Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #259643 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-10
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Customer Reviews

Intervals
I purchased this book with the hopes that it would have some hard core anaerobic workouts using intervals with bodyweight exercises, medicine balls and other non-standard methods of good all around functional or "combat conditioning" type training workouts. This is not a book like that. However it is a good book that will help you understand why interval training is important to include in your workout and can help you develop your own personal workouts.

The book mainly focuses on interval training for the runner, swimmer, or biker which I'm sure will help you a lot of you've become stagnant in your workouts. It does include workouts and good guidelines for these type of sports and has a basic section on weight lifting and stretching.

The book also includes short and concise reasons as to why interval (anaerobic) training is so beneficial. It didn't try to get too medical or scientific about it just plain old English as to how interval training works in your body.

Even though the book didn't include the type of training workouts I was looking for, it was still a worthwhile book to read and I will use some the principals from this book in developing the type of workouts I am looking for.

Good general introductory approach to conditioning based on intervals
Interval Training (IT) is systemic conditioning based on low intensity activity punctuated with bursts of high intensity activity. IT has an advantage over "aerobics" done at constant pace because the high intensity phase triggers growth hormone and other effects that are never quite achieved by extended low intensity training. This means that you can achieve benefits beyond those of aerobic training for athletes and also for weight control and general fitness. IT does not neccessarily replace low intensity training entirely, nor does it replace more specialized strength or flexibility work where needed. It is a concept with its own niche in physical training.

This book introduces the concept of IT and gives examples of how to set up a conditioning program for yourself with IT at the core. There is a lot of practical advice here for the novice and for those who have only a passing knowledge of physical conditioning. Those with moderate knowledge of conditioning including interval techniques will find most of this to be review or variations of ideas they alreay use. Trainers and those who use formal interval techniques already will probably not get much out of this, and should instead look to more advanced, more technical, or more specialized books.

An excellent practical introduction to interval based fitness.

Good, but limited.
This book discusses interval training and is a good starting point for anyone who is new to the concept. However it is basic, and unless you have no idea what is meant by "interval training" then you will not learn anything new. At its heart the message is, go really fast for a minute, then slow down for two minutes, repeat until done.

The most glaring problem is that the book only talks about interval training as manifested in the traditional cardio sports (running, swimming, cycling, etc.) It does not talk about ways to incorporate interval concepts into your strength training routines, and even worse does not adequately talk about how to incorporate your strength training with the interval program recommended.

I think this book is most useful for the type of people who "just run" (or just "whatever") at a steady pace for a predertmined time and have no plans to lift weights. However, if you are looking for a more holistic program that will cover more aspects of fitness, then I would suggest searching further.