Rhythmic Interval Training Exercise

 

Rhythmic Interval Training Exercise (RITE) is an interval-based workout design incorporating rhythmic patterns for optimal cardio exercise. Based on the provided information, RITE is a type of interval training exercise system developed by Dr. Irving Dardik, former head of the U.S. Olympic Committee's Sports Medicine Council. It involves breaking up aerobic exercise into regular intervals of slower, more restful exercise, alternating with periods of more intense exercise. This approach aims to improve cardiovascular safety, particularly for individuals over 35.

The jogger leaves his house early one morning, ready to begin his daily run. The first 10 minutes or so are rough — he feels winded and in some pain — but he keeps going. Then he settles into his stride and continues his run for another 30 to 45 minutes. When he comes to obstacles, such as stoplights and traffic, he dutifully runs in place, so as not to let his heart rate come down from his aerobic high.

The model exerciser, right? Wrong, says Dr. Irving Dardik, chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee Council on Sports Medicine and creator of an Olympic training program called the Elite Project, which U.S. Olympic teams are lining up in droves to join.

Dr. Dardik studied the way people move, comparing and contrasting exercise practices with native peoples and the habits of animals in the wild. What he saw in nature were repeating cycles of exertion and recovery, leading him to the discovery of what he termed the “Heartwave”. When someone exercises, their heart rate climbs. When activity stops, it comes back down. This alternating cycle creates a wave. Inside that is the constant wave of the heart's beating – itself an alternating wave of exertion (systole) and recovery (diastole).

To mimic the rhythms of the heart, exercise in intervals of exertion and recovery. By doing this, you create heart rate variability – HRV. Simply stated, the greater your HRV, the better your overall health. The more limited your HRV, the greater your risk of chronic disease.

Dr. Dardik believes that the underlying cause of illness is a loss of connection with the basic rhythms of life. With repeated success he has shown that interval exercise can reverse many disorders by balancing disrupted wave patterns.

His research continues to produce results and compelling evidence. Findings demonstrate that the key to exercise is NOT length or endurance. It's intensity. The more intense the exertion, the lower the incidence of heart disease. Benefits include increased lung volume, lower blood pressure, better HRV, improved immune function, lower stress and anxiety, and a greater sense of energy and well being.

from All About the Prostate by Dr. Ben Ong, pp. 39-40

What’s wrong with this jogger’s approach? Dardik says the runner is subscribing to the outmoded philosophy that no pain means no gain. He’s leaving himself open and vulnerable to injuries, and he’s just plain not exercising as efficiently as he could be.

Instead of long, continuous exercise sessions, the jogger should be breaking up his aerobic routine with regular intervals of slower, more restful exercise, an exercise system Dardik calls Rhythmic Interval Training Exercise, or RITE. It’s just not necessary to stay at a peak heart rate for long periods of time to obtain cardiovascular benefits, Dardik says.

Dardik works with an elite team of athletic scientists and has the latest in sports medicine research to back him up. More than that — he has successful Olympic teams to attest to his theories. Of the original five teams that trained under the Elite Project, which uses RITE, the U.S. National Women’s Volleyball Team is enjoying first-place ratings. It used to be ranked last in world standings.

Thirteen Olympic teams are enrolled in the Elite Project, and 24 other sports are on the waiting list. Not only is the project revolutionizing the way athletes train, it’s also promoting a total approach to excellence in performance that includes nutritional counseling and emphasis on mind-body techniques such as relaxation, visualization and simulation.

What’s in this for the everyday exerciser? A lot, says Dardik and Denis Waitley, another Olympic trainer on the Elite Project, who have written a book called Quantum Fitness: Breakthrough to Excellence. The book translates some of the Elite Project training methods into tips the recreational athlete can use.

RITE can be applied to practically any kind of aerobic exercise program, as well as a weight training program.

Aerobic exercise is any exercise that gets your heart and lungs working really hard, making the heartbeat rise to at least 85% of the maximum. Maximum heartbeat goes down as we age. In the case of a 65 year old, 85% of Maximum is about 135 beats a minute or roughly double the resting heart rate. To do that, exercise has to make you breathe hard and sweat, otherwise you are not getting the benefit.

Ideally, aerobic exercise has to be in pulse sessions of between one to three minutes. Go all out at your maximum, then quickly slow down (don't stop) to recover. Then repeat.

In other words, alternate 3-4 minutes of gentle exercise with 1-3 minutes of all out effort, avoiding strain or damage. Build up as you gain strength. The way to increase your benefit of interval exercise once you start getting fitter is the opposite of conventional training.

You increase the level of effort but reduce the period of hard exercise. The overall time allocated for this activity of 20-30 minutes remains constant. So you progress towards ONLY 1 minute of intense effort, and the amount of time needed to recover should also be reduced. As a consequence you end up performing more of these cycles within your allocated time.

For the performance athlete, findings demonstrate: improved cardio-respiratory function; increased maximal oxygen consumption, maximal cardiac output (amount of blood pumped every minute) and amount of blood pumped with every beat; increased blood volume and ability of blood to carry oxygen, increased blood supply to muscles and ability to use oxygen; lowered heart rate and blood pressure at any level of exercise; increased HDL cholesterol; reduced body fat.

from All About the Prostate by Dr. Ben Ong, pp. 40-41

What’s wrong with long, slow, continuous aerobic exercise that keeps your heart in its target-heart-rate zone? Nothing, when it comes to aerobic benefits. But there’s an easier way to get those benefits while exercising, Dardik says. You’ll feel better while doing it, and it’ll protect you from aches and injuries.

At the heart of this newer way to exercise is close monitoring of heart rate. For this, you’ll need to buy a heart-rate monitor, one of the few sports-equipment purchases Dardik thinks is a worthwhile investment. After all, making sure your heart doesn’t overdo it is critical to any exercise program, especially if you’re older than 35. The more objective, accurate information you have about heart rate, Dardik says, the better off you’ll be in terms of cardiovascular safety.

The RITE system is based on the old technique of interval training, in which exercise and rest are alternated to allow the body to recover between exertions.

Dardik says researchers have shown conclusively that long-term physiological adaptation to exercise stress occurs during recovery. Rest periods between exercises will help you to perform better and prevent overload and injury.

Under the old system of intervals, you’d do, for example, eight 400-meter sprints, with two minutes of rest after each. The distance and time of intervals usually were dictated by a coach, a training guide or a book. Under the RITE system, your heart rate will tell you when to quicken and when to slow the pace.

Using running as an example, you start out running easily until your pulse reaches 125. Then you walk until you reach a standard baseline pulse of 120. You resume running until your heart rate reaches 130, then slow until it’s back to 120. Each time you begin to run again, you bring your pulse up an additional five points (up to 135, back to 120, up to 140, back to 120) until you reach your target heart rate.

Once you’re at your target heart rate, walk until it’s back down again to 120, then bring it back up to your target rate. Continue to perform this rhythmic sequence until your workout is over.

When should you quit exercising? Again, your pulse can give you a clue: When your pulse accelerates much more rapidly than usual from 120 to your target heart rate, your body is telling you it may be time to quit. Other signs are fatigue or loss of coordination.

To cool down again, you simply reverse the process. Walk down to 120, then run back up to five points below your target heart rate. Then back to 120, and up to 10 points below your target heart rate. Then back to 120, and up to 10 points below your target heart rate. Follow that sequence until your pulse is a steady 120 beats per minute, then continue to walk.

You can use RITE for almost any form of aerobic endurance exercise, from cross-country skiing to exercise-bike workouts. Swimming would be tough, however, because pulse monitors aren’t rigged for underwater use.

What all this adds up to is developing a heightened sensitivity toward your body and heart and what you do to them. If that’s a decidedly un-macho approach to exercise, so be it. You’ll still be healthy and exercising after your “pain and punishment” counterparts have long since given it up to nurse their overuse injuries.

originally published at sun-sentinel.com on February 12, 1985