Interval Training - calories burned?

terence

Can anyone give some guidance on how many calories are burned during interval training on a stationary bike?

I'm sure it depends on many variables, however a comparative measure against other stationary bike exercise would be suffiicient. For example, take a simple interval program of 30 seconds fast and 30 seconds recovery over 10 minutes. Would that be equivalent to, say, 20 minutes of stationary cycling at moderate effort ... 30 minutes?

MTGirl

I would put in the exercise journal the 5 minutes at a vigorous level then 5 minutes at light - for the example you used. I would pick a level under the bicycling for each of the components and add up the total time for that exertion level. That is the only way I know to do it - maybe someone else has a different idea! When I was doing the couch to 5k that is how I put in the walking/jogging. Good luck!

terence

I've seen various figures discussed (including in Prevention. Some suggest that 10 minutes of interval training is worth 30 minutes of regular work (whatever that is) and others say it's worth 20 minutes. I'm hoping someone can clarify so I can track my progress.

NWCountryGal

what I can't figure out is they say(well, Dr. Al Sears says)that you will burn more fat calories in a 20 minute interval style training than running for 5 miles at the same speed. I mean I am not quoting him but he does says something very close to that. Anyone understand how to figure out your calories burned for that whole 24 hours after the 20 minutes interval??

Hope I don't sound too stupid but if the shoe fits:laugh:

Azdak

If you are riding a commercial exercise bike from a manufacturer such as Precor, Life Fitness, StarTrac, Technogym , and you input your weight at the begining of the workout, then the calorie readout from the machine should be as accurate as any other measurement. Or, if you are wearing an HRM, then you can use that number.

In terms of getting a number to log in, that's about the best you can do. Whatever extra post-exercise calorie burn that might come from an interval or HIIT type workout--similar to a high intensity strength training session--is not something that can be easily measured. There are just too many individual variables to determine an "equation" that would work for everyone.

You basically need to gauge your long-term progress based on the results you see.