How many times have you told yourself that you'd exercise and get fit, if only you had the time? If I had a dollar for time I've heard the I-don't-have-time excuse… New and exciting research is coming out in favor of shorter, more intense workouts. The old way of exercising at a slow speed, for long periods of time, is over and done. Short and intense exercise sessions that utilize High Intensity Interval Training get you better results with way less time invested. So there goes the time crunch excuse. You don't need to spend hours in the gym to get amazing results. A simple 30 minute workout, done right, is all you need.
So what does this magical 30 minute workout consist of?
As mentioned above, there's a little secret in the fitness world called High Intensity Interval Training. This means rather than doing the same cardio exercise your entire workout, you'd alternate between short, high-intensity bursts of exercise with slower, low-intensity periods of recovery.
The research makes it clear that this method of training burns more calories and builds fitness quicker with less time invested.
Not long ago, elite athletes were the only ones benefiting from this method of training, but now the cat is out of the bag, and everyone is open to reap the rewards of interval training. And you don't even need fancy equipment or special training to start seeing results with interval training.
So how long should your intervals be? The answer is, it doesn't really matter.
There are no real hard-and-fast rules with interval length. Varying lengths bring varying benefits, so it's important to find which length works best for you.
Beginners should aim for no more than 30 seconds of high-intensity bursts. If you're feeling strong and are in good shape, then go ahead and push yourself a bit longer.
An interval-training workout involves four variables that can be modified to meet your goals: intensity of intervals, duration of intervals, duration of recovery intervals, and the number of interval repetitions.
Interval training can be casual, spur of the moment bursts of activity depending on how you're feeling that day or if you're working towards a specific sports or fitness goal then you can take a more sophisticated, scientific approach.
The simplest example of interval training for walking would be to add short bursts of jogging or alternate slower walking with brisk walking. If you walk outdoors, then jog or walk faster between certain landmarks such as mailboxes or street signs, then slow down for a short distance. The more popular, and effective, form of interval training includes alternating between resistance training exercises and high intensity cardio exercises.
So it turns out that we all really do have enough time to get an effective workout each day…and that old excuse about not having time is no longer going to work.