Training Methods 101

Making yourself endure a workout that you don’t enjoy is not the best approach for starting a long-lasting fitness routine. Not everyone is a runner or Body Attack class lover. Forcing yourself to hit the pavement or punch your way through a session will only lead to dread … dread for the next workout. Equally sticking to the same activity or exercise will only make working out a chore and minimise your progress.

We recommend trying different methods of training to find the one that suits you best. Who knows you might find a couple that mix up your routine and get you pumped for the next time.

Interval training

A series of high-intensity workouts interspersed with rest or relief periods. You can apply this to your running routine or resistance exercises. A basic example is 30 secs flat-out work, followed by 30 secs rest and recovery period.

Fartlek running

AKA speed play. If your ambition is to improve your speed and endurance, then Fartlek running might be worth a try.  Introduce short bursts of higher pace into your normal runs. Maintain the faster pace for a short distance (e.g. 200m) or timed intervals (e.g. 30 secs). Top tip, you can even use landmarks such as streetlights or telephone poles as visual goals. Once you complete a fast burst, slow your pace to below your normal pace until you have fully recovered, and your breathing has returned to normal.

Time under tension training (TUT)

TUT refers to the amount of time a muscle is held under tension or strained during an exercise set. Rather than focusing on doing a specific number of reps, you should calculate how long those reps take you and do them faster and for longer. The idea is that this forces your muscles to work harder and optimise muscular strength, endurance, and growth.

AMRAP

As Many Reps As Possible – With this method of training not only can you get a seriously intense workout complete in a short amount of time, you can track progress by beating your scores. However, this form of training relies on you pushing yourself to the limit during the workout period. AMRAP can help you to build muscle and improve your muscular endurance, cardiovascular health and conditioning.

If all of these training methods still sounds a little daunting to you then check out our blog Slowly, slowly smash those goals for more tips on how to make a long lasting fitness routine stick.