Skip to main content
Mayo Clinic Health System
  • Patient Online Services
  • Pay Bill Online
  • Request an Appointment
    • Services
    • Providers
    • Locations

      Minnesota

      • Adams
      • Albert Lea
      • Austin
      • Belle Plaine
      • Blooming Prairie
      • Butterfield
      • Caledonia
      • Cannon Falls
      • Fairmont
      • Faribault
      • Janesville
      • Kenyon
      • Lake City
      • Le Sueur
      • Mankato
      • Montgomery
      • New Prague
      • New Richland
      • Northfield
      • Owatonna
      • Plainview
      • Red Wing
      • Sherburn
      • St. James
      • St. Peter
      • Waseca
      • Waterville
      • Wells
      • Zumbrota

      Wisconsin

      • Arcadia
      • Barron
      • Bloomer
      • Chetek
      • Chippewa Falls
      • Eau Claire
      • Ellsworth
      • Glenwood City
      • Holmen
      • La Crosse
      • Menomonie
      • Mondovi
      • Onalaska
      • Osseo
      • Prairie du Chien
      • Rice Lake
      • Sparta
      • Tomah

      Iowa

      • Decorah
      • Lake Mills

      View map
    • Classes/Events
    • Blog
    • Wellness
    • Referrals
    • COVID-19
    • Influenza
    Posted By
    Melinda Hahm

    Melinda Hahm

    Bariatric Surgery (Weight-loss Surgery), Cardiology (Heart)

    Featured Topics
    • Behavioral Health
    • Cancer
    • Children's Health (Pediatrics)
    • COVID-19
    • COVID-19 Vaccine
    • Exercise and Fitness
    • Heart Health
    • Men's Health
    • Neurosurgery
    • Obstetrics and Gynecology
    • Orthopedic Health
    • Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery
    • Women's Health
    Join our email newsletter
    Speaking of Health
    Tuesday, January 31, 2023

    Interval training for heart health

    Topics in this Post
    • Heart Health
    • Exercise and Fitness
    • Learn ways to get and stay physically fit
    White smartwatch on wrist

    When it comes to exercise, what's best for your heart: slow and steady or fast and furious?

    How about a combination of both? Interval training — alternating short bouts of higher-intensity effort with longer bouts of less-intense activity — has big benefits for your heart. Interval training makes your heart alternate between working hard and recovering.

    The benefits of doing this work-and-recovery pattern multiple times in a single workout include:

    • Improving cardiorespiratory fitness, increasing your body's ability to consume oxygen by making your heart and lungs stronger and more efficient.
    • Increasing the efficiency of your body's energy systems.
    • Promoting preservation of lean muscle while promoting fat loss.
    • Shortening the length of your workouts by producing the same output in a shorter amount of time.

    If you have a health condition, consult your health care team before increasing or changing your exercise routine. If you are starting an exercise program, wait at least two weeks before adding interval training to your routine.

    Interval training plan

    To try it yourself, follow this 20- to 40-minute plan, adapted from Mayo Clinic:

    1. Walk slowly, working up to a moderate pace for five minutes.
    2. Increase your speed so you're walking briskly.
    3. After five minutes of brisk walking, increase your speed to jog or walk faster, or add a grade on the treadmill for 30 seconds to two minutes.
    4. Once it gets difficult or your breathing becomes heavy, slow down to walking at a moderate pace for one to three minutes.
    5. Repeat steps two, three and four for 10 to 30 minutes.
    6. To cool down, walk at a slower pace for five minutes.

    If you're already a runner, alternate jogging and sprinting in steps 2 to 4.

    For general fitness, aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise most days of the week. To add interval training to your exercise routine, substitute two to three days of interval training for your regular workout.

    For optimal heart health, also add two to three days of strength training a week. If you do the correct amount of exercise, you should feel good when you finish your workout.

    Get more information about fitness:

    • Learn how to measure exercise intensity.
    • Include these five elements of fitness into your routine.
    • Get a 5K run/walk seven-week training schedule for beginners.
    • Find fitness classes and articles.

    Melinda Hahm is a clinical exercise physiologist in Cardiology in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.


    For the safety of our patients, staff and visitors, Mayo Clinic has strict masking policies in place. Anyone shown without a mask was either recorded prior to COVID-19 or recorded in a non-patient care area where social distancing and other safety protocols were followed.
    Topics in this Post
    • Heart Health
    • Exercise and Fitness
    • Learn ways to get and stay physically fit

    Related Posts

    Feet walking trail by prairie grass The importance of movement
    Blog_Placeholder_Image Running Tips #1: Running Program
    lindquist_group_blog Family participates in Heart Walk in support of son

    Stay Connected

    • Contact Us
    • Notice of Nondiscrimination
    • Notice of Privacy Practices
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • About Us
    • Careers
    • Volunteer
    • Donate
    • For Patients & Visitors
    • Financial Assistance
    • Community Resources
    • Mayo Clinic Connect
    • For Medical Professionals
    • Press Room
    • Mayo Clinic
    • Home
    © 2018 - 2023 Mayo Clinic Health System