One reason people stray from their fitness goals is boredom. Running at a steady pace on a treadmill or elliptical machine often turns into a dreaded workout.
I’m a fitness fanatic, but eventually noticed I was doing the same workouts over and over at the same pace. I began researching and reading about ways to spice up each routine. I needed to find ways to fit my workouts into my jam-packed schedule. I needed to really tone my body and improve the health of my heart. By incorporating interval training and variety into my routine, I was able to enjoy a more intense fat-burn session while having fun.
Interval training consists of a pattern of shorter bursts of high intensity activity, followed by less rigorous moves or enough rest for your heart rate to mellow. That way, your body works even harder to keep up with the changing actions and heart rate. This way you are burning more fat while doing your cardio. You will find this allows you to maintain or reduce your current body fat percentage and tone up.
Even with only 20 minutes to sweat it out, you can successfully complete an effective workout. That’s what I love most about it. According to the Mayo Clinic, both women and men will burn more calories with the more vigorous activity. You will sculpt muscle and improve your aerobic capacity. This type of training directly targets cardiovascular fitness.
Initially, I bought an interval timer from Gymboss that can be set to either beep or vibrate. This way I can complete a high intensity move until it beeps and move to a less intense activity until it beeps again. I continue with this pattern for about 20 minutes. I love it because I can focus on each move and simply wait for the beep so I can switch it up.
Another bonus about interval training is that it requires no set amount of space and it can be done without spending money on a gym membership. This makes it very convenient for those winter months when you are trying to cut back on spending.
Use interval training any way you want!
Choose one or more rigorous activities such as sprinting or using higher resistance on an elliptical, treadmill, or bike. You can even hop in a pool for a fast-paced swim, add dumbbells, or simply intensify a motion such as burpees or jumping rope. Alternate with a lower intensity activity such as jogging, push-ups, or reverse crunches (bringing your knees to your chest). Here are a couple workouts that work great for both men and women to have more fun and burn more fat.
Go-to Interval from Women’s Health Magazine:
- 3-5 minutes warmup (lower intensity, slower pace, prepare for more rigorous activity)
- 1 minute high intensity (faster pace, effort of 8.5 or 9 out of 10) with 1 minute low intensity in-between repeated 6- 8 times
—-OR—-
3 minutes with high intensity, 3 minutes low intensity repeated 3-4 times.
- 3-5 minutes cooldown (low intensity like warmup, but gradually slow heart rate rather than increase it)
Mountain Climber from Men’s Health Magazine:
- 3 – 5 minutes warmup
- 30 seconds high intensity-1 minute low intensity
- 45 seconds high intensity-1 minute low intensity
- 60 seconds high intensity-1 minute low intensity
- 90 seconds high intensity-1 minute low intensity
- 60 seconds high intensity-1 minute low intensity
- 45 seconds high intensity-1 minute low intensity
- 30 seconds high intensity
- 3 – 5 minutes cooldown
No matter which exercise/s you choose, stay focused and push through those tougher intervals! Add interval training in with your weekly workout routine and enjoy it’s many benefits and versatility. And please don’t forget to continue eating healthy, balanced meals and snacks, drinking plenty of water, getting enough sleep, expanding your support network, and dreaming BIG!
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1. Plan Your Goals When you have a schedule to go by, it’s so much easier to make the time to fit in your workouts.
