Interval workouts burn more fat than intense exercise

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The Olympic games is somewhat of a motivational exhibition as much as it is a global competition. Swimmers displaying beautifully chiseled delts as they hoist their torsos from the water or gymnasts suspending muscular gams during an inverse move named after some foreign famous man have many viewers ready to begin novice training programs.

With some new found motivation and a fantastic plan laid out by researchers, we could be on our way to a svelte physique and trim mid-line in record time.

According to research from the University of New South Wales in Australia, interval training, or periods of challenging work with intermittent rest periods, burns three times as much fat as simply exercising at an even pace. By taking the heart rate into a higher zone for 10-60 second intervals, the body is able to burn fat at a much faster rate and for longer periods of time even after the workout has finished.

Although there have been several "takes" on the study, the basics research took 45 women with a group average body mass index of around 23 and divided them into three different groups: a control group, an interval group and a cardio-only group.

The interval group performed 20 minutes of interval training three times each week and the cardio-only group performed 40 minutes of sustained cardio activity three times each week.

At the end of the 15-week training regime, the women in the interval group were the only ones who showed significant weight loss and an overall decrease in body fat. They showed loss of fat from their trunk and legs. Also, the greater the BMI, the more significant the loss in this group.

An article in MSN's Health and Fitness places the focus on interval sprints versus jogging at a sustained pace and its correlation to the Australian study, providing a detailed exercise plan that is guaranteed to burn belly fat at three-times the normal exercise rate.

In general, interval training should be done three times a week, but no more than four times a week. Each workout should involve a pattern of around 6 high intensity bouts of activity lasting between 10-60 seconds, followed by a period of resting activity lasting two to three times as long. As with any good exercise program, there should also be a period of warm up and cool down for each training session.

Always obtain the permission from appropriate health advisers prior to beginning a new fitness program.

So get off that couch and get ready to have some fab abs!