Greenbook: A Local Guide to Chesapeake Living -Issue 11 | Page 45

As a coach and trainer for area tri-athletes and competi- tive swimmers, I use interval training to maximize lung and muscle capacity. My workouts add fun, interest and challenge to exercises my clients might have already mastered. I practice what I preach by regularly adding interval training to my own workouts. As an elite level swimmer and MMA fighter, I rely on strength and endur- ance to carry me to the championship podium. Intervals are absolutely key to getting me there. INTERVAL 101 1 2 3 Choose a distance or a time. For example, a five- 4 Limit the rest time. Your rest shouldn’t be a time Find your baseline. If you run a 10-minute mile, make that a benchmark v. goal number. Use your interval workouts to improve that time or the number of miles you run. mile run, a 3000m swim, a twenty-mile bike ride or a one hour gym workout. Chop that distance or time into equal intervals of distance or time. Divide it however you prefer: if you want to swim a 200, you could give yourself a certain amount of time to swim that distance OR you swim one 100 and two 50s and that’s the full 200 meters. This methodology applies for any type of exercise or time on the clock. Have a question for Coach Joe or want to talk to him about how you can get to the next level? Send him an email or give him a call. He teaches swim lessons to young children and is a trainer for competitive swimmers, tri-athletes and MMA or Jiu Jitsu students of all ages. www.CoachJoePascale.com 703.887.6519 [email protected] to sit and relax. It’s a brief moment to catch your breath after major exertion. Perhaps you need 1 minute of a light jog after five minutes of fast-paced running. On the other hand, maybe you need to stop altogether after two minutes of battle rope jump squats. Another strategy is to force yourself into fewer and shorter rest periods as you build up your cardio capacity. For example, if you split a 10,000 yard swim into five equal intervals of 200m, give yourself 30 seconds of rest on the first interval, then 25 seconds, then 20 and so on. GREENBOOK | SUMMER 2017 45