Burning Calories Is Part of It, but Here Are More Reasons to Try Interval Training

While cardio exercise is necessary to lose fat all over your body, interval training takes it a step further by targeting your waistline. If you're a woman, having a waist size over 35 inches puts you at a higher risk for heart disease and some cancers. Add bursts of speed to your next workout to help lose that stubborn abdominal fat.

This is the most obvious benefit of interval training, but it is still worth noting. Picking up your pace when interval training helps to increase your overall speed during other activities. It not only builds stronger muscles that help to pick up the pace, but practicing short sprinting bursts will also help your body feel more comfortable moving faster.

Interval training increases the after-burn effect. This means that postexercise, your body can burn more calories — an extra 200 calories throughout the day — even at rest or sleep, than you would after completing a steady-paced workout.

No doubt about it, interval training is efficient. Pushing your cardiovascular system by adding intervals means you burn more calories in less time, which is just what you need with your busy schedule. Check out this chart to see how many extra calories you burn by picking up the pace.

Even though interval workouts might be shorter than your other workouts, this form of exercise will increase your endurance by helping with lung capacity and muscle building. Longer runs and rides will feel more doable if interval training is part of your regular exercise routine. Another bonus is that climbing hills will feel easier, too.

Working out increases circulation and benefits the heart, but more specifically, interval training makes your heart more efficient so it pumps more blood with each beat, reducing the number of beats per minute. The fewer times your heart beats per minute, the less wear and tear there is on the mechanics of the organ, which is great for the long-term health of your ticker. Learn how to find your resting heart rate here.

Most people think of running when they think of interval training. However, intervals can be done with every kind of cardio — whether you are working out in the pool, on the elliptical, running, rowing, skiing, or hiking. Playing with your speed offers all the previously mentioned benefits. Here are five ways to get even more out of your interval workouts.

If you need some ideas, here are some interval workouts you can try:

• Walking and Running Treadmill Workout
• 400-Calorie Tush-Toning Treadmill Hill Workout
• Elliptical Interval Workout
• Swimming Interval Workout
• Walk, Run, Sprint Interval Workout
• 30 Minutes of Intervals on the Bike
• Rowing Machine Intervals
• Hill Repeat Workout
• Belly-Blasting Sprinting and Walking Workout
• Sprint Interval Workout For the Track