Many people expect that a low calorie diet, coupled with 30 minutes of biking or jogging each day will help reduce the amount of fat around their belly. Sadly, that is often not the case. Workouts involving sustained cardiovascular activity, while beneficial as a form of overall health training, often fail to reach the stubborn, visceral belly fat which is so difficult to burn. If you want to get rid of belly fat, and dieting and your current workout routine are not producing the fat-burning results you desire, perhaps it’s time to look at changing things up a bit.
Because belly fat tends to lie deeper within the body, many standard workout routines are ineffective as a means to get rid of it. To combat this problem, more and more fitness experts are beginning to recognize the benefits of interval training.
Interval training is a method or branch of cardiovascular training involving bursts of high intensity activity, followed by short intervals of either low activity or complete rest. This method can be applied to any type of cardiovascular activity. Running, cycling and rowing are some of the most common activities in which intervals are used.
In short, interval training involves brief stints of near maximum exertion in a given exercise, followed by periods of lower intensity work. On a treadmill, for example, participants using interval training may run at higher speeds for one minute, followed by a minute of walking or light jogging. This combination would then be repeated several times over the course of the workout. Using the treadmill as an example, a standard interval training session would look something like this:
- 3-5 Minute warm up: Participants begin slowly and gradually increase workout to moderate speed with moderate exertion.
- 1 minute of high intensity running, followed by 1 minute of walking. (Repeat 6-8 times)
- 3-5 minute cool down: Participants gradually decrease workout speed until activity has concluded.
Sprinters and other athletes have been using interval training for years as a way to bolster peak performance and increase aerobic capacity, but lately the technique has caught the attention of fitness experts as a way to burn more calories and get rid of fat, especially the deeper, visceral fat around the belly. In several studies, experts have shown that interval training within an activity is more effective at burning fat than a sustained, moderate pace for longer durations.
If your current workout routine is coming up short, and your goal to get rid of unsightly and harmful belly fat is not being met, interval training may offer the solution you have been looking for.
Popularity: 8% [?]
Link to this page
