The current wellness buzz is all about reducing body fat for improved cardio vascular health, fitness, and longevity.  It’s easy to spend time and effort working out, trying to achieve results, yet seeing minimal improvement.  One reason for this outcome is the tendency for the body to adapt to a repetitive approach to exercise intensity. 

 Recent research suggests that those who incorporate varied intensities in their workout programs lose more body fat than those who work out at a steady pace for the same amount of time.  This concept, called interval training, can be applied to most cardio workouts.  The trick is to introduce the variation of intensity in intervals, beginning with small segments.  The following approaches allow for increasing improvement without causing undue fatigue or discomfort.  When using exercise equipment, vary the speed, intensity of resistance, or both.  When walking or running, vary the speed, terrain or both.

Interval Training #1:  Warm up for 5 minutes before beginning the intervals. Give a full-out effort for 10 seconds, then minimal effort for 10 seconds.  Repeat. Start with 5 minutes of interval training as part of your whole workout and work up slowly to 20 minutes of intervals.

Interval Training #2:  Warm up for 5 minutes.  Start the intervals with 1 minute of easy exertion.  Increase intensity to moderate exertion during the second minute.  Move into hard exertion during the third minute and very hard exertion during the forth minute.  Drop down to minimal exertion/recovery in the fifth minute. As your fitness level improves, weave more segments of intervals throughout your entire workout.

Interval training might sound like so much torture. The key is to begin on a small scale that is right for your current level of fitness. As fitness improves, you’ll find yourself in “the zone” – the mental state where endorphins kick in to make the experience much more pleasant.

Interval workouts are especially effective at increasing the metabolic rate. The “afterburn” is caused by the release of hormones that help break down fat stores. The switch from low-intensity to high intensity and back again will burn more calories overall than if you exercised at the same pace for the entire workout.

As with all physical activity, it’s important to make sure you are cleared by your doctor to exert yourself.  With the short bursts of high-intensity exercise, it’s doubly important to cover your bases before upping the effort.  There is a big difference between high intensity exertion and dangerous pain. Be your own body guard and monitor your body’s response to this new physical approach. The pay-off will be improved fitness without increasing the time you spend working out.

- Pam Brooks

ADVERTISEMENT