Interval Training

I push my little girl in the stroller on our way to the park.  My son gets distracted with every few steps and I continually look behind me and call for him to catch up.  Sometimes I have to stop and wait.  Then, I'm calling him to slow down as I run to catch up.  And back and forth we go.  As I groan to myself about it and wonder when the irritation will ever end, I'm suddenly reminded of a couple articles I read recently about interval training.

Interval training involves pushing yourself as hard as you can for a short period of time followed by another short period of time "taking a break" by reducing the effort you put forth.  It's supposed to make work outs more effective.  Some sources say that doing intervals for 20 minutes is more effective than keeping a steady pace for an hour.  Most talk about it alludes to the fact that, in times past, humans had to hunt for their food which lent itself to bursts of energy followed by quietly and patiently waiting for another opportunity. 

Today, I have found a reason to be happy about my son's lack of focus.  I found something that I can gain from the natural design in children.  A child at natural play knows how to work out effectively and healthfully and, as I'm dragged along, I benefit too.  Hey, anything that works, right?

Now if I could just get him to read body language better.