Hills and Intervals: Training for Speed

There are two aspects of exercise I want to attempt to turn my readers onto. They are intervals and hills. Each of these is great for developing speed and increasing endurance. Intervals are periods of intense exercise interspersed with active recovery periods. You may do intervals running or biking to build better speed. It is my understanding that to run a fast mile you should do 200 meter intervals, sprinting 200 meters and then slowly jogging until you feel you could do another 200 meter sprint. You should also spend time running or cycling hills.

There are many ways in which you can use hills to best get yourself in shape. You could go on a moderately paced hike to the top of a mountain or go jogging and seek out a hilly route to follow. There are also a number of hill specific exercises you can do on hills including sprints, lunges and backwards running up hills. There is a video on youtube entirely devoted to hill training. If you would like to look it up you will be able to find it under Bloom to Fit.

There are two types of intervals you can do: aerobic and anaerobic. Aerobic intervals are longer but less intense than anaerobic intervals. The 200 meter sprint intervals I previously mentioned are anaerobic intervals. Anaerobic intervals are especially good for developing your top speed- or sprinting- for either cycling or running. Aerobic intervals last for about 10 minutes and are great for increasing your lung capacity. The goal with doing intervals is to slowly decrease your rest periods and this way increase your speed. It takes discipline and motivation to do interval training but it is essential for optimum performance.