Dr Gail Trapp and colleagues published an excellent study (2008, The effects of high-intensity intermittent exercise training on fat loss and fasting insulin levels of young women. International Journal of obesity) that provides some insights as to why interval training may well be a more effective training method for those wanting to lose weight.

Dr Trapp found that short intense intervals (8 seconds of high intensity effort with 12 seconds active recovery) increased adrenaline levels, and it’s well known that adrenaline is a potent fat burning hormone and one of its key functions is to break down fat stores and burn them.

It was reported in this study that “members of the group who did 8 seconds of sprinting on a bike, followed by 12 seconds of exercising lightly for 20 minutes, lost three times as much fat as the women who exercised at a continuous, regular pace for 40 minutes.”

So this example and all the other emerging research (S.Boucher. 2010. High Intensity Intermittent Exercise & Fat Loss) support the notion that interval or as it is also known (High Intensity Intermittent Exercise) may well be a more effective way to exercise when the goal is to lose weight.

So the key to successfully using exercise for weight loss is to invoke the release of adrenaline through interval training!

Luke Delvecchio

• Accredited Sport Scientist
• Accredited Exercise Physiologist
• MSc. (Exercise Science)
• Post Grad. Dip (Exercise Rehabilitation)
• Post Grad. Cert (Diabetes Education & Management)
• BSc. (Exercise Science & Nutrition)
• Associate Nutritionist