Interval Training: Fat-burning Miracle?

A commonly asked fitness question is, “What’s the best type of exercise for weight loss?” It’s a really good question but one that gets many incorrect (and sometimes even downright silly) answers depending on who is answering and more often than not, what they’re trying to sell.

For a long time it was believed that long distance, low intensity aerobic training was best – you can still find “fat burning” workouts on many cardio machines (treadmills, steppers or elliptical machines) and if you do this type of training you will maintain a slower speed for a long distance. Go to the gym and you’ll see most people walking fast or jogging slowly for twenty minutes to half an hour on the cardio machines.

More recently the concept of interval training has become more popular. Interval training is where you work hard for a short period of time (one to three minutes) and then slow down to recover (thirty seconds to a minute) then bump up the speed again. This type of cardio training achieves an increase in cardiovascular fitness (aerobic fitness) much more efficiently than long distance, low intensity training. There are many variations of interval training including using it as part of a strength circuit with weights.

A study was done in Italy in 2010 comparing three different ways of training to discover which one improved body weight, percentage of body fat and waistline measurements of a group of “overweight and middle aged” subjects with “large waistlines”. The three types of training were: endurance running at a slow pace for 30 to 40 minutes 3 days a week, a low intensity circuit for a total of 50 minutes 3 days a week and, finally, a high intensity circuit with variations of high and low intensity running then three sets of 20 repetitions of five weight training exercises for 50 minutes total exercise time 3 days a week.

The winner – as far as greatest reduction in body weight, percent fat mass and waistline – high intensity circuit training. The point being that higher intensity exercise is beneficial to both trained and untrained people. Also important is that weight training was a large part of the high intensity circuit and plays a large part in reducing fat and size when done in enough quantity.

Without a doubt strength training is key to reducing fat and increasing metabolism. Strength training can be anything from using free weights like dumbbells and barbells, using machines with cables and weighted rectangular plates to increase load and body weight exercises like pushups, chin-ups, lunges or squats.

A knowledgeable and experienced health and fitness specialist or personal trainer will be able to design an interval training program with the right degree of challenge and balance of strength and cardio work for your exact needs. We have over 25 years of successfully helping people achieve their health and fitness goals under our belt. You can tap into this wealth of knowledge and experience by visiting our Face Book page, Personal Training, for Daily Fit Tips. If you feel very adventurous, you could even sign up for our fortnightly newsletter or even Email Us.

Tracey Thatcher