Intervals are the best way to burn fat ever, since they burn through your body’s store of glycogen, convincing your body that you need to store glycogen, not this pesky fat! (See Alwyn Cosgrove for more information).
Karen, I would suggest starting with 5 intervals rather than 8, esp since your body’s not used to it. That will help alleviate soreness. Intervals can be done on anything you can put your mind to: bodyweight exercises (email me for more info), elliptical, jump rope, outdoor sprints, bicycle, step machine/stairmaster, and of course, running.
If you work hard enough on the intervals, you usually can last only about 30 minutes before your body’s energy systems say “I can’t take anymore!” The above advice on making sure you breathe is important, especially for people who are just starting out or who may have undiagnosed medical issues. If you use a heart rate monitor, the intensity parts look a bit like this: beginner: 65% of max HR, Intermediate 75% max HR, Advanced (longer than 6 months) 85-90% max HR. Never ever go above 95% of max HR as the body can return blood only so quickly to the lungs for an oxygen refill. *Note: max HR is 220-age X .65, .75. or .85 For an idea of intensity without a HR monitor, the intensity scale is as follows: 1-10, 1 is standing and 10 is all-out, max effort. Warm-up is performed at 3,4,5,6 intensity, one intensity for each minute for 5 minutes to warm-up. Then, hard for 30-90 seconds (pick one, then stick with it the rest of the workout) is performed at 8 out of 10 for beginners, 9 out of 10 for intermediate/advanced. Next is active rest at an intensity of 3 out of 10 for 1-2 minutes (make the active rest period longer than the intensity period). Rinse and repeat 5-8 times (beginners, 5, work up to 8 over 16 weeks, increasing by 1 every 4 weeks), then cool down at a 3 out of 10.
There are, of course, other ways to do it, such as 10 seconds hard and 20 seconds active recovery, 30 seconds hard and 90 seconds recovery, 1 minute hard and 1 minute recovery. I like to change it up every so often so the body can’t adapt too easily. It’s also highly recommended to change your mode of activity each time (i.e. run one time, then elliptical another, then jump rope, and so on) for adaptation purposes and also for injury prevention.
I know Scott likes the long, slow burn, but I’m HIIT all the way for fat loss since it maintains muscle and works with the body, convincing it that it doesn’t need to store fat. Plus it’s quick! I can be in and out of there in 30 minutes (with stretching and changing clothes).
I hope this helps!
