Many of you get stuck at a point where you don’t seem to be losing any more weight and you get frustrated with this point. Well this article is written for you, so I hope you are paying attention!
First of all, I must make a note that many of you get way to stuck on the whole weight issue. Stop weighing yourself, this is extremely self destructive and does not mean anything. Muscle weighs more than fat, so although you may not be losing weight you are most likely losing fat and gaining muscle.
You need to focus on how good working out makes you feel. Really focus your energy on your post-workout euphoria and sense of accomplishment…this is going to get you on the right track to reaching your goals, not some scale which gives you some number to fixate on. Change your mentality and focus on this one area and you are on your way.
All that aside, let’s take a look at one of the best ways of getting you out of plateau and seeing some results…the method of training that I am talking about is called Interval Training.[ad#ad-2]
What is Interval Training?
Have you been running on the treadmill at the same pace for the past couple years? Stop! Let’s shake it up with interval training. What this means is that instead of running at one speed we’re going to fluctuate your speed on the treadmill, elliptical trainer, or however else you are getting your cardio.
So let’s say you have been running at 6mph for 30minutes in one session. Now what we want to do is to get up to 6mph and after 5minutes when you’re all warmed up, take it up a notch to 8mph for 30seconds. Then bring it back down to 6mph for another minute, and do this cycle again for as long as you can.
What are the benefits of Interval Training?
By practicing interval training you have introduced a major shock to your cardiovascular system, and this is what you need to do in order to succeed in burning away fat. The best part of interval training (in which you are introducing sprinting) is that you increase your fast-twitch muscle fibres and this in turn causes your body to burn up more fuel.
Another added benefit is that you will become more agile which can enhance any sport you play in.
Common Mistakes with Interval Training
One of the biggest mistakes that people do when tackling interval training is that they don’t give enough time to warm up their muscles. When you start to introduce anything that has high intensity levels it is always essential that you warm up your muscles adequately with low level intensity and gradually increase your speed.
A good 5minutes is adequate for your warm up as long as you begin to start breaking a sweat. The warm up allows your body to start pumping blood quicker and more aggressively to supply your muscles with the fuel they need for the increased intensity ahead.
If you get cramps often, this is one of the reasons why. You haven’t given enough time for your muscles and cardiovascular system to adequately pump blood and remove waste products from exercising.
Conclusion
I hope this article has been very helpful for you in explaining what interval training is and how it can help you take your workouts to the next level. Start out slowly, and gradually increase your intensity every time. It’s important for you to challenge yourself at every workout to make changes in your body happen (our body has an incredible ability to adjust to exercise).
- Creatine for volumizing and strength gains (SuperPump 250)
- Glutamine & BCAA’s for immunity and muscle recovery (Scivation Xtend)
- Whey protein for lean muscle tissue development (Gaspari Nutrition Myofusion)
Have you tried interval training? How has it worked out for you? Leave a comment below:
Sign up to the weekly Weight Loss & Training Newsletter & get a 50 Smoothie Recipes PDF for FREE!
Thank you for visiting! Weight Loss and Training is a health blog which features all the best weight loss tips that I have learned over my 20 years of training. My background includes a degree in Kinesiology from the world renown Simon Fraser University, certification in nutritional sciences from UBC, and Personal Trainer Specialist certification from Can Fit Pro.
hi, so i know you say not to watch the scales but no matter how much i tell myself not to weigh in every week i still do! everyone wants to see that magic goal weight number pop up!! i have lost 10kg so far! and have 7kg to go, my problem is, for 3 weeks now i have been the same weight, i eat 1310 calories aday more if i have exercised (eat half of the amount of calories i earn back) i exercise everynight, was just walking up to an hr and ahalf a night, now i have changed to cross trainer (interval training) and do a swiss ball rountine 15 of each exercise, 3 times, takes 30 mins, i do that 3 times aweek also, every couple of days instead of cross trainer i go back to walking to change it up a bit, sorry about the novel !! am just wondering if i am doing any thing wrong and can you help me to get back on track to losing weight?
Most likely you are losing fat and increasing lean muscle mass so you won’t see much of a movement on the scale. Also can you tighten up your diet any more?
hey samduring interval training which of the above three prtiens i should take
should i use all three or any one
what will be the best
and how to use the proteins
Hi there, only the last one recommended is protein. The first is creatine which helps you get extra reps in and the glutamine can be mixed with your protein shake after workout to help you recover quicker.