Online Personal Training

FREE Weekly Online Fitness Training, Health and Nutrition related Tips delivered right to your inbox
Free Online Personal Training 6 and 12 week Fitness Plans
Free Healthy Meal Planning Tips
Free Workout Training ideas
Learn How To Build Muscle Fast
Learn How to Burn Fat for Life
Learn How to Gain Muscle Mass
Build a Sport Specific Fitness Training Program

At My FREE Online Personal Trainer we will support YOUR Personal Fitness and Health Goals with a Free Online Personal Training Membership.

My FREE Online Personal Trainer
Introduces
Your Complete and Balanced FREE
Online Fitness, Nutrition And Health Resources

Free Cardio Fitness Tools
Find your ideal heart rate zone
Assess your cardiovascular fitness
Select an activity,then: Calculate your "pace"
Find out how many calories you have burned.

Free Fitness Profile Tools
Flexibility Measurements
Cardiorespiratory Testing
Body Composition - Body Fat %
Strength Testing

Free Fitness Analysis Tools
Get a Pulse on Your Current Fitness and Health Levels

Find Your Fitness Training Zone
Find Your Maximum Heart Rate and Calculate
Your Perfect Fitness Training Zone

Online Personal Training Advice

For some busy people, the most effective piece of home exercise equipment may be the computer.

A slew of Online Personal Trainers and fitness programs are making it easier to obtain expert advice without the hassle and expense of a personal training session. Once a niche market that largely involved prepackaged workout programs sold by gyms and fitness sites, online training is evolving into more personalized advice, with individualized training plans and regular feedback from some of the biggest names in the fitness world.

On the Web, regular folks can now gain access to elite trainers, such as Olympic runner Jeff Galloway, who hosts popular running clinics around the country but also offers personal coaching via email. Exercise guru Bob Greene, best known as Oprah Winfrey's personal trainer, has created self-contained online training classes and hopes to launch one-on-one email training early next year.

The biggest benefit of Online Personal Training and e-coaching is the price. A typical session with a personal trainer can cost from $50 to $75 an hour, but many online training programs cost as little as $2 to $10 a week. E-training also eliminates the hassle of scheduling an appointment with a trainer, many of whom are already booked during the most convenient training times.

Questions remain about whether the benefits of e-training can make up for the loss of face-to-face interaction with an exercise expert. Face-to-face exercise trainers not only monitor your form and progress, but they also force you to stay committed to an exercise program and prevent you from slacking off.

But a study this spring in the Journal of the American Medical Association has boosted hopes among the exercise community that Online Fitness Training can produce results. Researchers at Brown University studied dieters who used Internet weight-loss programs, comparing those who simply read information from Web sites with those who received weekly email advice from behavioral therapists. In the study, 45 percent of dieters who took part in structured programs with continual contact and email feedback lost at least 5 percent of their body weight, compared with 22 percent of those in the education-only group. Logging on more frequently was associated with better weight loss in both groups.

Online Fitness Training involves one-on-one contact with a trainer -- just as you get at the gym -- except all conversations are by email. Exercisers check in with their trainers, update them on their progress and injury status and receive feedback via email. Less-personal options include music-filled workouts that can be downloaded to an MP3 player, and other prepackaged exercise plans.

To find an Online Personal Trainer, ask at your local gym if trainers there offer e-coaching services. A Google search of "Personal Trainers" and Online Personal Training kicks up dozens of potential Online Personal Trainers. If you're looking for marathon or Ironman training or even coaching for tennis or weight lifting, a more detailed search will turn up several options.

Users of Online Fitness Training Programs need to ask questions so they know whether they are getting personal feedback directly from the personal fitness trainer or an assistant, or just a prepackaged workout. Users also need to check out the credentials of their personal trainer. Look for certification from the American College of Sports Medicine (acsm.org), the American Council on Exercise (acefitness.org), or the National Strength and Conditioning Association (nsca-lift.org).

Mr. Galloway, the Olympic runner and author of several books on running, says users of his training program at www.jeffgalloway.com start by answering a questionnaire about their fitness level and exercise goals. After that, he gives them a customized training schedule, and they are assigned a day of the week to check in by email. The six-month program, which costs $249, is most effective for those who check in regularly, says Mr. Galloway, because he is able to identify potential training and injury problems before they become serious. When coaching one client, a war veteran who was training for the Marine Corps Marathon, Mr. Galloway says he determined, via email, that the man was training too hard. He urged him to slow down and incorporate more "walk breaks" in his training.

"Some people have a particular race goal, but others are just doing it for lifestyle reasons and need someone to pat them on the back," says Mr. Galloway. "That pretty instant response you can get on email is quite effective."

Mr. Greene, the personal trainer of Ms. Winfrey, hopes to begin offering personalized Internet training by January. Although Mr. Greene says he likely will take on some email clients, most users will sign up with one of several trainers overseen by Mr. Greene. For now, Mr. Greene offers prepackaged programs through his getwiththeprogram.org and totalbodymakeover.com sites. For about $40, users can sign up for 12-week courses based on Mr. Greene's techniques. New users answer a questionnaire and are given one of several preset exercise plans, depending on their fitness level and goals.

Mr. Greene says that although face-to-face training may always be better for some clients, he believes others actually do better with online training or prepackaged online workouts because it gives them more flexibility in scheduling workouts, rather than trying to work around a personal trainer's schedule.

Mr. Greene notes that the most important issue is chemistry, and whether the trainer can relate to the challenges faced by the client, whether it's a busy executive schedule or the unpredictable schedule of a mother of three. "If they motivate you, then that's going to be good chemistry," he says.

FREE Online Personal Training Tips

Losing patience with your current exercise program? The key to weight loss and fitness gains is to consistently give your body new challenges. Mix up your workouts every few weeks, and don't be afraid to try something new!

Does Muscle Turn into Fat?

This age old question about Muscle and Fat can be answered in one quick way.. Muscle is always muscle and Fat is always Fat..
You cannot turn one into the other. When you stop any fitness training program, your caloric demand will be reduced.
Most people have a difficult time adjusting to the changes in their fitness program in relationship to food consumption.

Also within 72 hours since your last workout, the body begins a gentle, almost undetectable slide into sloth. In time, muscle mass decreases. Muscles that used to incinerate calories and crank up your metabolism while at rest, do not work as efficiently and hence less calories burned.

The body at this point does not burn fat as efficiently and then Fat gains get accelerated and this process is compounded by a declining metabolism, diminished muscle mass, and failure to adjust your caloric intake.

So muscle doesn't turn into fat at all!!! The Fat just consumes and takes over your Body!!!

NOT a Pretty Sight......

A Great Abdominal Exercise

Try the straight leg raise for a challenging ab workout. Lie on your back with your hands under your low back, legs straight out in front of you. With your lower back on the floor, exhale as you pull your legs straight up into the air. Inhale as you lower your legs back down to the matt. This exercise helps to strengthen and flatten your lower abs.

Cardio and Building Muscle

It’s typically not a good idea to perform cardio workouts if you are trying to get muscle growth and put on size in your body.

Cardio can have a tendency to consume all the calories that are needed for your muscle growth.

But? And I mean But?.. Everyone that trains with me both online and one on one knows that I always incorporate cardio in to every fitness training program I put together for my clients.

So why do I do that?

It’s called Interval Training!

Yes Interval or H.I.I.T - High Intensity Interval Training short burst of hi intensity energy followed by a recovery period has shown to help improve performance with resistance training.

High Intensity Interval Training is known also as anaerobic energy systems, which is improving your body’s ability to deliver fuel to your muscles and also increasing your capacity for heavy exercise.
The other great thing about Interval Fitness training is that it protects your muscles.

Visualize yourself in an all out sprint or pedaling on your bike at your near maximum capacity and speed, which forces your muscles to work very hard.
This really almost duplicates heavy weight training, giving you the same growth-hormone release that you find in a resistance training workout.
Furthermore, intervals make your body produce extra levels of a chemical called Glucagon, which causes you to burn calories directly from your FAT stores.

So interval fitness training protects your muscles and burns Fat to allow you to be able to train harder and more efficiently.

What a great Concept. Workout less. Get Better Results.

Plus, My clients tell me that Interval Training keeps you motivated longer and also helps keep your mind off how much time you have left in your training.
That old mind game that is played when working out.

Is it possible to build a strong chest without any machines or weights??

How about the old fashioned push-up!!

Yes, in some ways pushups are even more effective than a bench press. A pushup is referred to as a closed-chain exercise, meaning you move your body through space, instead of using a bar.

In order to make all that happen, you need to engage your core muscles to stabilize your torso. This means you use about 75% of your own body weight during each rep, while targeting your chest, shoulders, triceps, and your core.
This movement works a lot more muscles than you would by bench press alone.

Pushups also can be done in many creative ways!!

Vary the distance your hands are apart
* The wider the hand position – outer chest
* The closer the hand position – inner chest

Do pushups in an incline or decline position
* Use a bench – incline or decline position
* Use a stability ball – more stabilization required

Vary Technique of Pushup
* Use one arm
* Clap between reps
* Use round dumbbells to force you to stabilize

Advanced Techniques
* Incline Pushup on using stability ball – full body weight and balance
* Decline Pushup with feet on stability ball
* Decline Pushup with feet on stability ball, hands holding dumbbells

So if you don’t have weights don’t fret….. Your own body weight with a little creativity will develop the chest you have always wanted.. Toned, Tight and Defined..

Can I take if off where I want it?

There is no such thing as "spot reducing" or losing weight only from a specific area of the body. As a rule of thumb, your body is going to lose fat in the reverse order from which it put it on. So if you first gained weight around your waist, and then your arms, and then your thighs, you will first lose the fat around your thighs, then your arms, and lastly your waist.

So Remember don't focus on a certain area, just have a dedicated resistance, cardio and balanced nutritional meal plan.. and watch it come off in all areas.

Don't Give up when you hit your fitness wall

You exercise regularly. You watch what you eat. And, still you can't seem to lose those last few extra pounds. Is it hopeless? Is there no solution to the weight plateau problem?

Don't get discouraged. I, too, have found myself in this predicament in the past. And, it is possible to overcome. But, there are a few things that need to be considered.

First of all, are you constantly stepping on your scales to see if you've lost any more weight? If so, STOP! Avoid weighing yourself too frequently, or you may find yourself feeling a bit despondent. Even if you lose several pounds rather quickly in the beginning of your weight-loss program, the closer you get to achieving your weight-loss goal, the slower the weight tends to fall off. This is partly due to the fact that your body likely hasn't as much fat to lose! It now has more lean tissue.
Also, as you work out, the muscles in your body become more developed. And, as most of us know, muscle weighs more than fat! Then, there are days when you simply retain fluids and weigh a pound or two more than you did the day before! Let's face it! The scales can be deceptive. I try my best to stay away from them!

A better way to judge whether you're slimming down is by monitoring the way your clothes fit. If a pair of pants fits looser now than it did a couple weeks ago, then, chances are that you're making progress towards your goal! Something else to consider, too, is whether your weight-loss goal is reasonable for your body type. Are you trying to lose more weight than your body can afford to lose?

Keep Track of What You Eat Secondly, keep track of what you eat, and be sure to exercise. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume!

In fact, to lose just one pound of fat, you need to burn approximately 3,500 calories! This generally takes from 3 days to one week. You may try to control your weight by merely controlling your food intake. Ideally, however, you should both watch what you consume and burn calories through exercise, if you really want to drop those last few pounds.

By tracking what you eat, you may discover that you're actually consuming a great deal more calories than you had imagined. Stay away from those potato chips and soft drinks! But don't starve yourself, either! If you eat too few calories, your body will try to protect itself by slowing down its metabolism and hanging onto its fat for survival.
If you continue to exercise regularly and maintain a healthy diet, but those last few pounds still won't fall off, perhaps, you need to give your metabolism a little boost by increasing the amount of exercise you get or by increasing the intensity of your workouts. If you usually walk for 30 minutes, why not try to add another 15 minutes to your walks? Or, instead of walking, how about giving jogging a chance? Add weight training to your workouts, as well, if you haven't already done so.

Lifting weights helps build muscle mass, which, in turn, burns more calories than does fat. Sometimes, simply by changing up your exercise routine a bit, the weight-loss will start again. If you seem to be stuck on a weight-loss plateau, don't give up hope! Just remember:

* Avoid weighing yourself everyday! Once a week, or even less, is often enough!
* Pay attention to your diet! Eat healthy, balanced meals. Avoid too much fat and too many calories. Don't under-eat!
* Drink plenty of water! Water helps speed up the metabolism. Additionally, if you drink a glass before each meal, it will help to decrease your appetite, and encourage you to eat less.
* Get plenty of exercise. If necessary, increase the length of your workouts and/or the intensity of your workouts. Vary the types of exercise you incorporate into your workouts, as well.

Weight Training Really does work

Pump some iron! Did you know that 1 lb of muscle burns 30-50 calories per day, while 1lb of fat only burns about 9 calories per day. The more muscle your body contains the more calories you burn each day.

Understanding Reps in your Workout

A rep, or "repetition," occurs every time you move a weight from a starting position to a finishing position. A rep on the bench press occurs when the barbell is lifted off the chest and then returned. You perform a certain number of reps in each "set" you do when weight training.
So how many reps should you do? It all depends on what you're trying to accomplish...
If your goal is to tighten and tone your muscles you should shoot for 10-20 reps per set. If your goal is to build more muscle, you should keep the reps in the 6-10 range for each set. Obviously, higher reps require lower weight. Lower reps allow you to stress the muscles more with much heavier weight.
The key is to choose weights that cause you to reach your "failure point" (where you can't lift the weight anymore) right around the 20-rep mark (for toning) or the 10-rep mark (for muscle building). If you can easily do more reps you're not using a heavy enough weight. This is especially important for building muscle.

Super Charge Your Metabolism

10 Free Fitness Tips that will Guarantee your Long Term Fitness and health Success. Get a Better Body Today!

1. Cardio in Combination with Strength Training - If you need to combine your cardio with Strength training then do your Cardio AFTER your Resistance Training workout. You need that extra energy for the Hi Intensity Strength training and you also want to pump blood into your muscles after you have just broken them down from a heavy resistance training program... So Pump it up first then do your Cardio.

2. Exercise in the Morning - A Recent Study showed that after one year, 75% of the morning exercisers stayed with their fitness and health program. Compared to only 25% of those that worked out in the evening. Exercising early gets you moving and energized as well not allowing yourself to find 1,000 excuses at the end of the day on why you can’t work out.. I am TOO Tired... I am TOO Busy... I am TOO far from the gym... You know!!!!

3. Exercise @ Home - A Recent study by the University of Florida in Gainsville found that those that worked out at home lost more weight than those that trained at a gym. Reason - You are less likely to skip workouts when you do not have to travel to a place to workout..... NO EXCUSES when the gym is @ home.

4. Exercise Outdoors - Anything you do outside brings the elements into play. Wind, hills, and other variables... Plus changing scenery helps keep the boredom out of the workout... No FUN staring at the wall.... If you do train inside, I recommend changing machines often as well as your program settings to keep things FRESH...

5. Treadmill vs. Stationary Bike - Stick with the Treadmill.. Weight Bearing machines always expend more energy than if you were sitting down.. So stand tall and burn more calories.....

6. Interval vs. Long Steady Cardio - Periodic bursts of Hi Intensity training followed by moderate recovery is the Answer!!!! You will burn 1 ˝ times the calories during the same duration if you had done long and steady cardio. In addition, you will even burn 75-125 additional calories after the workout. Also keep in mind that long and steady helps enhance your metabolism.. My recommendation is to do Intervals 75% of the time and mix it up with another 25% of Long and Steady to help mix it up and reduce your chance of injury by over training.

7. One Set or Three? - One set does NOT Get it done... I always recommend when first starting out to do One set, but after an adjustment period of learning proper form and technique, you need to rev it up by doing at least 2-3 sets of each exercise. A Study published by the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that experienced exercisers who did multiple sets gained significantly more strength than those that just did one set. Three is better than one.

8. Pre-Stretch or Post Workout? - The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research states that Stretching may temporarily shut down nerve signals, which slows reaction time and reduces strength. Other studies have shown that stretching pre workout does not reduce injury risk. The best time to stretch is during your weight training workout. Begin all routines with a 5 minute warm up to warm your muscles and get them flexible. It will increase blood flow and make your muscles more responsive. So we recommend stretching in between sets or after your workouts.

9. Free weight or Machines? - Free weights are the way to go. They will make you stronger, because they place more demand on your muscles, since you have to stabilize and balance your body. If you are a novice it might be good without the help of a trainer, to start out using machines, but the way to go for the best long term results for both strength and body toning, is to use dumbbells, barbells, and perform those exercises using a stability ball, standing or last but not least on a bench.

10. Coffee or Carbs? - Carbs are the best.. You body is just like your car, in that it needs good quality fuel to run well. When you are training, you are revving your engine and your body needs fuel to keep it going. Caffeine does trigger your muscles to use fat as energy, but Caffeine has soo many side effects like headaches, rapid heartbeat and shakiness. As well as some people have problems with Acid reflux disease that does not bode well with caffeine in your system. Eat good quality carbs before your workout for energy and make sure you refuel after you train as well.

If you focus on these 10 Fitness Tips you are well on your way to Getting more Fit and succeeding in your Fitness and Health Goals.

Take care of your Bones with Weights

Resistance training is good for your bones! When your bones are put under the tension of resistance training they become stronger and healthier.

Building A Better Body

The quest to develop a stunningly fit, lean and attractive body is a long, slow journey. It's not something you achieve overnight by popping a few pills or strapping an electric gizmo to your belly.

Which reminds me, did you know that by the time the FTC finally blew the whistle on the electronic ab belt scam, the makers of those "ab zappers" had swindled over $100 million dollars from unsuspecting consumers? Fortunately, some of those companies had to pay it back, and then some! The FTC charged three companies - Fast Abs, Ab Tronic and Ab Energizer - with false advertising and deceptive warranty practices for these "ABSurd" products.

But I digress… back to what I was saying about the journey to a better body...

Last week I looked out my window, and where there was once nothing but a dirt-filled empty lot, there stood a sprawling six story brick condo complex. If someone looked at this massive completed structure for the first time, they might not be impressed. However, since I observed the entire construction process unfold from my living room window, I was impressed - amazed even - at what goes into erecting this kind of structure.

I remember watching the crew humming around diligently every day like busy bees, laying one brick after another. From one day to the next, it didn't seem like much changed. But slowly, over a period of a year and a half, I watched the building gradually morph into the finished product.

When you look at someone with an incredible body as a finished product, you often tend to dismiss the long, arduous journey and hard work it took to build that body. Unless you were side by side with that person in the gym (and in the kitchen), observing the work involved, it's easy to attribute such a chiseled physique to genetics or give credit to a supplement (they just took product XYZ and voila - overnight abs). What you don't see or appreciate are all the months and years of sweat and hard work.

Getting in shape is a lot like a construction project. First, there must be a picture in the mind. Then the vision goes onto paper as a blueprint. It takes months just to lay the foundation. More months of work will follow. On a daily basis, it doesn't seem like much is happening. You look in the mirror and appear, for the most part, the same as you did yesterday. But sure enough, the small improvements are slowly accumulating like compounding interest in the bank. One day, you look in the mirror and "suddenly," your blueprint has become reality.

The body of a fitness pro or bodybuilding champion is no more likely to be built overnight than a high rise is to be built overnight. It's not physically possible. Accepting the idea that any type of pill, powder, drug, supplement or machine of any kind will make it happen sooner is pure folly. You can't force it.

Growth and development of any kind always requires a gestation period. For a baby, it's nine months. For corn, I believe it's about three months. If you were an expectant mother, would you want to hurry the process? Could any new development in nutrition or medical science speed up this wonderful miracle even one iota? If you were a farmer, would you try to harvest your crop before it was ripe? Would you dig up your seeds to see if anything was growing down there?

The answers are obvious. If only we would adopt the same patient, nurturing "mother's" or "farmer's mindset" towards getting in shape, then no one would waste their money on "fast abs" or "exercise in a bottle" or any such silliness ever again. We would understand that one must sow first, then reap the harvest, but that you can't sow and reap in the same season.

If you ever get frustrated with your rate of progress (and who doesn't), just remember; success is always guaranteed to the persistent. Nothing in the world can stop someone who knows what they want and is willing to continue paying the price until they get it. It just takes time.

Become the architect and builder of your own dream body. You WILL build the body you want eventually if you're patient enough and you refuse to quit. And set your goals HIGH! Create a fantastic blueprint. Michelangelo said, “The greatest danger is not that we set our goals too high and miss them, the greatest danger is that we set our goals too low and we reach them.”

Envision a castle - a veritable Taj Mahal of a body! There's nothing wrong with building castles in the sky, as long as you patiently work at putting the foundations underneath them. There are very few unrealistic goals; only goals with unrealistic deadlines. So keep laying those "bricks" - every day - one at a time - and sure enough, eventually, you'll build yourself a palace.

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal trainer (CPT), certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS), and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle.” Tom has written more than 200 articles and has been featured in print magazines such as IRONMAN, Australian IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise, as well as on hundreds of websites worldwide. For information on Tom's Fat Loss program, visit: www.burnthefat.com

Interval Training - Your Secret Weapon

High Intensity Interval Training is extremely effective for fat loss and for dramatically improving your cardio capabilities. Learn exactly how to perform Interval Training for maximum results.

Without question, High Intensity Interval Training is one of the most effective means available for rapidly losing bodyfat and improving your cardiovascular conditioning. Not only do you burn many more calories while you're performing the training, you also stimulate your metabolism to a far greater degree than with lower intensity training, which is traditionally hailed for fat loss.

You're going to learn exactly how to perform various types of high intensity interval training to maximize your results. For a full discussion of the advantages of high intensity training over low intensity training, read the following article, which explains it detail:

What Do You Mean Low-Intensity Training Isn't The Best For Fat Burning? Click Here to Learn More about Interval Training

Even though it's more challenging than low intensity training, High Intensity Interval Training offers tremendous benefits to you:

1. It burns more calories than low intensity training, meaning you can burn more fat in shorter workouts.

2. Higher intensities stimulate your metabolism far more AFTER the workouts than lower intensity training. This means you continue to burn calories and fat for long periods after you're done training. Not so with low intensity training.

3. Training at higher speeds, such as with high intensity training can dramatically improve sports performance. Football players can sprint faster and recover more quickly between plays. Tennis players can keep chasing down balls during longer points. Even endurance athletes can benefit by teaching their bodies to work at a faster pace!

In general, interval training is best done 2 or 3 times per week. It is a challenging form of cardio and requires recovery time in between sessions. Interval sessions can last anywhere between 5 to 30 minutes or more, depending on the fitness level of the trainer and the style of intervals being done.

How To Do It:

Interval training is based on a very simple concept: go fast then go slow. Repeat. It sounds easy, but within this simple formula lies a tremendous number of possible variations and strategies you can employ to take full advantage of the power available to you.

Interval training can be performed on almost any cardiovascular machine (including the treadmill, stair machine, stationary bike, elliptical trainer, etc.) as well as almost any type of cardiovascular exercise (such as cycling, swimming, running, etc.).

Though the examples I will go through below use time as a measure for intervals, you can also very easily use distance as your guide. For example, you can sprint between two telephone poles then walk to the next one. You can sprint the length of a football field then walk the width. You can even run up a flight of stairs then walk back down. The variations you can do are truly endless!

Here are a number of different types of interval training you can use:

1. Aerobic Interval Training

Aerobic Interval Training is very beneficial for rapidly improving your aerobic conditioning as well as burning fat. It will even help you build up your endurance faster than long-duration cardio! It is also a very good introductory format for starting interval training. If you are new to interval training, I highly recommend beginning with Aerobic Intervals.

This type of interval training involves relatively long work periods and shorter rest periods. Work periods are generally 2 to 5 minutes long in this type of training. The idea is not to take it easy for that work time but to work at a speed that challenges you to be able to make it to the end of that work interval. Your 2 minute interval pace is, therefore, going to be significantly faster than your 5 minute interval pace.

The rest interval for this type of training is between 30 seconds to a minute. Naturally, the shorter the rest period, the tougher the training will be. Too much rest will allow your body to recover too much, lessening the overall training effect of the exercise.

Here are some examples of a number of different intervals you can use in your training:

Work Rest
2 min. 30 sec.
5 min. 1 min.
3 min. 45 sec.
2 min. 1 min.
5 min. 30 sec.

When using these intervals, you can choose to stick to the same time intervals (e.g. do 2 minutes hard and 30 seconds slow for the duration of the workout) or mix it up with different time intervals as you go through your session. This type of training can generally be done for about 20 to 30 minutes.

2. Maximal High-Intensity Intervals

This type of interval training is VERY high intensity and is VERY effective for fat loss and cardio training. You essentially push yourself to the maximum on every single work interval you do! This type of training is extremely effective when training for sports that require all-out repeated efforts, such as football, soccer, hockey, etc. If you want to get faster and recover faster, this is the type of training for you.

This type of training sends very powerful signals to the body and the metabolism. In addition to dramatically ratcheting up the body's metabolism, maximal-effort training also causes large amounts of Growth Hormone, one of your body's primary fat burning hormones (the Fountain of Youth Hormone, as it's sometimes referred to) to be released into the bloodstream. This two-pronged effect is very powerful for fat-burning.

Maximal Intervals are much shorter than Aerobic Intervals. Generally, the longest you'll be able to perform a maximal effort is around 30 seconds so all the work intervals are 30 seconds or less.

Rest periods can be short or long, depending how good of shape a person is in and/or how much they want to recover inbetween intervals. Shorter rest periods make the work intervals more challenging but the speed of the work will also drop quickly after a few intervals. Longer rest periods will allow the body to recover a little more, allowing faster speeds on more intervals. Rest periods should always be at least as long as the work periods. This is to allow enough recovery to be able to perform well on the next work period.

Here are some examples of Maximal work and rest intervals you can use in your training. As I mentioned above, you can stick with one time period through the whole session, or vary your intervals you go through the workout.

Work Rest
30 sec. 30 sec.
30 sec. 1 min.
20 sec. 1 min.
10 sec. 30 sec.
30 sec. 2 min.

Since Maximal Intervals are so challenging, a person should not expect or try to be able to jump right in at a high level for a large number of intervals. It is very important to build yourself up gradually.

Start by performing five Maximal Intervals the first two sessions you do the training. The next two sessions, do six Maximal Intervals. Continue adding intervals in this step-up fashion until you are doing intervals for a maximum of 15 minutes straight. The exact number of intervals you do in a session will depend on the times you're using in your work and rest intervals.

Because Maximal Intervals are so challenging, you may find yourself getting too fatigued to perform at a fast pace as you get towards the end. When this happens, try doing Reverse Pyramid intervals. Instead of keeping your work interval the same, reduce it by 5 seconds every couple of intervals.

Here's a sample of how to do it:

Interval 1 - 30 seconds hard, 30 seconds rest.
Interval 2 - 30 seconds hard, 30 seconds rest.
Interval 3 - 25 seconds hard, 30 seconds rest.
Interval 4 - 25 seconds hard, 30 seconds rest.
Interval 5 - 20 seconds hard, 30 seconds rest.
Interval 6 - 20 seconds hard, 30 seconds rest.
Interval 7 - 15 seconds hard, 30 seconds rest.
Interval 7 - 15 seconds hard, 30 seconds rest.

3. Sub-Maximal High Intensity Intervals

Sub-Maximal intervals are excellent for burning fat and for building up your cardiovascular conditioning. This type of training will do each of these fat better than continuous-tempo, lower-intensity training.

This type of interval training is very similar in concept and execution to the Maximal interval style. The difference is, instead of pushing yourself as hard as you can on each work interval, you work at a pace that is somewhat below your max. This allows you to do more total work intervals during the session while still keeping your intensity levels high.

Most Interval programs on cardio machines follow this principle. The resistance/speed is increased to a higher level for a set period of time then reduced for a set period of time. The level is not so high that you must put your maximum effort into each work interval, but it is at a level you could not keep up for long periods.

This type of training is also very effective for fat loss and increasing the metabolism.

Intervals in this style can be longer, since you're not working at maximum speed, but not much longer. Work periods of 30 seconds to a minute and rest periods of 30 seconds to a minute work well for it. Here are some sample intervals you can use in your training:

Work Rest
30 sec. 30 sec.
30 sec. 1 min.
1 min. 1 min.
1 min. 30 sec.
45 sec. 45 sec.

This type of training can be done for about 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the intensity level of the work.

4. Near-Maximal Aerobic Intervals

This is a unique form of interval training that I've been working with that basically combines Aerobic Interval Training with Maximal Interval Training to allow you to work at near-peak levels for long periods of time. This has the benefit of burning a tremendous amount of calories for longer periods of work time than is possible with normal intervals.

The work intervals themselves are short but the rest periods are much shorter! Instead of pushing yourself to the max on every interval, you work at a pace somewhat short of your max. This type of training allows you to perform near your max for longer periods of time. It is a very challenging and unique form of interval training.

Here's how it works:

Start with a work interval of 20 seconds and a rest interval of 5 seconds. Your pace should be one that you would only be able to keep up steady for about 1 to 2 minutes before having to stop. Do that pace for 20 seconds then go very slow for 5 seconds. Jump right back in and do that same pace for another 20 seconds then very slow for 5 seconds. Keep this cycle repeating for a designated period of time, e.g. 5 minutes, 10 minutes or 15 minutes.

Here are some sample intervals you can use with this training style:

Work Rest
20 sec. 5 sec.
25 sec. 5 sec.
30 sec. 10 sec.
15 sec. 7 sec.
40 sec. 10 sec.

This type of training works very well with cardio machines that allow you to switch resistance instantly or very quickly (stationary bikes, stair machines or elliptical trainers often allow this). Machines that must cycle slowly through their speeds as they change do not work well for this (treadmills fall into this category). It can also be done with running then walking, cycling then pedalling slowly, or even swimming hard then stroking lazily. You'll find it very challenging to be having to constantly restart your momentum from almost scratch on every interval!

Please note: it's very important that you don't stop completely when you take your short rest period. Keep yourself moving during this time even if you're just moving very slowly!

5. Fartlek Training

No discussion of Interval Training would be complete with a reference to Fartlek Training. Translated from Swedish, "Fartlek" literally means "speed play." What is it? It's simple - Fartlek training is every type of interval rolled into one workout!

You can start by jogging for 5 minutes then walk for 30 seconds then sprint for 30 seconds then walk again then run fast for 2 minutes and so on. The idea is to train at a wide variety of speeds, distances and times in order to hit the widest variety of training parameters.

This type of training is an excellent way to keep your cardio interesting. You never have to do the same thing twice! This workout can last anywhere from 15 to 40 minutes, depending on the intensity at which you are working.

---

In conclusion, Interval Training is not a hard concept to wrap your head around: go fast then go slow! The various types of interval training I've explained above will definitely help you achieve your goals, whether they be rapid fat loss, high-powered sports performance or amazing cardiovascular capacity!

------------------

Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for more than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including "Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss," "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!" and "The Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of" all available at Fitness-ebooks.com

Sign Up for our FREE Personal Training Newsletter

My FREE Online Personal Trainer

Sign up to our Personal Fitness Newsletter! Enter Your Email Address Enter Your Name Privacy Note: My Home Personal Trainer will not sell, rent or give away your email address to anyone for any reason.

My FREE Online Personal Trainer
FREE Fitness And Health Tools

Cardio Fitness Tools
Find your ideal heart rate zone
Assess your cardiovascular fitness
Select an activity,then: Calculate your "pace"
Find out how many calories you have burned.

Free Fitness Profile Tools
Flexibility Measurements
Cardiorespiratory Testing
Body Composition - Body Fat %
Strength Testing

Free Fitness Analysis Tool
Get a Pulse on Your Current Fitness and Health Levels

Find Your Fitness Training Zone
Find Your Maximum Heart Rate and Calculate
Your Perfect Fitness Training Zone