Interval training is the insertion of bursts of intense activity within a moderately paced workout.

For example, a jogger that breaks into a full-out sprint for 2-5 minutes, then slows back down to a jog for several minutes, then sprints again, and so on, doing this several times throughout the workout.

The purpose of interval training is to build strength, stamina and endurance more quickly than you would by performing a moderate paced workout alone.

Even if you aren’t able to sustain intense levels of activity for extended periods of time, performing them for just a few minutes at a time followed by periods of recovery at a slower pace allows you to gradually build up endurance.

Interval training can be combined with virtually any kind of aerobic exercise, making it very versatile. However, there are a few key things to keep in mind:
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Let’s face it, no matter how much dieting you do, your weight loss results will be limited without exercise. Regular exercise helps you build lean muscle mass and raise your metabolism so you burn more calories and fat than you would just by dieting.

Which workouts can help you burn the most calories?

There are a number of key exercises that help with calorie burning, the most important being cardiovascular workouts. This exercises the whole body and is great for a fat and muscle workout, which will help you burn off more calories.

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I popped Crunch – Cardio Dance Blast into my DVD player this morning because my bike ride was derailed by rain. To be honest, I’ve got two left feet, so I was a bit hesitant to try this DVD. Would I get my heart rate up? Would I be able to keep up? Would I want to quit because the instructor was annoying?

The answers: Yes! Mostly yes! And, OMG, I love Marie Forleo!

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Are you looking to begin running but don’t know where to start? Here are seven tips to help you choose a running training program that will help you meet your fitness or weight loss goals and avoid injury.

Tip #1 Why are you running? Are you running for better cardiovascular health? Are you running to lose weight? Are you competitive and looking to enter a race? Your reasons for running will help you determine how to begin a running training program.

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A cardiovascular (cardio) routine is regular exercise that gets your heart pumping. It helps you lose unwanted body fat, gives you a higher energy level and helps you lose weight. But, unfortunately, like all exercise, you actually have to do the exercise to gain the benefit from it.

Exercise doesn’t have to be on your short list of favorite things to do for you to be able to enjoy it and lose weight at the same time. Follow these 10 tips to help motivate you to move your body!

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Ask The Fitness Coach
Are you looking for an answer to your fat loss and fitness questions? Have you hit a plateau? Are you having a hard time getting off the couch? Whether you’re a beginner looking for tips to get started or a more advanced fitness enthusiast needing strategies and motivation, ask FitWatch’s expert fitness coach, John Sifferman. With his monthly Q&A column, he’ll help you lose fat and build muscle with his health-first, real world expert advice.

-Heidi from Logan, UT

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With all the T.V. shows, computer programs, and video games available now, it’s hard to get kids up and moving anymore. That’s one big reason why childhood obesity is becoming more and more prevalent. Getting your child in shape doesn’t have to be a fight; you just have to find activities they enjoy that are good for them as well. Here are some great workouts that will entertain your kids at the same time.

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By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

One of the biggest myths in fitness is that you have to maintain a certain heart rate in order to lose fat. But that’s just not true. Unfortunately, this myth has led to a whole lot of low-intensity training and therefore, a whole lot of failed programs.

The quicker you lose the “high heart rate equals the best workout” mentality, the quicker you will start to change your body.

In the Turbulence Training workouts, you are going to burn more fat and more calories when you are OUT of the gym because of the high-intensity training methods that you will use. Not because your heart rate increases during the workout (even though your HR will be up there from the supersets and intervals).

In the last 10 years, research has shown us two very important things about exercising for fat loss. First, lifting heavier weights leads to burning more calories after the workout when compared to lifting light weights. So that’s why 8 repetitions per set is better than 12 reps per set. And that’s one of the foundations of Turbulence Training.

And the second thing we have learned is that interval training is superior to slow, steady cardio for fat loss and post-exercise calorie burning. So it is more effective and more efficient to use short high-intensity interval training workouts instead of slow, long cardio sessions.

The only time you might need to know your heart rate is during the recovery period of the interval training. It’s important to take enough time between intervals so that your heart rate drops significantly (let it drop to less than 60% of your maximum heart rate).

That way you get more work done when it counts. You don’t want to start your next high-intensity interval too soon, nor do you want to exercise too hard during your recovery interval.

All of these details are provided in the interval guidelines in the Turbulence Training e-book. And I’ll show you how to properly structure your intervals so that you have enough recovery between each. That way, you don’t have to worry about monitoring your heart rate or anything fancy. Just follow my instructions.

So the bottom line:

Don’t worry about your heart rate during exercise (unless you just like to keep track for interest sake). Instead, make sure that you are working at a high-intensity during each lifting and interval session.

The TT workout guidelines will give you all the details you need on the specific rest periods to use between supersets and intervals.

There is a better way to train.

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Here is the Myth:

You have to do cardio after lifting for fat loss because your glycogen is low from the lifting, and that way you will burn more fat.

And now, the Truth:

First off, this quote, “glycogen is low right after lifting” isn’t always true. If you just did an upper body workout, your legs are still full of glycogen.

Glycogen is the stored form of carbohydrates in our body (found in the muscles and liver). It is one source of energy when you are doing strength training, interval training, and aerobic training. Your glycogen levels go down after exercise, but increase after you eat carbohydrates.

It’s incorrectly believed by many that strength training will use up all of your glycogen and then you will only have fat to burn during slow, steady, monotonous (& useless?) cardio. Well, there are a lot of problems with that assumption as well.

First, you’d have to exercise for at least 90 minutes at a slow, steady pace to fully deplete your muscle glycogen. And even an advanced, higher-volume strength training workout will only deplete your muscle glycogen by about 50-70% (and that is only if you perform multiple exercises and sets for one muscle group).

Second, muscle glycogen only goes down in the muscles that are worked. Therefore, if you only do upper body exercises, your leg muscles will remain nearly full of glycogen.

Third, you require glycogen in order to perform a hard interval or cardio training session. If you truly were glycogen depleted, your workouts would suffer.

The bottom line is that you are better off performing strength training and interval training to lose fat, and not worrying about being glycogen depleted.

Don’t get suckered into thinking that you have to worry about scientific details. Unless you are a trainer, you have better things to occupy your mind, I’m sure. Just stick with an efficient, effective workout that gets you in and out of the gym in less than an hour.

No need to stick around longer than that. Do your weights and then your intervals. Or feel free to do your intervals on your off-day. It’s consistency, not timing, that matters.

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

I have 3 BIG, and I mean BIG fat loss, body changing lessons to share with you today…

First…

No one believes you can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. I say, it’s true. Not only do my Turbulence Training workouts prove it, but now science agrees.

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