2. Do Everything in Intervals

Spinning, Rev, and other popular interval training programs are on to something. Brief bursts of intense exercise broken up by rest periods are a lot more effective as conditioning tools than sustained workouts. Our bodies are designed to move in bursts of activity followed by periods of rest. When we do move this way, we burn more calories and get a better cardiovascular workout. Many people believe that you have to run for a long time - at least 20 minutes straight - to start burning fat and conditioning your heart and lungs. This simply isn’t true. Even a four minute burst of exercise is enough to rev your body into fat burning, challenge your cardiovascular system, and signal your body that it needs to get in shape. Putting together a series of these bursts into a 20 to 50 minute workout is the most effective way to exercise for just about every goal.

Most popular interval programs, like spinning, don’t emphasize rest intervals enough. If you take time to fully recover between bursts of exercise, you will get better results with less effort, and have a much more pleasant experience exercising. By "fully recovering", we mean you should slow to a walk, or even stand still or sit down, and fully recover your breath at regular intervals during your workout. You should never go longer than 7-10 minutes without at least a 90 second (and better, two to four minute) full break.

Taking breaks during your workouts allows your body to recover from the exercise you’ve just done and marshal its resources for the next burst. During this recovery period, your body taps into fat stores, starts synthesizing chemicals that help you burn more fat, and tamps down the inflammation that is always associated with exercise, sparing your joints. We can’t emphasize the importance of taking full rest breaks (wait until you are no longer breathing hard to start moving quickly again) enough. By taking breaks to recover during your workouts, you will end up burning more calories and achieving your fitness goals more quickly. Plus you’ll feel a lot better when you’re done. Try it and see. Go for a 30 minute run one day, and then do a 30 minute ReEvolution Cradio workout (available in your free ReEvoltion Fitness Action Plan) two days later (to give your body a chance to recover…).  Compare how you feel afterwards. The difference will be night and day.

Note: Stopping suddenly to stand or sit and rest after a long run - 30 minutes straight or more with no break - is dangerous. After longer runs, it's very important to cool down before stopping.

3.  Give Your Body Proper Rest

Not only do you need to take rest breaks during your workouts, you need to give your body a chance to fully recover between workouts. As discussed, most of the changes that exercise makes in your body (fat loss, muscular development, increased stamina) occur while you are resting, not while you are exercising. Training every day, or failing to get enough sleep, will undermine your efforts. As with long duration workouts, you end up doing more work for inferior results. Work out 3 or 4 times per week (5 at most if you are a highly trained athlete), taking at least 2 or 3 days per week off from the gym. On your days off, go for light walks or stretch.  Further, make sure to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. Our culture emphasizes a work hard, play hard approach to life. This is a recipe for burn out. Working hard and playing hard are fine, but they need to be balanced by serious rest. The harder you push in your workouts and your daily life, the more you need quality sleep and days off to continue getting the most out of your body. In the gym and in life, emphasize working smart and efficiently, rather than working as much as possible. To do this, you need to make rest a priority.