Exercise Update: Interval Training

A little over a month ago, after completing Jillian Michaels' 30-day Shred, I turned my attention to interval training. At first I devised a few of my own workouts that consisted of timed plank jacks, mountain climbers, or running. They were okay, but I suspected that they didn't have the punch of a system developed by a professional. Next, I turned to my trusty Exercise TV library and found the Less is More Cardio Workout by Cindy Whitmarsh.



This is a great workout and even kinda fun! It's not pure interval training, however, as the first part is more aerobics/calisthenics. It's a a decent intermediate workout that has room for ramping the intensity up or down according to your fitness level. I did it just about everyday, as Cindy suggests in the video, but found that after two weeks I'd plateaued and wasn't really having to work very hard. As every fitness buff knows (and ever fitness seeker SHOULD know), if you're not working hard then you're body isn't changing. So I decided to look for something more challenging and found Rock Hard Total Body by Marco Reed. Be forewarned: this is a tough workout.



This workout is purely interval training and very intense, but if you can get through it you'll feel awesome. If you're a beginner I'd start with Cindy above and work up to this once your are more familiar with your fitness level. That said, Marco does mention in his video that even just 10 minutes of this 40-minute workout can be effective. And trust me, 10 minutes will indeed get you huffing and sweating!

The moves in the Rock Hard workout or deceptively simple, but Marco does well to make notes about form to ensure that you are working your muscles correctly and without risk of injury. NOTE: Marco doesn't waste any of his 40 minutes with warming up or stretching, so PLEASE perform your own stretches and cool down!!!

I'm currently doing this workout three times per week, which I think is plenty. I've found that I get better results with toughies like this when I give my body resting time. In addition, this workout stresses anaerobic exercise, which builds strength rather than burning fat. Of course, you will indirectly burn fat because your increased lean muscle mass will increase your metabolism. So a couple few times a week is plenty with this one. If you don't happen to catch this for free online, it's absolutely work the $6.99 for a download.

After a week of this (3 workouts) I think I saw some noticeable differences. Of course, one week isn't really a reliable sample because of the natural fluctuations of the body and water content (especially for women). What do you think?