Steady State Training Vs. Interval Training
To some people, cardio is cardio, and training is training.
To everyone else on the internet, you’ll see people divided on whether interval training is better than steady state and vice versa.
The truth is usually somewhere in the middle, which is true in this case.
In this article, I’m going to teach you:
The physiological effects of interval training:
- The physiological effects of steady state
- When it makes sense to use each one
But first, let’s get the definitions out of the way.
Definitions
Both interval training and steady-state are forms of cardio but performed differently. With interval training, you “go” hard. Typically, the “hard” part is 15 seconds to 2 minutes, followed by an “easy” recovery period of anywhere from 30 seconds to 3 minutes or more.
With a steady state, you maintain a more or less consistent speed for at least 15 minutes or longer.
The mode of activity is irrelevant. You can run, cycle, row, swim, etc.
