How to Reduce Your Cardio-Training Time by 90% a Week - SIT Science 101:

 


Sprint into the World of SIT: The Future of Aerobic-Fitness In a Time-Scarce World: 

In the fast-paced, time-constrained world we live in, finding an optimal balance between exercise duration and health benefits can feel like a high-stakes, chronic-stress juggling act. 

The traditional approach often involves spending precious hours each week on cardiovascular exercises at the gym, coupled with time-consuming travel and preparation. On average, this can total up to an astonishing 4.5 to 10 hours a week of gym! 

However, a time-saving, cardio-metabolic fitness-revolutionizing alternative exists: 

Sprint Interval Training (SIT). Requiring as few as two 20-minute sessions per week that can be done just about anywhere. SIT provides a time-saving potential of 90% to 96%, freeing up significant portions of your week for family, friends, work, and self-care, likely significantly boosting your effectiveness in those vitally important life roles as a result. 

Understanding the Science behind SIT 


SIT represents a powerful exercise within the fitness realm, employing 'supramaximal' efforts. These high-intensity activity bursts, interspersed with rest periods, push your body to accomplish more in less time. Such vigorous efforts stimulate a notable increase in the mitochondrial content within your cells – the powerhouses responsible for energy production. 


Increasing your mitochondrial population improves energy utilization, leading to heightened performance, energy, focus, and more effective fat-burning. This takes place through a process of mitochondrial biogenesis. 


SIT and Your Cardiovascular Fitness 


One of the core advantages of SIT lies in its cardiovascular benefits. Research suggests that SIT and HIIT can enhance aerobic capacity or VO2 max more than Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training (MICT) for a given training volume. 


VO2 max, a measure of your body's ability to utilize oxygen, is directly linked to fitness levels. The higher your VO2 max, the fitter you are, marking SIT an exceptional choice for cardiovascular fitness optimization for busy parents and professionals.


SIT and Sustainable Long Term Weight Loss 


Significantly, both SIT and HIIT are renowned for their role in fat oxidation – the process through which fat molecules are broken down to generate energy. 


The more efficiently your body can oxidize fat, the more adept it becomes at using fat as a fuel source, facilitating sustainable weight loss.


Introducing Super Short Sprint Interval Training (SSIT)


 Too busy to work out? Too busy to get to and from the gym, let alone change, work out, and shower? 


Super Short Sprint Interval Training (SSIT) could be your ideal cardio solution if you're strapped for time. 


SSIT involves ultra-short, extremely intense exercise bursts interspersed with multi-minute recovery periods. A typical SSIT workout may involve 2-4 four 20-30-second sprints, each followed by a 4-minute rest period. You could wrap up an effective SSIT session in under 20 minutes with warm-up and cool down! Twice a week and that's just 40 minutes per week! 


The Significance of Rest in SIT 


Rest periods in SIT are far from idle intervals. These crucial phases allow for the recovery and replenishment of energy stores within your muscles. 


Further, rest intervals offer your body the necessary downtime to make vital repairs and adaptations, bolstering the overall effectiveness of your SIT sessions. 


You want to focus here on speeding up your between-sprints heart rate recovery and your autonomic (relaxation response) recovery times for maximum health optimization. 


The speed of your recovery may be as or even more important than the intensity or duration of your sprints! It is so important to avoid the negative health effects of over-training. 


SIT Training: A Practical Guide 


Before embarking on SIT, a thorough warm-up is crucial. Begin your first sprint at approximately 60% max intensity, progressively increasing to 80% and ultimately reaching 100% max intensity. 


After each sprint, recover for four minutes to allow your heart rate to slow down to a point where you can converse without panting. The number of sprint/recovery cycles can be adjusted based on your fitness level, sleep quality, and overall exercise readiness, not to mention all of the other incredible benefits of getting regular cardio - including boosting your mental health. 


How SIT Benefits Various Fitness Levels 


Sprint training is not exclusive to elite athletes. Whether you're a beginner or a recreational exerciser, you can benefit immensely from this approach. As a novice, you can start slow, gradually building a base fitness level before introducing sprinting into your workout regimen. For advanced or elite athletes, sprint routines can be intensified by adding resistance or increasing the number of reps.


Common Mistakes and Precautions 


To avoid common pitfalls, start slow and refrain from progressing too quickly. Sprints are high-intensity exercises and should not replace moderate-intensity exercises entirely. Overdoing sprints can lead to injuries and overtraining, so ensure you incorporate enough rest days and listen to your body. 


Also, if you're new to fitness, Good for you! - But start with powerwalking first, starting with walks as short as 5 minutes and gradually building up to a 30-45 minute power walk level before shortening your walks and gradually introducing the intensity and duration of your sprints. For example, just doing short 10-second sprints at 60-70% of your max, and very gradually increase them to 30 seconds at full intensity. 



Sprint Interval Training (SIT) Benefits for Women


Research findings demonstrate that Sprint Interval Training (SIT) can offer significant benefits for women, particularly concerning body composition, aerobic fitness, and metabolic health.


In a study conducted by Boutcher et al. (2019), it was found that SIT had a positive effect on body composition and aerobic fitness of postmenopausal women. 


The 8-week SIT program involved participants engaging in 20-minute sessions of alternating 8-second sprints and 12 seconds of light pedaling thrice weekly. The study reported a significant increase in total lean mass, a reduction in fat mass, and an improvement in aerobic fitness in the SIT group. This suggests that SIT is effective in reversing menopause-related body composition changes.


On the other hand, a review by Skelly, Bailleul, and Gillen (2021) highlighted the physiological responses of women to low-volume interval training, including Sprint Interval Training (SIT). Despite limited research in women cohorts, the available evidence showed that SIT could improve cardiorespiratory fitness in women, similar to the improvements observed in men. 


In summary, the emerging body of research suggests that SIT holds promise as a time-efficient exercise strategy for women across various life stages. Future studies will strengthen the evidence base for physical activity recommendations, especially for women.



So, How do You Actually do SIT Training? 


Implementing SIT in your workout routine can bring about transformative changes in your fitness journey. 


As always, it is critical to consult with a qualified medical professional before starting SIT training, or any other exercise or diet program for that matter.  


However, following the proper form and techniques is also crucial to ensure maximum benefits while minimizing the risk of injuries. Here's:


 

A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Incorporate SIT in Your Routine:


  1. Warm-up: Before initiating the sprint interval training, warm up thoroughly with an easy exercise for 3-5 minutes. This exercise should ideally be the same activity you'll be performing for your sprints (i.e., walking/sprinting, biking/sprinting, rowing/sprinting, etc.).
  2. Perform Your First Sprint: Your first sprint should be at about 60% of your maximum intensity for anywhere from 20-30 seconds. If you encounter any muscle tightness or joint pain, reduce your pace and continue to warm up.
  3. Recovery Period: After your first sprint, recover for four minutes by slowing to a comfortable pace, but ensure to keep moving. Practice deep diagrammatic breathing and 1-3 cyclic sighing breaths to maximize your parasympathetic, including heart-rate recovery, which may be one of the master-keys to SIT and sSIT training effectiveness. 
  4. Perform Your Second Sprint: Elevate your performance for the next sprint to about 80% of your maximum intensity.
  5. Recovery Period: Recover for another four minutes with slower movement and breathwork, as mentioned above, balancing continued low-pace movement with maximal parasympathetic and heart rate recovery. 
  6. Execute Your Third Sprint (Note you can still derive important health benefits with only 2 sprint sessions if you're very busy or have a low level of "readiness" for exercise): Now, you're ready to perform the remainder of your sprints at 100% max intensity, or all-out efforts of 20-30 seconds. Push yourself to the maximum for each sprint (but again, get the ok from your family Doctor before starting this kind of exercise program).
  7. Recovery Period: After each sprint, take another four minutes to recover, allowing your breathing and heart rate to slow to the point where you can hold a conversation without gasping. It's a seriously good idea to use a top-rated heart rate monitor like the polar s10 chest strap to monitor your heart rate recovery to a near resting baseline and to keep track of your maximal heart rate during each short sprint-burst.
  8. Repeat the Sprint/Recovery Routine: Depending on your level and ability, repeat the sprint/recovery routine two or four to eight times. If you're a beginner, stop at two sprints initially and spend at least 5 minutes warming up and 10 minutes cooling down. Over time, you can gradually level up to 4-8 eight sprints, two times per week, with a 3-minute warm-up and 5-minute cool down when you need to save time.


Adhering to these steps ensures that your sprint interval training is effective, safe, and beneficial for your overall health and fitness. And of course, you could also save up to 10 hours per week at the gym, including travel time. This is especially true if you shift from resistance training with free weights to training with resistance bands cutting total weekly exercise down to as little as 1 hour per week! 


Listen to your body's signals and progress at the right pace. Regularly integrating SIT into your muscle-centric fitness regimen could be the game-changer you've been looking for on your path to sustainable weight loss and enhanced cardio-metabolic health. 



                                                                       References:


  1. Smith-Ryan, A. E., & Trexler, E. T. (2016). A Nutrition and Conditioning Intervention for Natural Bodybuilding Contest Preparation: Case Study. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 13, 20.
  2. MacInnis, M. J., & Gibala, M. J. (2017). Physiological adaptations to interval training and the role of exercise intensity. J Physiol, 595(9), 2915–2930.
  3. Sloth, M., Sloth, D., Overgaard, K., & Dalgas, U. (2013). Effects of sprint interval training on VO2max and aerobic exercise performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 23(6), e341–e352.
  4. Viana, R. B., Naves, J. P. A., Coswig, V. S., de Lira, C. A. B., Steele, J., Fisher, J. P., & Gentil, P. (2019). Is interval training the magic bullet for fat loss? A systematic review and meta-analysis comparing moderate-intensity continuous training with high-intensity interval training (HIIT). British Journal of Sports Medicine, 53(10), 655–664.
  5. Healthline. (n.d.). Sprint Interval Training: How to Burn Fat and Increase Speed. Retrieved June 6, 2023, from https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/sprint-interval-training-guide
  6. Boutcher, Y. N., Boutcher, S. H., Yoo, H. Y., & Meerkin, J. D. (2019). The effect of sprint interval training on body composition of postmenopausal women. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 51(7), 1413-1419.
  7. Skelly, L. E., Bailleul, C., & Gillen, J. B. (2021). Physiological responses to low-volume interval training in women. Sports Medicine - Open, 7(99).

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