Cardio Interval Training

You all must have heard of various cardiovascular exercises, but cardio interval training is an exercise regime that most people are unaware of. Unlike the standard cardio workouts wherein, you perform exercises at the same pace, this workout involves exercises performed with alternate intensity levels, i.e., intense or high paced cardio exercises followed by low paced exercises.

It benefits by burning same amounts of fat as one would burn in any other workout, but in lesser time. Hence, the workout enables you to lose more weight just by switching the intensity of your workout. No matter whether you are running, walking, or swimming, these can be implemented in any workout, as you just have to alternate your pace at which you perform the exercises.

Cardio interval training workout starts with short but intense bursts of cardio exercises followed by a slow or medium paced exercise. This increases the body's metabolic rate and results in increased burning of fats. Basically, when you perform a cardio session at a same pace for a long period, your body gets accustomed to that speed, reaches a steady state and works hard to conserve calories.

Hence, the training works by providing interval or alternate training that keeps the body from achieving a steady state, which helps in burning more calories. The technique is highly beneficial for women, as unlike other exercises, that focus only on a specific area, this provides a full body workout. Hence, if you want to lose belly fat faster, this technique will not only help you shed those extra belly fats, but also tone your entire body.

The workout involves both, high intensity intervals and low intensity recovery periods, which help to burn more fat and build up endurance quickly. The intensity sessions comprise both, fast and slow workouts so that your heart and body function in different ways.

Though you can use this training on any cardio exercise like (running, cycling, jumping rope, etc.), as a beginner it is better to do the workout on any cardio machine like the treadmill or elliptical trainer. You can start at your usual pace for 3 - 5 minutes and then increase your, as well as the machine's intensity. Go as fast and hard as you can, for about a minute and then come back to your normal pace.

The interval training on the treadmill basically varies by its speed. Hence, start the workout with a small warm-up session of easy walking or jogging. You can keep the speed lower than normal for your warm-up session and then slightly increase your treadmill speed a little more than the warm-up speed. This will be the speed for your recovery sessions. Now, if your warm-up speed is 3.0 mph, your recovery speed should be somewhere around 4.0 mph.

To begin with, keep your speed at 4.5 mph for a minute or so and then come down to your recovery speed, i.e., 4.0 mph for another minute. For the next minute, your speed should be 5.0 mph and then again down to the recovery speed. Following this pattern, continue increasing your speed for each minute, while maintaining your recovery speed at 4.0 mph. Continue practicing for 15 - 20 minutes and rest completely before starting your next session.

As soon as you find yourself getting comfortable with the entire workout, increase the intensity by adding a few more minutes to it. Don't forget to do some basic warm-up exercises to loosen your muscles and to avoid any unexpected injury. Since this training offers more benefits in less time, try implementing it in your regular exercise regime and very soon, you will see and experience positive changes in your fitness level.