Like interval training, rest-based workouts excel at producing fat loss and increasing aerobic capacity. However, rest-based training has one key advantage over interval training: psychologically, interval training is hard. One of the major deterrents to interval training is the strenuous nature of the activity. Many people would rather do paced workouts and suffer with poor results than do interval training and suffer through a grueling workout. The rest-based approach is just as demanding as interval training but has one important distinguishing quality: the exerciser is in full control of when they take a break and for how long. This small little detail is a huge psychological benefit to the exerciser.
If you are told to run all-out for 5 minutes or 10 seconds, you will be much more likely to push harder for 10 seconds. However, if we take it one step further and say “Push as hard as you can until you cannot push anymore, and then rest as long as you need to until you can do it again” we have just removed a huge psychological barrier to exercise. Time and lack of control in exercise are anxiety-producing. We would all like to know exactly how long we are going to be working and also be able to decide when we can rest because it guides us on how hard we will actually push. Whether we pace or truly push our physical capacity is dependant on time and control. Rest-based training puts complete control of work and rest intervals into the hands of the exerciser. This one small change drastically improves exercise adherence, intensity, and safety. It is like reverse psychology for exercisers.