If you're stuck in a workout rut, intervals can be a new and interesting way to get motivated and in shape. You'll strengthen your heart, and future workouts will feel easier. Like any workout, it will help burn fat and calories, while also building endurance.
The premise of interval training is simple: vary between high and low intensities during your workout. During a session, you'll alternate between high-intensity (anaerobic) stages and longer, lower-intensity recovery periods. While in the anaerobic phase, your body will be working so hard that your heart rate will be elevated near 80-90% of your max heart rate (compared with typical aerobic exercise at 60-75%). In turn, your breathing rate will increase, but not enough to meet your body's demands for oxygen, causing a build up of lactic acid, which causes that muscle "burn." During the recovery phase, your muscles get more oxygen, your heart rate lowers, and the lactic acid is broken down. During a complete workout, you go through five to ten cycles of high and low intensity.
Try these interval workout ideas!
(Always remember to warm up for a few minutes before you start, and don't forget the cool down at the end.)
- Cycle or run at high intensity (determined by your fitness level and/or your heart rate monitor) for one minute. Follow this with three minutes of lighter cycling or running. Repeat this cycle ten times for a 40-minute workout.
- If you are walking outside, walk as fast as you can for one block, then an easier pace for two blocks.
- If you are on the elliptical machine, increase your speed and/or incline for the first minute of a song, and slow down on a flatter grade for the remainder of the song.
- If you are up for the challenge, utilize a one-to-one ratio, with three minutes at high intensity followed by three minutes at lower intensity.
