How would you like to burn more calories in less time? Is the idea of spending less time in the gym appealing to you? That’s the idea behind interval training, which involves doing high intensity, high impact exercises for a short period of time.
This is a training method that’s caught on a lot recently, and it’s used by some of the strongest and most physically fit people in the world. Will it work for you? Let me briefly explain the benefits of interval training
#1 Interval Training is More Time Efficient
I teased it just now, I want to dive more into the idea of spending less time at the gym and yet getting even better gains than what you’re seeing right now. That’s one of the major benefits of high intensity interval training.
You won’t need to work out as long to get powerful results. I’m not talking about getting the same results. I’m talking about getting rid of more calories, burning more fat, and seeing greater muscle development.
People who use high intensity training or interval training usually don’t work out for as long as people who are not doing these kinds of training sessions. They get in, get their exercises done, and get out. Instead of working out for 45 minutes or hour, they can work out for about 30 minutes and get even better results.
Of course, that means upping the pace quite a bit. You can’t use a relaxed pace in the gym if you’re going to be doing interval training.
It’s something that requires a lot of energy in short bursts, and then you need to sustain that energy for most of the workout session. You’ll take short breaks every now and then, but your workout pace will be very high for the majority of the time.
#2 Interval Training Gives A Lengthy Burn
So, how can someone work out for only a short amount of time and yet see greater results than someone who works out for much longer?
One of the benefits interval training on treadmill, powerlifting, or whatever else you’re doing is that you continue to burn calories long after you stop working out.
Once you stopped working out and finish your high intensity interval training, you can continue burning calories for about two hours after that.
That’s because the level of heat created by your body causes a thermogenic reaction inside you, burning calories for a long time.
It gets your metabolism working and keeps heat radiating inside your body for a while after. Even after you cool down, this reaction is still happening, whether you realize it or not.
What are the benefits of interval training for weight loss? If you don’t have a lot of time to spend at the gym but you want to burn calories fast and shed those pounds quickly, interval training may be the way to go.
You’ll spend less time and get even better weight loss results, reaching your goals faster.
#3 Interval Training Mixes up Your Workout Routine
You’re probably not used to working out like this, especially if you’re here trying to learn more about interval training. In that case, let me tell you about the benefits of interval training for someone who has never done it before.
If that’s you, then this kind of training can be really exciting. It can chase away the boredom that may have fallen over your exercise routine and get you looking forward to working out again.
You may not be thrilled about the idea of sweating profusely and exerting yourself so hard, but you’re doing something different from what you’re used to. That can motivate you to keep working out.
It may also help with your motivation. If you’re seeing better results, like greater muscle development and more weight loss, then you’re more likely to keep with the workout routine.
Everyone loves to see results, and that triggers the reward part of your brain when you notice that your hard work is paying off.
There are also tons of different HIIT routines you can do. You don’t have to stick with one or two exercises the entire time. You can do everything from swinging ropes to pushing tires to powerlifting to jumping rope for your training session.
There’s no need to be pigeonholed with your workouts and end up getting bored of what you’re doing. Instead, find ways to vary it up, like occasionally doing interval training rather than regular workout sessions.
#4 Interval Training is Good for Your Heart
A healthy heart means a longer life, and it also means that you are minimizing your risk for heart problems later on. One of the benefits of workouts that rely on heart rate-based interval training is that they really push some extra effort out of your heart.
As long as you’re not overdoing it, like pushing your training sessions too long or doing them too frequently, you can really benefit your heart health.
High intensity interval training is excellent for your heart, and it can improve your blood pressure and blood sugar levels over time.
It can also help your circulation, reducing the risk cardiac arrest, circulatory problems, and other issues that can affect your heart and the rest of your body. You can even prevent and minimize your risk of diabetes by doing workouts like these.
If you have a coronary artery disease, research has shown that doing a shorter but more intense exercise session like this is actually easier for your body to tolerate then a longer, slower session.
If you’re struggling to get through a lengthy exercise session, cutting it back but ramping up the intensity can offer a lot of benefits for your heart and your overall health.
#5 Interval Training Increases Your Endurance
Interval training gives you ways to spice up your regular exercise session, so when you’re swimming, jogging, doing pushups, or anything else, just increase the intensity and start benefiting from internal training.
Throwing in just a little bit of this kind of high intensity training regular workout can have a big impact. Try increasing your intensity for about a minute into an otherwise normal workout and see how it helps you. You may notice improvements in blood pressure.
You may also notice that your endurance improves and that it boosts your alertness by feeding your brain. Interval training increases the levels of mitochondria in your body which provide fuel for your mental faculties.
What’s great about the endurance boost to get from interval training is that it can affect your regular exercises well. You’ll find that you can go for longer without getting tired or needing to stop.
If you don’t want to keep tiring out so quickly and you want to be able to run for longer and enjoy greater endurance levels, try some interval training. You can have a big impact on all the exercises you do as well as your daily activities.
These are just some of the benefits of interval training, and you’ll notice others too as you start to incorporate this training into your workouts.
You can start small, adding just a miniature to each workout session and then progress from there. Pretty soon, you may want to do interval training most of the time, once you start to see how beneficial it is.
