“Aerobic exercise, coordination activities, and resistance training have all been found to benefit the brain. If you want a greater mood enhancer and a better brain booster from aerobic exercise, try interval training – 60-second bursts at go-for-broke intensity, such as running, followed by a few minutes of lower-intensity exertion, such as brisk walking.” (Amen Clinic ‘Brain Fog’ Article)
My walking routine is three miles in fourty minutes, five days/week, but it sounds like injecting fast pace running would be very beneficial. What would you recommend for a healthy balance to avoid ‘excessive exercise that produces free-radicals’.
I am 71 and would like to loose another 10 lbs.
Better Together
Exercise Interval Training
Updated on June 15, 2017 in
Brain Optimization
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Addendum: I am walking on an indoor track (8 laps per mile). Twenty four laps = 3 miles. I do 3 laps every five minutes. If I add running laps, what would be the optimum interval of walking to running? I suspect if I go all out for one minute that should be possible in one lap. Perhaps three walking laps + 1 running lap? That would be six running laps total. I hope I could keep up the pace!
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Yes! The idea is to work up to about 8 of these “bursts” in a 30 minute period. You could start with a warm up of 2 laps, then 1 lap of very brisk walking or jogging (like you are rushing to get somewhere on time), then a more moderate 2 laps, repeated for 30 minutes. You might start by doing 4 of these “bursts” in a 30 minute period, with 3 laps of moderate pace in between, and work your way up to 8, slowly decreasing the number of laps of moderate pace to 2 in between higher intensity bursts. And if a full lap feels too long to go during a “burst”, you might try 1/2 lap at high intensity to start and work your way up to a full lap, as a “burst” can be 30-60 seconds. -Coach Zoe
Question: I have been see more articles about how some exercises ‘just make you older’ — the exercise most frequently ‘fingered’ is Spinning. At 71, I don’t need to get any older! Healthy is my goal. I never enjoyed running! I started lifting weights at about 13 years older to get stronger, and I became very strong — I could military press 160 lbs. when I only weighted in at 135. I now weigh 150 & have a ponch I would like to loose — at least 10 lbs.
Yesterday, I started walking (briskly) for three laps, then started running as if death were one step behind me — faster than I can remember ever running! I was never a sprinter, but I almost outran my footing! I only made it 3/4 around the track before I ran out of steam and had to slow down to a jog for the balance of the lap, and walk three or four more laps before I had recovered enough energy & wind to sprint again — this time I only made it half a lap (800 meters) and decided to walk from there at a greatly reduced pace.
I ran a total of four sprints, and was unable to regain my usual ‘brisk’ walking pace of three laps in five minutes. I was feeling much older at this point!
Question: I have been seeing more articles about how some exercises ‘just make you old’ — the exercise most frequently ‘fingered’ is Spinning. At 71, I don’t need to get any older! Healthy is my goal. I never enjoyed running! I started lifting weights at about 13 years older to get stronger, and I became very strong — I could military press 160 lbs. when I only weighted in at 135. I now weigh 150 & have a ponch I would like to loose — at least 10 lbs — and I would not even consider pressing 100 lbs.!
Yesterday, I started walking (briskly) for three laps, then started running as if death were one step behind me — faster than I can remember ever running! I was never a sprinter, but I almost outran my footing! I only made it 3/4 around the track before I ran out of steam and had to slow down to a jog for the balance of the lap, and walk three or four more laps before I had recovered enough energy & wind to sprint again — this time I only made it half a lap (800 meters) and decided to walk from there at a greatly reduced pace.
I ran a total of four sprints, and was unable to regain my usual ‘brisk’ walking pace of three laps in five minutes. I was feeling much older at this point! Eight intervels in 24 laps (three miles) is not a goal that I find inspiring!
Question: D-Ribose. I have started taking it because it is reported that it helps hasten muscle recovery (reduces or eleminates muscle pain post workout). The question is this: Is D-Ribose a neuro-toxin like the common forms of sugar? Thank you.
Coach
Please check out the replies just above the D-Ribose quary. Thank you.
Coach
Yes, we certainly don’t want you to feel uninspired! I would suggest going down to the 30 second “burst” instead of one minute. And again, you want to work up to a greater number of bursts in the 30 minutes, not start with too high of an amount. Your optimal level may end up at 5 or 6 per session, not 8 at all. We are each individuals, and have to use our body’s (and mind’s) cues to what is healthy and sustainable for us.
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Hi! I thought I’d add an option to your walking routine. If you have access to a treadmill, you can accomplish the burst of energy by increasing the incline instead of increasing your speed. I use this approach because I have an artificial hip that I baby (I’m told it will last approximately 20 years before I will need to get it replaced, but I want to avoid the need to replace it. So, I “baby” it.) I keep my speed at 3.5 miles per hour, but increase the incline all the way up to 10. It’s challenging, but doesn’t produce the stress on joints that I’d get from increasing my pace from a walk to a run.
Thanks for the heads up Art. I use the local city operated fitness center in the winter, so I do have access to treadmills. However, the interval training that I learned about in an Amen Clinic article sent to me recently, advocated using multiple intervals of running (dead-out sprints — running as fast as you can) for a minute or more. Not something I would want to try on a motor driven treadmill — too easy to loose one’s footing and difficult to control the speed of the motor. I have seen the results and injuries of not being able to keep up with the moving belt — not pretty!
My experience is that I have trained to walk at a fast pace, but when I introduce even a short sprint interval, the lactic acid (?) burn the next day is debilitating for a week or more! It is certainly true that exercise is training, and that exercise conditioning is limited to that specific range of physical activity. There is a huge difference between walking and sprinting physiologically! At my age I have become very self-protective!
Coach
Cardio exercise of all kinds, especially with intervals, is absolutely worthwhile for brain and body health. Changing it up can keep you interested too! Enjoying our movement is the best way to keep it a permanent part of our lives. Do you do stairs, a stepper, stair climber, or something else? -Coach Zoe
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