20 mins Treadmill Interval Workout

Known as the cardio routine that helped Lori Harvey slim down, this 20 minutes treadmill workout is the perfect set to help you add more cardio and fat burning movements into your day. Interval training is specifically designed to tap into both steady state and higher intensity heart rate zones to help you burn fat, increase your endurance and enhance your Vo2 max (how much oxygen you take into your lungs during a set period of time). 

While strength training is important for building muscle, healthy joints, staying strong and having more control over your body; cardio is important for maintaining good cardiovascular health, blood flow, and maintaining your weight long-term. This means engaging in daily cardio/aerobic activity, like walking, running, biking even skipping helps tremendously with burning calories on a regular basis, forcing your body to expend more energy than it conserves - A.K.A burn more calories than you consume. 

Interval training such as going between fast and slow speeds, challenges your body to work harder than it would if the pace that you started with was maintained. As your body works harder, your heart and lungs have to catch up to maintain your pace at a higher speed. Interval training can be applied to any form of cardio. Off the treadmill, you can move back and forth between a brisk walk and light run; similarly can be done on a bike, alternating between fast and slow speeds or even seated to standing positions.

As quoted by Harvard Professor and Anthropologist Daniel Lieberman: “Make exercise necessary and fun. Do mostly cardio, but also some weights. Some is better than none. Keep it up as you age.“

Try this sample interval workout and add it to your workout routine if you’re looking to burn more calories during your day. Also feel free to do your own research or consult your doctor or a personal trainer on how to develop a cardio routine that is customized for you.