Workouts that burn fat and tone muscle

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Interval training may motivate people who claim they have a lack of time which always seems to result in a lack of results with their workouts.  This challenge is one of the biggest reasons why they don’t exercise.

A value added fitness training program called “interval training” involves short bursts of heart-pumping, intense activity followed by longer periods of less intense work.  The easier interval is described as the “active recovery” period.  This provides your heart with a rest, but you are still working muscles.

What are the benefits of interval training for me?

Interval training helps to provide variety to mundane workout routines. Benefits include burning more calories.   It stands to reason that the more vigorously you exercise, the more calories you’ll burn.  Improving aerobic capacity. When your cardiovascular fitness improves, you’ll be able to exercise longer or with more intensity. You may now be able to finish your typical 60-minute walk in 45 minutes.  Spice up your workouts. Turning up your intensity in short intervals can add variety to your belly fat exercises.  No need for special equipment, so you can simplify your current routine.

When starting out, interval training for beginners, 15 minutes can feel longer than a year.  It may not be possible to go for 30+ minutes for the first few weeks.  That’s okay, listen to your body and don’t get hurt.  However, to recognize any results, you will have to work hard (at least a 7 or 8 on a scale of 10 in terms of intensity).  Following is a great beginner’s interval training workout:

Quick running for 20-30 seconds followed by brisk walking for 3 minutes for a total 30 minute workout.  To make it simple, I like to run for one block, then jog or walk for the next 2-3 blocks.  I continue this work out for at least 30 minutes.

A slightly more advanced fat loss workout is:

Spend 5 minutes warming up by jogging. Do some stretching before you go into the intervals, however I recommend stretching after the warm up because stretching cold muscles can pull them.

After your warm up, start your first set of intervals. These consist of running full pace for 30 seconds and then jogging for recovery for 90 seconds. Repeat this at least 6 times. Be careful that in your first few sprints that you don’t go all out. This is because your body is still getting used to this type fitness workout and it’s essentially still warming up. I recommend using the first few reps as warm up sprints. Trust me, you will feel when your body is ready to go all out, and when it is, that’s when you should go for it.

When you are done with all six repetitions and intervals, cool down and stretch for another 5 minutes.

As the first few weeks pass, your allowed recovery time comes down in 30 second increments. When the repetition time and the interval time are both 30 seconds, then the number of sets increase per week until you are doing 15 repetitions per workout.

Another popular fitness workout, similar to the beginner’s interval training workout, is called “walk-back sprinting.”  Sprint a short distance (anywhere from 100 to 200 meters), then change direction and walk back to the starting point.  This walk will be your recovery period.  Next, turn around and do it again. To add challenge to this workout, change each of the sprints to start at a predetermined time interval.  For example complete a 200 meter sprint, walk back, but sprint again after 2 minutes. The time interval provides just enough recovery.

Other examples of interval training include: This same technique can be used with biking (stationary or moving), swimming (combine front crawl with a resting side stroke), treadmill, stair climbers or elliptical machines.

Turbulence Training was created by Craig Ballantyne, a personal trainer and guest writer on this blog. His program is ideal for those pressed for time.

Craig shows how interval training routines can be compressed into only 3 sessions per week. He also has a comprehensive beginners routine for those new to Interval Training. Turbulence Training formula is to maximize fat loss by getting the body to adapt to the intense exercise.  Click here to find out more about Turbulence Training.

Personal note: I have been using Craig’s routine and I really like it.  It has a comprehensive guide to beginner routines.  What the program lacks in nutritional info, it makes up with detailed fat loss workouts and tracking worksheets. You can try the original turbulence training workout for free by clicking here.

RISKS: This type of interval training isn’t appropriate for everyone. If you have a chronic health condition or haven’t been exercising regularly, consult your doctor before trying any type of interval training.  Also keep the risk of overuse injury in mind. If you rush into a strenuous workout before your body is ready, you may hurt your muscles, tendons or bones. Instead, start slowly. Try just one or two higher intensity intervals during each workout at first. If you think you’re overdoing it, slow down. As your stamina improves, challenge yourself to vary the pace. You may be surprised by the results.

CAUTION: Ensure you get your doctor’s OK if you have heart disease, high blood pressure or are over 55 and haven’t been exercising regularly.

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