The New Cardio Plan

Once upon a time I didn't think anything of all the people plodding along on the treadmills and ellipticals at the gym. Hell, I often was one of them.

Then I discovered intervals. Thanks to the high priests of intervals like Craig Ballantyne, Alwyn Cosgrove and the trainers at Velocity Sports Performance, I began to learn about what interval training can do for you -- because your body works so hard during the intervals it must do more after the workout to make up for it. So your body burns calories long after the workout is done. This is what Ballantyne calls "turbulence" and Cosgrove calls "afterburn." In contrast, during steady-state aeorbics, such as a 30-minute run at the same pace, you burn calories during it but not so many afterwards.

The other benefit: You're done in much less time than a traditional cardio workout. So last night at the gym I climbed on the VersaTrainer, basically a stair machine that's completely human powered, and knocked out eight 30-second intervals with 1-minute rests in between. Throw in a warm up and cool down and I was out of the gym in about 20 minutes.

Trust me -- it was a tough workout. After each interval, I was gasping for air.

Intervals can take many forms, everything from bodyweight work done in circuits to sprints. The idea is simply a burst a speed for some period of time followed by a slower pace or rest. It's catching on, too. The L.A. Times recently wrote a story about it.

For me, they've cut my body fat by about four or five percentage points over the past several months, while my weight has stayed the same, meaning I've gained muscle.