From Health magazine
Alternating moderately paced walking with short, faster-paced intervals lets you amp up your walk without tiring yourself out. You’ll also dump stomach weight more quickly and torch more calories than you would on a steady-paced walk. By peppering in a 30-minute walk with 10 one-minute speed bursts, for example, you can nearly double your calorie burn.
It worked for Virginia Cox, 42, of Belmont, Mass.
Doing 15 miles’ worth of interval walking a week (plus cutting down on starchy foods and sweet treats) helped Cox shed 45 pounds of baby weight in just six months. “I look and feel great because of walking,” Cox says. “Plus, I now fit into the jeans that I wore when I was in my 20s.” An unexpected bonus: She’s sleeping much better too.
Make it work for you
Warm up at an easy pace, then walk at a moderate pace for 10 minutes; increase speed for 1 minute, Prouty says. Do another 3 minutes at a moderate pace; repeat one or two times, then do 10 moderately-paced minutes.
As you get stronger, add more intervals, aiming to alternate 1-minute speed bursts with 1 minute of moderate walking.
Related links:
Comments (4)
Interval training is great for increasing your post exercise calorie burn…not to mention the reduction in age related arterial stiffening
More detailed info here – http://healthhabits.wordpress.com/2008/06/05/improve-your-heart-with-short-workouts/
I’ve cut way back on starchy carbs and sugar, reduced portion sizes, do intervals on the treadmill and lift weights all said encompassing 1-2 hours, 3-5 times a week, walk my dog for 30 min 4 days a week, and my weight isn’t even budging! I’m 51 and know it can be difficult approaching menopause, but what could I be doing wrong? I’m out of energy for doing more exercise!
Hi Lauren,
Have you been checked for things such as thyroid disorders or the onset of diabetes or even heart disease? It’s too easy to chalk any weight problem up on bad habits but weight gain and difficulty loosing weight can very well be a symptom. When you’re excersizing right and eating right and still can’t loose weight there probably is a physical problem (and hypothyroid would be my first guess there) it might be a good idea to have yourself checked out by your physician.
Often finding out problems sooner by recognising signs of change early means any problem is much more treatable. Keeping a log of your eating habits and excersize routine might help more reluctant physicians realize this isn’t just a bad habits problem either btw.
Good Luck!
Lauren, keep up the good work. I started lifting weights 3x/week and doing cardio pretty much 5-6 days a week. I am 51 and it took me 2 years to lose 20 lbs. As soon as I started to see my body changing I was hooked on my weight lifting routine. You have to remain faithful. I have just started interval running/walking on the treadmill. My lungs are getting stronger every day and my tummy is disappearing-finally. I still don’t weigh what I did in my 20’s, but I’m turning heads :) Stick with it. It takes time. And oh how I love thoose muscles…