Intervals and Contest Preparation

Interval training is well established as a time-efficient and very effective means of fat loss and this is also true for competitive bodybuilders and figure competitors. Steady state cardio, and lots of it, has been the Holy Grail of contest prep for years. However, there really is no good reason to have to resort to 10-14 hours or more of cardio per week to get in shape. So, can competitors use interval training in their contest prep? Yes, most definitely. However, they should do so while keeping certain things in mind.

One, a competitor of any significant size (ie. big male bodybuilders) should probably not be running, or running much. They should opt for non-impact cardio modalities like the stationary bike. Two, they need to keep in mind that interval training, similar to intense weight training, is a very CNS (Central Nervous System) intensive form of exercise. Short sprint intervals (~ 20s) are more CNS intensive than longer sprint intervals and as such you want to be mindful of how you balance that out with your lower body training. A few key points to consider:

1. Think of interval training as a lower-body workout and as such, be sure to be mindful of just how much lower-body training (volume) you’re doing. Too many interval workouts and too many lower-body workouts is a recipe for muscle and strength loss.
2. Put your interval-training workouts on your heavy lower body days. Why? So that your legs have more complete rest days per week. Doing them on your ‘Off’ or ‘Upper Body’ days gives your legs less recovery time and you run the risk of localized overtraining of your legs.
3. As your bodyfat approaches very lean levels recovery is at a premium. Consider less intensive forms of cardio – longer duration intervals (which by nature are less intense and therefore not as hard on the CNS), more steady state cardio, etc.