by Victor Roffel

Created on: October 31, 2009

Interval training is a great way to lose fat fast and increase anaerobic and aerobic fitness. Intervals are done in a fashion that alternate periods of high intensity exercise and low intensity exercise. Because the short bursts of high intensity work simulates many sports, it is widely used as a conditioning tool as well.

How interval training works

Anaerobic means work without the presence of oxygen. When performing the high intensity portion of intervals, the anaerobic system of the body is using glycogen stores in the muscles as energy. When performing the low intensity portion of intervals, the aerobic system is stressed instead. The body compensates the lack of oxygen in the high intensity phase and uses stored carbohydrates as energy.

Interval training also burns fat as a result of high intensity exercise. Lactic acid, a compound that helps in burning fat, is produced when performing high intensity exercise. In addition, interval training burns a large amount of calories and depletes the glycogen stores in the body. When there is no glycogen for the body to use, fat is more likely to be burned in place.

Exercises to use

There are many exercises that you can use when performing interval training. Some of these are: sprinting, cycling, skipping, plyometrics, and any other demanding exercise done for time.

The most common use of interval training is sprints. This is because most sports require the player to make short bursts of sprints. As such, this is the most popular and widely used method for fat loss. Although there are many other exercises to use in intervals, sprinting is by far one of the better exercises to use.

Demanding exercises such as squats, deadlifts and jumps can also be used in a timed fashion. Do as many repetitions as you can within the time limit and repeat. This will aid fat loss and give a conditioning effect as well.

How to do intervals

Intervals can be done with any time used as long as you alternate periods of high intensity exercise and low intensity exercise. That said, one of the most famous interval times used is 20 seconds high intensity and 10 second low intensity. This time frame has been made famous from tabata intervals.

Keep in mind that any time can be used to best suit your needs. A basketball player can sprint up and down the court and rest for 10-20 seconds before repeating the cycle. This is because a play must end within 24 seconds in basketball.

Interval training is an effective and efficient method for fat loss and conditioning. When in doubt on what to do for cardio, do intervals.

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