It’s that time of year when everybody gets super motivated to burn off layers of bodyfat for vacations and summer activities and high intensity interval training is one of the best ways to do that. Below are 3 types of interval training workouts to incorporate into your weekly cardio workout schedule as well as the secret trick to combine all three workouts for increased fatloss.
Interval Training Workout #1: 1:2 work to rest ratio
If you’ve read about interval training then you know that it involves working hard for a set amount of time, then recovering at a much easier pace for a set amount of time then repeating this pattern over and over for a shorter work period (20-25 minutes). One of the easiest ways to do this is to incorporate a 1:2 work to rest ratio which means you work for a set amount of time and then rest for double the amount of time i.e. sprint really fast for 30 seconds then walk at a moderate pace for 60 seconds and repeat. The trick to making this an effective fat burning cardio workout is to use a variety of exercises to accomplish this (sprinting, jump rope, bootcamp exercises, step, karate and boxing, etc.).
Here’s an example to help you get started: Start with 4 minute of walking at a moderate pace then continue with 30-45 sec. of jump rope or step ups or sprints followed by 60-90 seconds of walking or shadow boxing in place for 14 minutes then cool down with a 2 minute walk at a super easy pace. This is a great way to build endurance, increase fatloss, and prepare your body for the more challenging interval workouts coming up.
Interval Training Workout #2: 2:1 work to rest ratio
The famous tabata protocol, an interval protocol that is very popular in bootcamps uses a 2:1 work to rest ratio which means you work for a set amount of time and then rest for 1/2 that amount of time i.e. burpees for 20 seconds then walk in place for 10 seconds and repeat. The best way to use this protocol is after you’ve been doing 2 weeks of interval training workout #1. Your body is conditioned to longer rest periods and then all of a sudden you dramatically cut your rest time way down and this forces your body to burn even more bodyfat in less time.
Here’s an example of how to do this: Start with a 5 minute warm-up of your choice then continue with 12 minutes of challenging bootcamp exercises back to back using the 2:1 work to rest ratio ( i.e. burpees/rest + jumping jacks/rest + mountain climbers/rest + lunge kicks/rest and repeat the circuit 6 times) then cool down for 3 minutes at a moderate pace.
Interval Training Workout #3: 1:1 work to rest ratio
After a couple of weeks on your 2:1 work to rest ratio it’s time to switch things up again and try a 1:1 work to rest ratio. The secret to burning even more fat using this type of interval timing is to make your intervals much longer i.e. sprint for 60-90 seconds then walk for 60-90 seconds. You can even go as long as 2 minutes but not longer than that otherwise you are no longer interval training. If you've been enjoying shorter intervals this will now be even more challenging and help your body burn even more fat and calories. You can space out these 3 interval workouts and work on each type for 2 weeks at a time. Doing this will help you burn more fat, prevent plateaus, and keep your workouts fun and interesting.
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