Pokémon Go Interval Workout

If you want to be the best, like no one else, you need to get in shape. Pokémon Go already gets people to move more , but you might want to take things up a notch. This workout will help you improve your fitness while playing and can be easily adapted to your location.

For those unfamiliar with this concept, interval training is a workout in which you strain as hard as you can in short bursts , rest, and then repeat. For example, you run a little, then stop to catch your breath and run again. This kind of stop activity is perfect for playing with stops in Pokémon Go , and knowing what you can play during your workout can be a huge motivator. You will collect items on PokéStops (for example, eggs that only hatch when walking or running), hatch specified eggs with a huge number of steps that you take, wear out rival gyms so you can capture them, find wild Pokémon that can be caught , and pull up all at the same time.

Find a good training ground

You may have a preferred walking or running route near you, but you may need to tweak it slightly so that you can include nearby Pokémon Go hotspots. If you open the app, you can rotate the image on the home screen to see what’s nearby. PokéStops are blue floating squares that you can see in the distance, and they will be the main ingredient of your interval training route.

They are usually grouped together and each stop is a mix of businesses, monuments, landmarks, and other points of interest. If you don’t live somewhere where there are a lot of them, that’s okay. You can adapt this workout to a single poke-check zone, but the more in that zone, the better. Gyms – like Pokémon – are nice to include in your itinerary too, but if you’re not interested in battles or are not level enough yet, focus on PokéStops for now and get into gym battles later.

Choose your workout plan

The basic Pokémon Go interval training format looks like this:

1. Warm up 15 minutes. You can jog to a place with lots of PokéStop to warm up like me, or start a warm up on arrival if you had to ride to get there.
2. Look for items in PokéStop to get started.
3. Do your first brisk interval for your next PokéStop. If the next PokéStop is too close, move to the closest one that matches your scheduled intervals (more on this below). But don’t look at your phone or get distracted. In fact, turn on power saving mode in the settings menu and run the phone upside down in your hand to conserve battery power and not be distracted by Pidgeys.
4. Relax and search for items in PokéStop.
5. Make the next spacing.
6. Repeat until complete, followed by a quick 10 minute recovery.

My Recharge is a nice relaxing walk home dedicated to catching Pokémon as you don’t have to stop to catch Pokémon while sprinting (the whole point is to keep your heart rate up). Now that you know the basic setup, you can build your own interval workout using the same principles, or use one of these pre-packaged workouts I’ve put together.

Pokestop Trot

This is the easiest workout to set up and, if done correctly, can be one of the most effective. But I only recommend this workout for those who have at least three PokéStops nearby. Here’s what you do:

1. Warm up 15 minutes.
2. Rotate the PokéStop first.
3. Run to the second PokéStop for three minutes at 90-95% force to maximize your heart rate.
4. Spin on the second PokéStop.
5. Jog to the third pokéStop with 50% effort.
6. Spin on the third PokéStop. Rest until the PokéStop refreshes (about five minutes).
7. Rotate this PokéStop one more time and repeat the whole process two more times.

This is what I like to do the most because it offers a lot of time to relax and gives you the opportunity to take care of any household chores you need in your game, such as trading regular Pokémon for candy.

PokéPyramid

This workout is a little more difficult in terms of timing, but it makes it easier for you to complete intense tasks. It is also a great option if there are no PokéStops groups near you, because technically you only need one for this to work. It’s a simple cardio sprint pyramid covered in a fresh coat of Pokémon. Here’s what you do:

1. Warm up for 15 minutes by jogging.
2. Rotate the PokéStop first.
3. Sprint at 90–95% force for thirty seconds, then recover by running at 50% force for thirty seconds.
4. Sprint for one minute, then recover for one minute.
5. Sprint for two minutes, then recover for two minutes.
6. Spin on the next PokéStop or return to spin on the original.
7. Sprint for four minutes, then rest for four minutes.
8. Spin on the next PokéStop or return to start spinning on the original.
9. Sprint for two minutes, then recover for two minutes.
10. Sprint for one minute, then recover for one minute.
11. Run for thirty seconds, then recover for thirty seconds.
12. Spin on the last PokéStop and you’re done!

Again, don’t forget to finish your walk and search for wild Pokémon.

Wild fartlek caught!

This style of interval training is for the improviser or those with few pokestops and gyms. The idea is that all of your sprint intervals and cooldowns are determined by Pokémon Go’s built-in randomization feature.

For example, you start off with a run to warm up, and then as soon as you hit the PokéStop, the gym, or feel the buzzing of a wild Pokémon nearby, you stop and do your chores and then head off to sprint. You keep running until you run into the next PokéStop, gym, or wild Pokémon, and stop again to go about your business. Just keep repeating this until you get tired. It is very much like a fartlek when you are running, and gives new meaning to a funny-sounding word that means speed play in Swedish. Plus, the fartlek sounds like a Pokemon, so you can catch it.

Plan your route and track your progress

Once you’ve chosen a suitable area and know what type of interval training you want to do, it’s time to map out your route. You can do this in your head easily enough, or just use Google Maps, but it’s better to use apps like MapMyRun and Strava to nail things down. They can help you time your workout, tell you how far you’ve come, and provide altitude and safety information while you make your plans. They will also track everything you do so you can see your improvements over time.

Mix strength exercises

If you want to make the challenge more challenging, you can easily add strength training to your interval cardio workout. When you’re ready to increase the difficulty, follow these rules whenever you spin on PokéStop:

• If you’re only doing regular Pokeballs , do five squats.
• If you have a mix of different Poké Balls (Normal, Great, Ultra) , do 10 lunges.
• If you only have special Pokeballs (Excellent, Ultra) , do five jump squats.
• If you got a potion or revive , do 20 push-ups.
• If you’ve got a super potion , make 10 burpees.
• If you got a Razz Berry or other special item , make the 30 second bar.

You can decrease or increase the number of repetitions as you like. Don’t overdo it if things seem difficult, and take precautions if you plan on exercising in the hot sun. If you add these workouts to several of your Pokémon chasing adventures each week, you’ll see that your Pokémon aren’t the only ones that can evolve.

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