High Intensity Interval Training Is Not A New Idea

Researchers at Colorado State University recently released a study showing that short bursts of high intensity  sprinting on exercise bikes can burn 200 calories a day more.  Subjects pedaled as fast as they could against high resistance during 5 separate 30 second periods interspersed with periods of 4 minutes of slow pedaling with little resistance.  This 2.5 minutes of high intensity training during the approximately 25 minutes of total workout time led to an average calorie burn of 200 more per day than on non workout days.  Kyle Sevits says that doing this workout a couple of times a week could help in weight maintenance.  The extra calories burned daily would offset the pound or two gained yearly by most Americans.
High intensity interval training is not a new idea.  A 1996 study by Izumi Tabata resulted in the Tabata method of workout.  This involves 4 minute sessions where an exercise is performed at high intensity for 20 seconds followed by 10 seconds of rest to complete one interval.  A total of 8 intervals are done to total 4 minutes.  Many combinations of exercises can be structured into this format but the benefits are a shorter exercise period despite greater aerobic and anaerobic gains.  The key is that all exercises must be done at a high intensity to reap the rewards.