How do you get someone who hates exercising to start? This can be a difficult task and I have recently dealt with it myself. A good friend of mine is very stubborn when it comes to exercising. It is seriously like pulling teeth to get her to start. She used to belong to the same gym I belong to and even hired a personal trainer for a couple of months. Unfortunately, she ended up canceling her gym membership and stopped exercising all together. But guess what? I got her to exercise again and below is how I did it.

Figure out what they hate the most about exercise

I asked my friend to pinpoint exactly why she dislikes exercising. Below were her answers:

• Laziness
• Doesn’t like the smelly gyms
• Doesn’t like boring cardio
• Exercise takes too long

Everyone will have different answers but her answers were some of the most typical reasons most people do not exercise.

Interval training to the rescue

Laziness – This probably stems from the fact that she is lacking energy and doesn’t see exercise as an enjoyable activity. Intervals can help by boosting energy levels and providing a challenge with the different workouts she can do.

No Gym – Since she doesn’t like the gym, intervals will work out great for her because she can do them right at home or outdoors in her favorite locations (park, beach, etc.)

Boring Cardio – With intervals the typical cardio sessions no longer have to be boring. Even a boring cardio machine like the treadmill can be fun again.

Exercising Takes Too Long – Sure you can exercise for an hour or more but for people who lack time or don’t want to devote long hours to exercise, interval training fits in well. A good interval session takes no more than 30 minutes.

After pointing out how intervals may be what she was looking for, she decided to give it a try. We began exercising together and I showed her a sample body weight circuit video by Craig Ballantyne. She likes the fact that the routines are always different and she doesn’t have to go to the gym. I think she will stick to it – at least I hope so. She seemed really enthusiastic which is a great sign.

The video below is a good example of a body weight circuit:

Functional training is very common in rehabilitation. If you’ve ever had to go through physical therapy, you may know that the exercises you performed helped with what you would do on a day to day basis.

Other benefits of functional exercise include

• Injury prevention from doing routine movements
• Improve your form when doing daily activities
• Strengthen weaker muscles needed in everyday movements

Interval training works out great for functional exercises because many of these types of exercises only require your own body weight to perform them. When you are deciding which functional exercises to perform, just think about your everyday movements.

Sample functional exercises

• Squats
• Lunges
• Push-ups
• Step-ups
• Resistance bands exercises
• Hill running (particularly for runners)

Video samples of functional training exercises

One of the biggest benefits of interval training is its ability to burn calories even after the workout is over. The reason behind this is what is called EPOC which stands for Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption. The definition is as follows:

Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) is a measurably increased rate of oxygen intake following strenuous activity. The extra oxygen is used in the processes that restore the body to a resting state and adapt it to the exercise just performed. These include: hormone balancing, replenishment of fuel stores, cellular repair, innervation, and anabolism. [Source: Wikipedia]

To put it simply, it means the amount of time your body continues to burn calories long after the workout is over. Studies have shown that the effects of EPOC have lasted up to 38 hours. How incredible is that to know that your metabolism is working overtime! This is what makes interval training so much more effective than traditional cardio.

The calorie burning benefit is one of my favorite reasons I use intervals. You can get a lot done in less time and still burn calories throughout the day.

It is well known amongst the bodybuilding and strength building communities that excessive cardio workouts can have a damaging effect on muscle gains. I have even read about high profile bodybuilders that stay away from cardio exercises all together. We all have different fitness goals in mind but one thing that we should do is maintain and build muscle.

The problem with regular cardio

There is nothing wrong with performing cardio, however, too much of it and not enough strength training can cause muscle loss. When the body is in a calorie deficit, which is mainly the case particularly for people on a diet, the body will not only seek out fat stores for energy but also muscle.

Interval training has been shown to limit the amount of muscle loss compared to regular cardio. When intervals are used in combination with weights, you can also build strength.

You don’t need to be a bodybuilder to want muscle. Maintaining lean muscle is important in general. Here are a few reasons why:

• Muscle burns more calories than fat
• An increase in muscle means an increase in metabolism
• Physical performance improves overall
• Muscles helps prevent injury
• Overall, you will look and feel better

If your goal is to lose weight yet build muscle, try using interval training in place of your cardio routines. Three cardio sessions per week plus at least two days of strength training should be enough to maintain muscle.

We’ve used the lack of time as an excuse for not exercising at some point in our lives. Life’s daily activities don’t often leave room for much else. However, I know that somewhere in our day, many of us can spare at least 30 minutes for physical fitness. Below are some tips to get in a good work out when you are in a time crunch:

• Use intervals – You knew I was going to say that right? Well, it’s true. You can get a whole lot done in 30 minutes utilizing interval workouts. You don’t even need to be at a gym to do them so that saves you the time of driving there.
• Make an appointment with yourself – Just like any other important appointment, make sure you keep your appointment to exercise. Schedule it just like anything else and be sure to follow through. After awhile it will become a good habit like flossing your teeth.
• Perform compound exercises – These save time because instead of focusing on one muscle, you can work out multiple muscles at once. For example, doing a push-up works your deltoids, triceps, chest, and lower back.
• Make the most of your time – If you only have 30 minutes then make it count. Don’t waste time on one cardio machine when you can get in a full-body workout with intervals.

You can stay in shape with a little effort. Interval workouts help to eliminate the excuse of “lack of time.” In fact, intervals may even prevent over training. Make time for physical fitness, your body needs it!

Interval training involves repetitions of short bursts (typically 30 to 60 seconds) of high-intensity exercise followed by a period of lower-intensity exercise. For example, if you were to perform an interval routine on a treadmill, you could do a routine such as this:

• Warm up – at least 10 minutes of a light jog or walking.
• Training – run 0.5 miles at the highest pace you can maintain, then rest 3 – 5 minutes, repeat.
• Cool down – 10 minutes light jog or walking.

Interval training is popular for its fat burning ability compared to typical cardio workouts that can last for longer periods of time. The reason intervals burn fat more effectively than typical cardio exercises is because it causes your heart rate to fluctuate (raise and lower) throughout the entire workout.

Calorie Burning

The unsteady heart rate burns more calories in a shorter amount of time.  Slow and steady cardio sessions will burn calories but not as effectively. When you are no longer pushing yourself, you are not exerting as much energy. Your body will burn more calories after the workout to help repair itself, therefore, a greater number of calories are burned overall.

If you are still curious about interval training, find an interval routine to try and see just how great you feel afterwards!

Note: Interval training isn’t for everyone.  Always consult with your doctor before starting any new exercise program.