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Get fit and incinerate fat through interval training

By David Rafferty

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Published: 25Jan2008
Word count: 448
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Unless you are an athlete or fitness buff, when you think of losing body fat, you think jogging, swimming, cycling, or a similar activity. These activities provide wonderful benefits. But, when it comes to shedding body fat, experts agree interval training is more effective. Here are the results of several studies:

Research shows that interval training, long used by athletes to improve performance, also leads to improvements in cardiovascular fitness when compared to exercise done at a continuous pace. The study also shows it leads to a higher rate of fat loss. Up to as much as 35 percent for cyclist.

Research at the University of Guelph, Ontario Canada reveals that this form of exercise also enhances cardiovascular health and helps the body burn more fat. They found this to be true even during low or moderate intensity exercises.

A study by sports scientist at the University of Copenhagen, concluded that an hour of playing soccer provides greater benefits than an hour of jogging. The scientist followed several groups of untrained men ages 20 to 40. One group played soccer for an hour several times a week, another group jogged whiles the third group did not train. Results showed "soccer players had lost 7.7 lbs. of fat and gained more than 4.4 lbs. muscle, whereas the joggers had lost 4.4 lbs. of fat and showed no gains in muscle.

Okay, enough about the research. Interval training is just a great way to avoid boredom, repetitive motion injuries while burning a lot of fat.

Adding interval training to your workouts is also simple. For example, if you walk, increase your speed for 2 to 5 minutes followed by 2 to 5 minutes at a moderate pace. The same principles can apply to using equipment such as exercise bikes and elliptical trainers.

Strength training exercises can be sequenced so that the first set is a large muscle followed by an exercise of smaller muscle etc. Use a moderate weight that allows 15 - 30 repetitions of each exercise.

When you first start interval training, you should determine intensity levels by monitoring your heart rate. Your heart rate at the lower intensity levels should range 50 - 60% of your maximum target heart rate. Maximum target heart rate can be estimated by subtracting your age from 220. For example, a 40 year person would have a target heart rate of (220 - 40) = 180. At the higher intensity level your target heart rate should reach about 85%.

Be sure to drink plenty of water before during and after your workout. Staying properly hydrated will help optimize metabolism, avoid injury and speed recovery. Consult with a physician if you are just starting and exercise program.

David Rafferty owns and operates http://homeworkoutsexpress.com a supplier of home fitness and exercise equipment and related information.

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