Interval training offers effective way to get in shape - Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5

You want to get in shape but you don't have an hour, or even 30 minutes to spare. That's not a problem. You can get the exercise your body needs, and the results you want, with interval training.

When you watch the Olympics, you have to wonder how thee athletes are able to physically do what they do. For many of them, their secret is interval training to take them to the next level.
     
It's fast and it's effective. Whether you're a beginner or a veteran, you can use it to wake up your workout.

Live Out Loud personal trainer Lianne Horne looks like the ultimate hard-core trainer, but she's got a soft spot for newbies.    

"I love to work with somebody who is just starting out," said Horne.

Horne says whether you're a beginner, bored with your workout, or not getting the results you want, you need to try interval training. She says it's hard, it's brutal, but it is effective.

Horne says the idea is to alternate between short bursts of high-intensity exercise, where you're 100 percent, and wind-down periods.

"You're revving things up, revving them down, revving things up, you're making your body work hard," said Horne.

If you walk, start with a five minute warm up, then, walk as fast as you can for a minute, says Home.

"And then when you get to six minutes, go back to that easy walk. Then when it gets to seven minutes go hard again, eight minutes, go easy. Nine minutes, go hard," said Horne.

Horne says the idea is you're training your body to do more with less. You want to build up the "go" periods gradually, cutting on your recovery time.
    
"But that's how you gain more endurance, that's how you get better," said Horne.

The American College of Sports Medicine says interval training burns more calories than steady exercise. Horne says the on-off workout will give you faster results, and more.

"You typically continue to burn calories after you're done! Which, hello!  Everybody wants that," said Horne.

Interval training works for running, cycling, swimming and other sports. If you're just getting started, or have a health problem, check with your doctor first because it can really tax your body. If you'd like to try it, there are lots of websites that will show you how to get started.