The best cardio workout for women: interval training
Running for 20 minutes straight is all well and good, but it isn’t the best cardio workout you could do in a day. Interval training has been proven to be the key to getting better results from cardiovascular training. When it comes to cardio for women, interval training is without a doubt the best option.
Interval training looks simple on the surface, yet few women who train seriously take advantage of its benefits. The principle is to raise and lower the intensity during your workout. Hard to believe that this burns more calories? Believe it, it does.
The combination of rising and falling training load that you put on your body is highly effective. The sudden jolt you send to your heart when you move from moderate to high intensity is exactly where the benefit of interval training lies.
A sudden sprint takes a lot of energy, so every time you lower the intensity and then abruptly raise it again, you speed up your metabolism, your calorie burn and the “melting” of your fat. All the cardio training programs for women that I have put together are based on this idea, and I follow it myself. Of course, there is also plenty of scientific evidence on the subject.
What does a good interval workout look like?
Although I mentioned running earlier, that doesn’t mean you have to do interval training only by running. Pick an activity you enjoy. For example cycling, hiking, swimming, stair climbing – anything at all. If you pick an activity you don’t like, the chance that you’ll stick with it for long enough is close to zero as well.
Start the workout easy to bring your heart rate up, but not to a level where you feel uncomfortable.
After three minutes, increase the intensity to a moderate level (on a ten-point scale, this would be 5-7). You’ll feel your heart beating faster and your breathing quickening too, but you still feel good and are able to chat with your training partner (if you happen to have one).
After three to five minutes, raise the intensity to 8-10, where you sprint or do your chosen activity as fast as you can. This is the part of interval training for women that nobody is keen to do.
But remember, this lasts only one to two minutes, after which you go back to moderate intensity (5-7) for two to three minutes before raising the intensity again. Keep playing with the intensity like this for a total of 20 minutes.
Remember, don’t go beyond 20 minutes – there’s no need for more. During this time, your body gives your heart a healthy, calorie-burning effect. After that, your body switches from fat to protein (muscle) as its source of energy, and I’m more than sure you don’t want to lose your muscle mass.
I find that interval training passes much faster than simply plodding along at 11 km/h. Changing the pace keeps the workout from getting boring. This kind of training burns more calories than simply jogging for 45 minutes, and you feel much more energetic and prouder of yourself.
I recommend having a training partner. This kind of workout is quite demanding, and it helps when a training partner keeps you motivated throughout. For women, a steady pace is the easiest option. A training partner won’t let you take the easy way out.
If there are hills near where you live, I definitely recommend doing your interval training on them for an even more intense workout!
Author: Taylor Ryan, Siim Kelner (translation)
Source:Turg.Fitness.ee
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