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 much less 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, swimming, etc., these can be implemented in any workout as you just have to alternate your pace of workout.

Benefits

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 metabolic rate and results in more fat burning. Basically when you perform a cardio session at a same pace for a long period of time, 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 which focus on only one specific area, thisprovides a full body workout. Hence if you want to lose belly fat fast, this technique will not only help you to shed those extra belly fat but will also tone your entire body.

Workout

Cardio interval training 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 again come back to your normal pace.

Workout on Treadmill
The interval training on 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 more than your 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 start 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 cardio interval training offer more benefits in less duration of time, try implementing it in your regular exercise regime and very soon you will see and feel positive changes in you.