As crazy as it sounds, one of the best “exercise plans” for getting fit and feeling fantastic doesn’t even involve any exercise at all.
Well, not traditional exercise anyway.
You may have heard of interval training and wondered what it is. Or perhaps you’ve read about it before and thought, “Nope, that’s WAY too intense for me.
Either way, you’re going to LOVE this news.
A new study has revealed a specific type of interval training is a terrific way to get and stay healthy. And it will blow your mind when you find out just how EASY it can be.
Get fit fast with short burst interval training
Fitness gurus and gym rats have been talking about interval training for a few years now. But when they did, they were referring to high-intensity interval training.
HIIT consists of super-intense blocks of exercise, with short rests between, continued for at least 10 minutes. And for a lot of folks, that’s intimidating, or even downright impossible.
But it turns out the idea that you need to do 10-minutes of non-stop exercise for it to be effective was entirely made up. In fact, there isn’t a shred of scientific evidence behind it.
And according to a new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine even super short bursts of intense movement here and there throughout the day can give you the same benefits.
In fact, whether it’s 30 seconds of hauling laundry up from the basement or three minutes vacuuming the bedrooms, it can ALL count as interval training. Because if the movement gets you huffing and puffing, you’ve likely hit the sweet spot.
And that’s important because for many folks… especially seniors or those who are very out of shape… the 30 minutes of daily exercise many experts recommend can feel overwhelming.
And let’s face it, for many of us our reaction to that kind of pressure is to ignore it, and head straight for the couch instead.
Interval training forces your body to adapt
But we now know ANY movement counts, no matter how long you do it for.
And interval training, in particular, is so effective because it forces your body to adapt very quickly to the demands you’re putting on it.
Which is why, according to researchers, even very short bursts of exercise sprinkled throughout the day can lead to fast improvements in your overall fitness.
And the great news is it’s easy to adapt everyday activities to make them a bit more intense.
For example, you could make it a habit to swiftly climb the stairs several times a day rather than meandering up them. Or turn carrying your groceries into the house into a speedy beat-the-clock game.
And for a lot of folks that kind of commitment feels a lot more manageable than say planning in an hour of aerobics five days a week or following a strenuous HIIT program.
And the benefits of interval training… such as improved lung, heart, and circulation fitness… are essentially the same.
Need some ideas for mixing short burst interval training into your own routine? Try some of these…
- when you walk the dog work in a couple of 30 to 60-second jogs
- park the car at the edge of the parking lot and speed walk to the store
- skip the elevator and take the stairs at a swift pace
- speed walk or bike to do errands in the neighborhood
- hop up during commercials or desk time and march in place for 60 seconds
Interval training is the perfect way to get fit fast, and feel fantastic, WITHOUT spending hours exercising at the gym.
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