There are so many things today that we can use to get in our cardio workout. There are elliptical machines, stationary bikes, stair climbers, treadmills, bodyweight circuits, jumping rope, and the list could go on and on.... There are even fitness videos that do some form of intervals in their videos, such as Turbo Jam -Fat Blaster My preferences are the treadmill, elliptical and bodyweight circuits.

Whether you are trying to lose fat, increase your metabolism, give your body an amazing sexy shape, or just trying to work up your cardio endurance, make sure you are doing intervals.

What are intervals? Interval training involves alternating short bursts of intense activity with what is called active recovery, which is typically a less-intense form of the original activity performed for a specific amount of time. Intervals also cause your body to continue burning calories and fat long after you have finished your workout! Now who wouldn't want that benefit?

An example of an interval on the treadmill:

Warm up for 2-3 minutes at a moderate intensity (about 4 out of 10). Then increase speed to high intensity (about 8 out of 10) for 30 seconds, then low intensity (about 3 out of 10) for 60 seconds and do this 6 times. Then cool down for 3-5 minutes at low intensity (about 4 out of 10). When you reach interval number six, you should be thinking to yourself "I don't think I can do this", but you WILL! That is how intense these intervals should be. If you are not dragging yourself off the machine when you are done, then you didn't work hard enough. You should never have to do intervals for longer than 30 minutes. If you are just beginning, start at an easy pace and do shorter durations of intervals until you have built up your endurance, then increase your intensity!

You can also change up your intervals in many different ways. You can change the incline of the machine or change the duration of the high intervals. You can do 30, 60, 90, all the way to 120 seconds and then just make sure your recovery interval is equal to or double the high intensity intervals.

Sometimes, my intervals last only about 10 minutes long, but I go hard during this time and definitely know I burned some serious fat! So there should never be an excuse that you don't have time to workout...just remember intervals...SHORT AND SWEET!

Angie Schumacher is a successful fitness entrepreneur both in online and offline areas. She is a Certified Personal Trainer and diet and fitness website manager. For more great diet and fitness tips, visit http://www.WomensDietandFitness.com, http://www.WomensDietandFitness.com/WDF or http://www.BuildingABetterU.com