INTERVAL TRAINING – BENEFITS OF….

INTERVAL TRAINING ARTICLE 

Have you ever wondered why you are not seeing results in the gym any longer and feel frustrated because you seem to spend hours in the gym – Are you finding it harder and harder to stay motivated with your training?

If so, this article will explain how you can begin to lose fat in a matter of weeks by spending no more than 20-30 minutes a day working out.

There is a lot of misinformation out there for women regarding fat loss. One such myth is that if we do low state aerobic exercise (staying within your comfortable limits) we will burn our extra body fat. I am sure we have all seen people in the gym on the cardio equipment spending hours working at the same pace, looking bored, or even reading a magazine article!!

Unfortunately this only makes our bodies efficient at storing fat. When we do low state cardio we do use fat as fuel, however our bodies then stay in fat storing mode, ultimately becoming a fat storing machine. The other major disadvantage is that this type of exercise burns off muscle too, thereby decreasing lean muscle mass and actually slows down your metabolism = NOT GOOD!!

It would therefore appear that we need to convince our bodies to break down fat rather than storing it, and we need to be aware that the amount of time your body stays in a fat burning state directly relates to the intensity of the exercise. Consequently the more intense your exercise is the longer you burn the fat, and the more fat you burn.

This works by a process called EPOC (Excess Post-Excess Oxygen Consumption).  Quick bursts of intense exercise utilises the muscles inbuilt energy source, and this has to be replaced. This process can take up to 48 hours. As a result the body makes use of the extra fat reserves, so long after you have completed your work out your body is burning your fat stores, which becomes more efficient as time goes on. This in turn increases your metabolism and as long as you include resistance training into your work-out, you will create more muscle = higher metabolism = increased fat burning effect.

I would suggest that instead of doing your chosen aerobic activity at the same pace for 30minutes or more, that you walk for 2 minutes then run as fast as you can for 30-60 seconds, then walk again – so you are alternating between high and low intensity. This works for whatever exercise you choose to do. If you are working to a high Intensity then you should only be able to go for 15-20 minutes. If you can go for longer, you probably need to be pushing yourself just a little bit harder!

So, I hope that this has given you a brief insight into Interval Training. Shortening your work-outs by adding INTENSITY will get you well on your way to achieving your fat loss goals.

Charlotte Wall is a cutting edge Personal Fitness Coach. She trains women of all ages, her eldest to date being a young 77 years old. She is a trained Kettlebell coach, is a qualified pre and post natal fitness coach and helps busy women reach their fitness goals in less time. www.purplefitness.co.uk

07545 284928