Interval Training for Fat Loss

Yesterday, I put myself through a grueling sled workout using interval training to burn fat. I recently read an article from a top trainer known to his clients as the "secret weapon."

He talked about doing one exercise for a set amount of time, with minimal rest in between sets. For example, he would pick an exercise that he could do 6 reps with and start by doing 3 reps, resting a short while, and then doing 3 more and so on.

As time went on, he would drop the amount of weight, in order to keep doing 3 reps. I decided to try this with the Prowler sled. Since the grade school gym I use is 20 yards long, I would push the sled 10 yards with a fairly heavy weight and stop.

After 20 seconds went by on the watch, I would push the sled approximately 10 more yards, turn the sled around, rest and then push it again.

I did this routine for 30 minutes, twice reducing the weight on the sled by 20 pounds. This old gym is not connected to the rest of the building and unheated. My guess is, it was about 50 degrees in there.

Needless to say, this intense interval training had me sweating profusely! Pushing a sled involves most every muscle in your body to some extent. You think I probably burned a few calories in that workout?

I definitely created some "turbulence" in my metabolism, causing me to burn more calories for several hours afterwards. You won't necessarily see this in typical endurance training. I can guarantee you I wouldn't have burned the same amount of calories walking or jogging for 30 minutes.

And I definitely wouldn't have sweat as much by jogging outside in 50 degree weather! If you are sweating profusely in 50 degree temps, you are doing some intense work and burning some calories in the process.

So if you are like most people and don't have a sled to push or a place to use it, interval weight training, like Turbulence Training is a good alternative. Sandbag training is another good way to do some intense workouts.