Can you go totally all out for 20-30 seconds of riding or swimming, rest for four minutes and repeat 3 more times? And do this three times week? New studies show that this kind of very intense interval training can produce results equal to six hours per week of ordinary riding or swimming.

The key to this is total, exhausting effort in short bursts. You can’t just speed up, you must go full tilt to the point where you cannot continue for more than 20-30 seconds. That’s one the reasons running may not be suited to this as they don’t know the effect of the pounding on your feet that this kind of sprinting might have.

I don’t do enough aerobic activity. I walk 2-3 miles every day, as much to clear my head as for exercise, and I have a resistance routine at the gym. I’m going to try this interval method in the pool.

If this works no one has any excuse for not getting in shape. None of us want to have the health problems we see in seniors who didn’t take care of themselves when they were our age- it’s a quality of life issue.

If you try it let me know how it works for you.