny you mention that… while they’re both extremely taxing to do, i find the 7 min 30 sec ones to be, more or less, as you describe. i’d call them “hell on earth”, really.

10

You should get a copy of Michael Boyle’s Interval Training for Clients and Athletes. Essentially he goes into the physiology of why time is not the ideal way to train people using intervals. He prescribes using telemetry equipment to get a more individualized training regimen. These HR monitors are fairly cheap and would give you a much better picture of what energy system you are actually using (aerobic vs anaerobic).

11

[quote]armygrunt82 wrote:
You should get a copy of Michael Boyle’s Interval Training for Clients and Athletes. Essentially he goes into the physiology of why time is not the ideal way to train people using intervals. He prescribes using telemetry equipment to get a more individualized training regimen. These HR monitors are fairly cheap and would give you a much better picture of what energy system you are actually using (aerobic vs anaerobic).[/quote]

Do you have a brief explanation of what he does look at? For road cycling a lot of people train using power meters, and they talk about making sure that your power production is steady or actually increasing during the interval. The idea being that if you drop your power output too much during the interval then you fall below the range that is forcing the adaptation you want. I’ve never had access to a power meter, but whenever I do longer intervals like that I’ll try and break the efforts into thirds. I try to keep a constant speed and cadence throughout the interval, but the first third should feel almost too easy, the middle third progressively harder, and the last third should feel incredibly difficult.

12

that’s an interesting idea about the heart rate monitor. i’m wondering, though, if there’s any universal breakdown for max heart rate percentages and what energy system is being predominantly worked in different ranges. anyone know anything about this?

13

A little off topic, but have you considered swimming? It could mix up your workouts a bit while keeping your knee from getting pounded.

14

I’ve used sprint interval training on a stationary bike… if you want to work hard enough you can be made to puke after less than 4 minutes of exercise time. Look up some articles if you like, but general format is 30s of absolute 150% all out effort followed by 4 min rest. Even though it’s a max workout, it can give you some huge gains in aerobic fitness.

re: universal breakdown for aerobic thresholds, there are probably general charts, but every person is different… and to make matters worse every activity is different for the same person.