Interval Training: The Fastest Way to Slimming Down

Intervals are the most results making exercise that I've ever found for boosting your metabolism, helping you burn inches off your body, and giving you a tight, lean, robust shape.

Here’s an excerpt from my latest article in Men’s Fitness showing you the simple way to use intervals for fat loss (Men’s Fitness, Page 114, April 2005).

Interval training is the fitness world’s equivalent of a visit to the in-laws. The shorter and more forceful the visit, the better.

An interval is a short period of exercise performed at a specified strength for a specific length of time. Each interval is separated from the next interval by a short rest or lighter activity. There are no strict rules on how long or how intense the interval must be nonetheless , changing the interval length or magnitude changes the way your body works and responds to exercise.

Never sacrifice the standard of rest between intervals because this may only scale back the benefits. To achieve success with intervals, you have to 1st shake the perspective of traditional continual cardio coaching.

No matter where you start with intervals, heed this caution. The high-intensity nature of the exercise may cause muscle soreness you’d associate only with weights, and may cause your legs to feel a bit like j-e-l-l-o.

What most folks do not know is that intervals are the best cardio strategy for fat loss. Most men in the gymnasium are hung up on doing too much work, but shorter, more heightened intervals get the task finished better.

Intervals continue to burn calories and fat after the training programme, and that's something you won't get from slower, longer sessions of cardio. When Canadian researchers compared interval coaching and long, slow cardio training, it was interval training that was demonstrated to be better for fat loss.

Use this workout 3-5 times per week to blast fat.

Begin with this amateur protocol:

Warm-up for 5-minutes.

Work for 30 seconds at an 8/10 level of intensity.

Follow that with “active rest” for 90 seconds at a 3/10 level of power.

Repeat for 3-8 intervals.

Finish with 15 minutes of conventional cardio for “transition” and cool-down.

As you become used to intervals, progress to the experienced protocol:

Warm-up for 5-10 minutes.

Work at a 9/10 level of intensity for 30 seconds.

Follow that with “active rest” for 60 seconds at a 3/10 level of power.

Repeat for 4-10 intervals.

Finish with 5 minutes of low strength exercise for a cool-down.

Try these great interval training workouts and bodyweight exercises here.