Skip to main content
  • Individuals
    • Individuals
    • Business
    • Adviser
    • About us
    • Contact us
    • Claims
    • AIA Vitality Member Login
  • Search
  • AIA Australia
  • Health Insurance
    • Member Benefits
    • Member Login
    • Get a quote
    • Make a claim
  • Life Insurance
    • Life Cover
    • Total and Permanent Disablement
    • Crisis Recovery
    • Income Protection
    • Business Expenses
    • Make a claim
    • Medix
  • AIA Vitality
    • Partners and Rewards
    • Already a member? Login
  • Content Hub
    • Move Well
    • Plan Well
    • Eat Well
    • Think Well
  • Help & Support
    • Making a Claim
    • Form Library
    • Policyholder Information
    • Complaints process
    • Contact AIA
    • Customer feedback
    • COVID-19
    • Part 9
  • Covid-19 Response
    • Claims and Medical Support
    • Applying for Life Cover
    • COVID-19 FAQs
AIA
  • Individuals
  • Business
  • Adviser
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Claims
  • AIA Vitality Member Login
  • Health Insurance

    Health Insurance

    Cover that protects and rewards.

    • Member Benefits

      Learn more about the range of benefits available to AIA Health Insurance members.

    • Member Login

      Existing members login here to your online account.

    • Get a quote

      Ready to get started?

    • Make a claim

      Get help with making a claim.

  • Life Insurance

    Life Insurance

    We’re here to help protect your family, your lifestyle and your future.

    For Individuals

    For Business

    • Life Cover

      Helps protect your loved ones if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness or pass away.

    • Total and Permanent Disablement

      A lump sum benefit if you're no longer able to work due to an injury or illness.

    • Crisis Recovery

      Helps ease the financial burden should you suffer a traumatic event.

    • Income Protection

      Can provide you with a monthly income if you become disabled due to injury or illness.

    • Business Expenses

      May assist to pay expenses of your business if you cannot work due to injury or illness.

    • Make a claim

      Get help with making a claim.

    • Medix

      Personal Medical Case Management.

  • AIA Vitality

    AIA Vitality

    AIA Vitality is a personalised, science-backed health and wellbeing program that supports you every day to make healthier lifestyle choices.

    • Partners and Rewards

      Learn more about our partners and rewards.

    • Already a member? Login

      Check your AIA Vitality Status and get access to the tools you need to help improve your health.

  • Content Hub

    Content Hub

    The AIA Vitality Content Hub is your go to for science-backed, health and wellbeing inspiration and advice.

    • Move Well

      Finding your further when it comes to exercise and fitness.

    • Plan Well

      Improving financial literacy, because a good tomorrow starts today.

    • Eat Well

      Caring for your body with food that makes you feel good.

    • Think Well

      Tools and information to help cultivate a healthy frame of mind.

  • Help & Support

    Help & Support

    We strive to assist you for all your inquiries with high touch customer service.

    Contact AIA
    • Making a Claim

      Get help with making a claim.

    • Form Library

      A selection of forms you can download, fill in and send back to us.

    • Policyholder Information

      Useful information for policyholders.

    • Complaints process

      If you have a complaint, we'll do our best to resolve the situation.

    • Contact AIA

      How to get in contact with us.

    • Customer feedback

      Let us know how we're doing.

    • COVID-19

      How we are responding.

    • Part 9

      Information about the upcoming transfer under Part 9.

  • Covid-19 Response

    Covid-19 Response

    We’re here to help in a time of crisis.

    • Claims and Medical Support

      How we can support you.

    • Applying for Life Cover

      Learn more about our coverage.

    • COVID-19 FAQs

      Find out more.

  • Search
  • Contact Us
    • Call Us

      Open: 8am to 6pm, AEST Mon - Fri

    • Find an adviser

Move Well
Prev
Back to Top
  • {{title}}

    {{label}}
  • 6 reasons to get serious about interval training

    Staff Writer - 5 min read

    28 November 2020


    Did you know that just two minutes of interval training has the same effect on your body as 30 minutes of regular exercise? That’s not a typo. Here’s how it works.  

    In 2013, the world went mad for the seven-minute workout. In 2016, it was the one-minute workout. But as workouts get shorter, we’re told that results get better. How does that work?

    It all comes down to interval training. 

    Interval training is when your incorporate short bursts of intense activity into your workout – say, 30 seconds of cycling, star jumps, crunches, or sprints as if your life depended on it – followed by 90 or so seconds of more gentle activity. 

    Endurance athlete and AIA Vitality ambassador Sam Gash is an avid fan of interval training, and regularly works in sprint intervals into her running routine.  

    “It’s one of the most efficient ways of actually improving your aerobic capacity,” she says. “It’s also a really good use of time. I could go out for a three hour run, or I could do an interval session for an hour or so.”

    Interval training, Tabata and HIIT workouts are types of anaerobic exercise, which involve quick bursts of energy at max capacity. Anaerobic exercise uses stored energy in your muscles (rather than oxygen) and also breaks down glucose. This is all happening in your body during those 30-second bursts.

    But when you’re in your ‘gentle’ mode (which isn’t really that gentle!), your aerobic form kicks in. Your breathing and heart rate increase as more blood is pumped around your body, and you start using oxygen to convert stored carbs into energy. 

    The more your body acclimatises to operating in this anaerobic/aerobic manner, the better your muscles may become at working hard – and efficiently – before they get tired or sore. 

    Sam, who has run 200kms non-stop through the Himalayas and 379km – also non-stop – across Australia’s Simpson Desert (along with a host of other incredible feats!), says that interval training is also a powerful tool in building resilience. “It’s a really good tool to remind ourselves of our capacity to survive in discomfort,” she says. 

    Looking for more reasons why you should incorporate interval training into your next workout? Say no more. 

    1. It can help build speed and endurance

    Working in shorter intervals may boost your cardio-respiratory health, compared to doing longer, more continuous workouts. When you and your heart are fit, the better you may be at running further or swimming faster without getting puffed or tired, which may also reduce the chances of heart disease. 

    2. It may be good for your heart

    Speaking of our hearts, when you switch up the intensity of how much you push yourself, you’re also exercising the heart muscle, which provides a great cardio workout and improves your aerobic capacity. It’s also a great way to build on your existing strength – literally. “Interval training encourages your foundation of basic strength training, which is really good because the stronger frame is, the more your body can carry into interval training,” Sam says.

    3. It’s a really efficient way to exercise

    If you’re short on time, you can still fit in a workout that works. Even four minutes is long enough to work up a sweat, and reap the benefits. Research has shown that three 15-minute workouts per week may help you reach your health goals more quickly than running for an hour on the treadmill. 

    4. It can help burn fat

    When you’re hard at it, you’re already burning energy, so go, you good thing! But when you team it with interval training, your body starts repairing itself more quickly, and you’ll continue burning fat after you’ve stopped exercising. This is often referred to as ‘afterburn’ and it happens when your metabolism is still in overdrive from your workout

    5. It adds variety to your workouts

    “Variety can also enhance enjoyment,” Sam explains, “so that not every run or every exercise looks the same. It’s also a great way to increase intensity without using any equipment.” One day, you might focus on adding a 30 second sprint to your jog, a 30 second run to your walk, or 30 seconds of intense crunches, planks, star jumps or lunges to your workout.  

    6. You don’t need any fancy equipment

    A bike or a skipping rope can add other elements to your workouts, but really you just need the drive to run as fast as you can, get those knees up as high as you can, drop to the floor for a round of burpees, and do a round of star jumps, you’ve got it in the bag.

    Like any new exercise, it’s important to start slow. “Be careful to build up your intensity,” Sam advises. “You don’t need to go all out straight away.”

    Instead, introduce one or two sessions into your workout each week. If you feel that you’re working too hard, slow it down. As your endurance builds, start challenging yourself to a more intense pace. 

    This is general information only and is not intended as financial, medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a financial adviser, or medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances.


    Staff writer icon

    Staff writers come from a range of backgrounds including health, wellbeing, music, tech, culture and the arts. They spend their time researching the latest data and trends in the health market to deliver up-to-date information, helping everyday Australians live healthier lives. This is general information only and is not intended as medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances. The information in this article is general information only and is not intended as medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances.

    Sign Up to Our Newsletter

    Sign up to receive a monthly email with links to all our latest articles on health and wellness information for a healthier, happier and longer life. 

    Health and Wellbeing Inspiration

    This inspirational content is brought to you by AIA Vitality

    AIA Vitality is a science-backed program that helps you learn more about your health, offers ways to improve it and motivates you with rewards along the way.

    Contact AIA

    1800 333 613

    PO Box 6111
    Melbourne VIC 3004

    enquiries@aia.com.au

    AIA Global aia.com

    Contact AIA

    1800 333 613

    PO Box 6111
    Melbourne VIC 3004

    enquiries@aia.com.au

    Help and support

    Make a claim

    Frequently asked questions

    Customer feedback

    Complaints process

    Whistleblower policy

    Form library

    Explore AIA

    AIA Vitality

    Health insurance

    Life insurance

    OneLife

    About AIA

    Careers

    Our people

    Our commitments

    Media centre

    Our awards

    FSC commitment

    Help and support

    Make a claim

    Frequently asked questions

    Customer feedback

    Complaints process

    Whistleblower policy

    Form library

    explore Aia

    AIA Vitality

    Health insurance

    Life insurance

    Content Hub

    about AIA

    Careers

    Our people

    Our commitments

    Media centre

    Our awards

    FSC commitment


    Copyright © 2021. AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries or affiliates. All rights reserved. Priority Protection and Priority Protection for Platform Investors products are issued by AIA Australia Limited (ABN 79 004 837 861, AFSL 230043). AIA Vitality, a personalised, science-backed program that supports members every day to make healthier choices, is available with eligible products issued by AIA Australia. AIA Health with AIA Vitality is issued by AIA Health Insurance Pty Ltd ABN 32 611 323 034, a registered private health insurer governed by the Private Health Insurance Act 2207, Private Health Insurance Rules 2007 and the AIA Health Insurance Pty Ltd Fund Rules. The information on this website is current as at 14 January 2021 and may be subject to change. It is general information only and is not intended in any way to be financial, legal, tax, health, medical, nutritional or other advice. You should consider your own personal circumstances and needs and view the relevant product documents, fact sheets, fund rules and terms and conditions before making a decision to acquire such products. If necessary you should obtain professional advice from a financial, tax, medical or health professional. Unless expressly stated, any views or expressions of opinion (including any video content) do not represent the opinion of AIA.
    Terms of Use | Privacy