6 Reasons to Add Interval Training to Your Workout

Interval training is a great cardio routine to add to your workout if you’re trying to lose weight.  If you don’t know what interval training is, it’s actually the practice of rotating shorter periods of intense activity with longer periods of moderate activity.  For instance, if you’re if you’re walking, you could walk for 3 minutes and jog for 1 minute.  You would repeat this for your entire workout.  There are so many reasons to do interval training.  Here are 6 of the top reasons you may want to add it into your routine.  

1. Faster weight loss- Interval training burns a high amount of calories in a short workout.  This type of exercise also increases your metabolism, so it allows you to burn several calories even after you’ve finished your workout.  Obviously, the more calories you burn the more weight you’ll lose.  Adding in interval training into your workout routine can help you lose weight much faster. 

2. Improved cardiovascular fitness- Once you start doing interval workouts, you’ll notice a big improvement in your cardiovascular fitness.  After a while, you’ll be able to workout at higher intensity levels for longer periods of time.  Interval training improves your fitness level much faster than traditional cardio workouts.

3. Less muscle loss- With traditional cardio workouts, it’s difficult not to lose muscle while you’re working out.  Interval training will help you keep much more of your lean muscle while you burn the fat instead.  It’s very important to keep as much muscle as you can since muscle burns more calories than fat, so interval training is a great exercise to do.

4. Can fit into a busy schedule- Interval training workouts are usually very short, especially if they’re high impact.  Some interval workouts are as short as 20 minutes, compared to the hour you usually have to put in to a conventional workout like jogging.  This means that you can get a great workout in even when you’re busy.

5. Adds variety to your workout- When you workout at the same pace for an hour, it can get pretty boring.  With interval training, you’re constantly changing the intensity of your workouts.  This variety can help keep you from getting bored with your workout too soon, so you won’t dread working out.

6. Can work with your favorite cardio- Interval training works well with several different types of cardio exercises.  The only requirement is that the exercise has to have the ability to change intensities.  Running, spinning, walking, cycling are all great exercises to incorporate interval training.  You can even use machines like the elliptical machine or rowing machine to do your workouts.  All you have to do is pick your favorite and get started. 

As you can see, there are several reasons to try interval training.  Your heart will get stronger, your metabolism will increase, and you’ll lose weight faster than you ever thought possible.  There are a few different types of interval training that you can research.  You can choose the type that works with your fitness level and schedule.