Burn more fat with these interval workouts

The saying goes that slow and steady wins the race. Not so with fat burning. You need intervals to keep your body burning calories long after you’re finished with your workout.

When you do aerobic exercise, such as light jogging, your body burns oxygen. When you kick it up to a run, your body doesn’t have enough oxygen to burn and starts using anaerobic metabolism, which produces energy when oxygen is missing. That’s how you burn fat.

Intervals alternate high-intensity and low-intensity workouts all in one. You might sprint for one minute and walk the next minute. Intervals can work with any exercise, whether it’s running, cycling, swimming, on machines at the gym and even walking, just as long as you alternate speeds.

Another option is to vary your intensity in different combinations. You might do 30 seconds of high intensity and 30 seconds of low intensity. Then increase your intervals by 10 seconds until you reach one minute for each. Then bring it back down to 30-second intervals.


Here are three interval options that can help you speed up your fat burning and take you to the next level. Best of all, when these intervals start to get easy, you can either turn up the intensity or the time so your body continues to burn fat. Just make sure you spend as much time exerting as you do recovering. These are also great workouts to do when you can’t make it to boot camp.

Option A: Cardio Machine Intervals


You can do this workout on any machine at the gym, or running or walking.
1. 3 to 5 minutes warmup (light jog, low intensity, gradually increasing at the end of the warmup period)
2. 1 minute moderate or high intensity followed by 1 minute low intensity (repeat 6 to 8 times)
3. 3 to 5 minutes cool down (light jog, low intensity, gradually decreasing by the end of the cool-down period)

Option B: Stair Run


Do this version on a set of stairs or stadium bleachers. You’ll need 40 to 50 stairs to do this properly.
1. 3 to 5 minutes warmup (light jog, low intensity, gradually increasing at the end of the warmup period)
2. Run up the stairs and walk back down (repeat 6 to 8 times)
3. 3 to 5 minutes cool down (light jog, low intensity, gradually decreasing by the end of the cool down period)

Option C: The Commercial Break Workout
While you’re watching television, you can squeeze in some workouts. For each superset, do the first exercise for 20 seconds followed by 20 seconds of the second exercise and then 20 seconds of rest. Repeat as many times as possible up to three times for each superset.

Commercial break 1 – Superset 1
1A. Mountain Climbers
1B. Jumping Jacks
Commercial Break 2 – Superset 2
2A. Burpees
2B. Plank Hold
Commercial Break 3 –Superset 3
3A. Speed Squats
3B. Squat Hold

Mountain Climbers

Begin in a pushup position on your hands and toes. Bring your right knee in toward your chest, resting your foot on the floor. Jump up and switch feet in the air, bringing your left foot in and your right foot back. Continue alternating your feet as fast as you safely can.

Jumping Jacks

Begin by standing with your feet together and arms at your sides. Tighten your abdominal muscles to pull your pelvis forward and take the curve out of your lower back. Bend your knees and jump, moving your feet apart until they are wider than your shoulders. At the same time, raise your arms over your head. Your weight should be on the balls of your feet. Keep your knees bent while you jump again, bringing your feet together and your arms back to your sides.

Burpees

Begin standing, then squat down to a place your hands on the floor. Then kick your feet back to a pushup position. Immediately return your feet to the squat position. Then stand back up from the squat position.

Plank Hold

Lying face down on the floor, tuck your toes into the ground and place your elbows or hands on the ground to the side of your body. Keeping a tight stomach, raise your body up off the ground and hold this position. Don’t let your midsection sag.

Speed Squats

As quickly as you can, do a set of squats. Keep your back flat and press your hips back behind you as you sit as deep as possible. As you descend, keep the majority of your weight back on your heels while still applying pressure through the balls of your feet.

Wall Squat

With feet shoulder-width apart, lean against a wall and gently slide down into a sitting position. Keep your hands off the wall and your legs for maximum burn.