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Research has been released that has shown that a specific style of interval training can burn three times as much weight as regular aerobic exercise.

45 overweight women were studied over 15 weeks, using a stationary bike they cycled for 20 minutes, sprinting for 8 seconds followed by 12 seconds of slower cycling, this was repeated for the whole 20 minutes. Besides increasing the amount fat loss compared to walking the other upside was a decrease in insulin resistance of 32%, this is probably more significant if you suffer from insulin resistance, adult onset diabetes or syndrome x.

Interval training is a sudden increase of speed followed by a sudden decrease in speed, it first came into popularity in the 70’s and was used by cross country runners to increase stamina and strength, it was known as Fartlek training. Fartlek is a Swedish word and translates to “speed play” in English. As its benefits are wide ranging for athletes it has been developed, expanded and used in almost every sport. I still have some not so fond memories of doing interval training around a 400 metre running track for Soccer training – often until we vomited!!!

Using interval training for weight loss is not new, body builders have been doing it for years. Due to their large size and need to retain muscle they have used interval training to strip fat especially pre competition. It has the advantage of needing less time to perform and can be performed on equipment that is kind on the joints, such as elliptical trainers and step machines. Even though the study was performed using a cycling machine it can be done on a rowing machine, while running, swimming, or on various aerobic machinery like a step machine.

What separates this study from other similar ones is that the researchers believe they have hit the holy grail of interval training by decreasing the time between intervals. Most interval training is done using a 30 second or greater cycle e.g. 30 seconds of sprinting followed by 30 seconds of slow work whereas in this study the cycle was 8 seconds of sprinting followed by 12 seconds of slow cycling. The shorting of the interval cycle increased weight loss dramatically, at this moment the researchers believe this is due to an increase of catecholamines. Catecholamines are a group of chemicals that include dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine (which used to be called adrenalin). Epinephrine is the most interesting one in this group as on of the things it facilitates is the release of fatty acids from fat cells, this makes fat available for energy = fat loss!

This really could be the Holy Grail but unfortunately there will need to be a few more studies to see if it pans out, of course the Researchers at the University of NSW and the Garvan Institute who did this study have already started on the next one in the series that will include diet thrown into the mix as well. Of course some anecdotal evidence wouldn’t go astray either. So at some point in the next couple of weeks I will give it a shot for a couple of weeks and see it makes a difference to my measurements, by no means is me doing it sound science but it will be interesting none the less.

You can check out the researchers website at http://medicalsciences.med.unsw.edu.au/SOMSWeb.nsf/page/Exercise+Reactivity+and+Health

If you have any questions regarding this post on interval training leave it in the feedback section and I will reply as soon as I’m able. I will try and do as many of these article style posts as time permits.