Your life is crazy: you create to-do lists just to keep track of your to-dos; there aren’t enough hours in a week to accomplish what you have committed yourself to accomplish in day; you consider your time on the toilet, “down time.” You are a harried woman. I know you: I am you. But – and here’s the part you are not going to like – despite your frantic schedule you are not exempt from exercise. To stay healthy, fight off heart disease, keep your weight in check, and maintain your sanity, you need to get some form of exercise every day.

Perhaps you’ve accepted that and squeezed some time into your packed schedule to make a daily 30-minute run an integral part of your life. Unfortunately, after awhile, a 30-minute run just isn’t going to cut it. I know what you’re thinking, “what?!” Sadly, it’s true. The human body is a highly adaptive machine and if you want to continue to reap the benefits of an exercise regime you must continually increase the intensity of your workouts. I know, you’re pretty ticked off at me now, right? Fitting a 30-minute run into your day was quite a feat, and now I’m asking you to do more. But, here’s the secret: you don’t need to work out longer, just more effectively. And the most effective work out there is, is an interval workout.


Basically, interval training involves alternating short bursts of intense activity with what is called active recovery, a less-intense form of the original activity. For example, running for three minutes, walking for one, running for three, etc. It’s not easy work out to do. However, it is definitely effective. I won’t bore you with all the science, but suffice it to say, countless studies have shown that by doing interval work you not only dramatically improve cardiovascular fitness but also the body’s ability to burn fat, even during low- or moderate-intensity workouts.

So…improved fitness, better results, and less of a time commitment…sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not. The kicker is, and I can’t reiterate it enough, this is not an easy workout. Interval training is intense and requires discipline and self-motivation. It is unquestionably easier to jog for 30 minutes than it is to sprint for 2, walk for 1 and so forth, repeating that cycle for 30 minutes. But again, the results are worth the pain.

While the concept is not complicated, designing and executing a good interval-training program can be. There are four variables to consider when creating an interval-training program:

• Intensity (speed) of work interval
• Duration (distance or time) of work interval
• Duration of rest or recovery interval
• Number of repetitions of each interval

The high-intensity phase should be long enough and strenuous enough so that you are out of breath — typically one to four minutes of exercise at 80 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. And the recovery periods should not last long enough for your heart rate to return to its resting rate.

Enlisting the help of a personal trainer to help craft the ideal interval training program for you is definitely worth the time and money. They can be an objective source to determine what level of intensity and duration you can handle and at what level you will continue to see results. Plus, they will help cheer you on through the high-intensity phase, and who doesn’t want that?

In the long run, by incorporating interval training into your life, you will find you are spending less time actually exercising and more time enjoying the benefits of a fit, healthy, albeit harried, body.


Next up: Heart Disease and Women: Give a little love to your own Heart