Skip to main content
  • Corporate
    • Corporate
    • Adviser
    • Get Advice
    • Apply Online
    • Make a Claim
    • About AIA
    • Contact Us
    • MyAIA
  • Search
  • Home
  • Life & Disability
    • Life Insurance
    • Trauma Insurance
    • Total Permanent Disablement Insurance
    • Income Protection Insurance
    • Business & Rural Insurance
  • Health Insurance
    • Private Health
    • Cancer Care
  • Home Loans
    • New GO Home Loan Customers
    • Your GO Home Loan
    • Working with a registered adviser
    • Mortgage Protection
    • GO Home Loan Interest Rates
  • Help & Support
    • Contact AIA
    • Claims
    • FAQs and Forms
    • My AIA
    • Get advice
    • Earning Airpoints Dollars™
    • Investment Products
    • Past Insurance Products
    • All our locations
    • Vulnerable Customers Support
    • COVID-19 Support
    • Complaints - AIA
  • AIA Vitality
    • What is AIA Vitality
    • Our Partners & Rewards
    • Apple Watch Benefit
    • Content Hub
    • Already a member? Login
  • Content Hub
    • Move Well
    • Think Well
    • Eat Well
    • Plan Well
  • COVID-19 SUPPORT
  • EARNING AIRPOINTS DOLLARS™
  • ABOUT AIA
Menu
  • Corporate
  • Adviser
  • Get Advice
  • Apply Online
  • Make a Claim
  • About AIA
  • Contact Us
  • MyAIA
AIA New Zealand AIA New Zealand
  • Life & Disability
    AIA Living

    Life & Disability

    The most important things in your life are your family, your lifestyle and your future. This is what life, trauma and disability insurance are there to protect.

    For Individuals

    For Business

    • Life Insurance

      Protects your loved ones’ future if you're diagnosed with a terminal illness or die.

    • Trauma Insurance

      Supports you and your family while you or your child navigate a serious illness or injury.

    • Total Permanent Disablement Insurance

      Secures your future if a serious illness or injury leaves you permanently disabled.

    • Income Protection Insurance

      Safeguards your ability to earn if you’re unable to work due to illness or injury.

    • Business & Rural Insurance

      Protection for new and existing business owners if a key person becomes seriously ill, is injured, or dies.

  • Health Insurance
    AIA Health

    Health Insurance

    Having good health is invaluable. Remove the worry around unexpected medical bills, focus on the right treatment when and where you need it, and start your recovery sooner.

    • Private Health

      Takes care of your medical expenses for a range of health conditions and provides faster medical care that suits your needs.

    • Cancer Care

      Specialised insurance that covers costs associated with the diagnosis, treatment and recovery of cancer.

  • Home Loans

    Home Loans

    GO Home Loan - make your house a home.

    • New GO Home Loan Customers

      Find out more about the home loan that works harder for you.

    • Your GO Home Loan

      Learn more about managing your mortgage and how to pay off your GO home loan faster.

    • Working with a registered adviser

      GO Home Loans are available exclusively through our independent network of Advisers.

    • Mortgage Protection

      It’s a good idea to have mortgage protection to protect yourself against all eventualities.

    • GO Home Loan Interest Rates

      A GO Home Loan offers a wide range of competitive mortgage interest rates.

  • Help & Support

    Help & Support

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

    Contact AIA
    • Contact AIA

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

    • Claims

      Get help with making a claim.

    • FAQs and Forms

      Updating policies, moving house, changing names... our FAQs section has all the answers and forms.

    • My AIA

      Previously called MySovereign - our customer portal

    • Get advice

      If you're interested in talking to an insurance expert, we can put you in touch with an adviser in your area.

    • Earning Airpoints Dollars™

      You can earn Airpoints Dollars™ with AIA New Zealand. Find out more.

    • Investment Products

      The latest Sovereign investment performance information, as well as a list of closed and terminated investment products.

    • Past Insurance Products

      Policy and enhancement information for policy holders of closed AIA and Sovereign policies.

    • All our locations

      Details of all our office locations across New Zealand

    • Vulnerable Customers Support

      A list of some of the services available in New Zealand that offer support, information and help.

    • COVID-19 Support

      Supporting our customers through Covid-19

    • Complaints - AIA

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

  • AIA Vitality

    AIA Vitality

    AIA Vitality encourages and supports you to live a healthier life, while giving you access to great rewards along the way.

    • What is AIA Vitality

      AIA Vitality’s approach can take you on a journey to better health

    • Our Partners & Rewards

      Learn more about the amazing partners and rewards you'll have access to with AIA Vitality

    • Apple Watch Benefit

      Earn an Apple Watch Series 6 by reaching your weekly physical activity targets

    • Content Hub

      Your go to for science-backed, health and wellbeing inspiration and advice.

    • Already a member? Login

      Check your AIA Vitality points status and get access to the tools you need to help improve your health

  • Content Hub

    Content Hub

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

    • Move Well

      Finding your further when it comes to exercise and fitness.

    • Think Well

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

    • Eat Well

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

    • Plan Well

      Improving financial literacy, because a good tomorrow starts today.

  • Search
  • Contact Us
    • Chat with us

      Available Mon-Fri, 8am to 6pm

    • Call Us

      0800 500 108 on Mon-Fri, 8am to 6pm

    • Send us a message

      via our online contact form

    • Talk to an adviser

      Get free expert insurance advice

    • Apply Online

      via our trusted partner, KiwiCover

    • Log in to MyAIA

      (Previously called MySovereign)

Move Well
Prev | Next
Contact Us
Talk to an Adviser
Back to Top
  • {{title}}

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

    AIA Vitality NZ - 3 min read

    13 November 2020

    Did you know that just 2 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 Australian 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.”

    AIA Vitality Ambassador and former All Blacks superstar Ian Jones is a big fan of interval training, and he’s provided some awesome HIIT sessions for all our AIA Vitality Members via the AIA Vitality App.

    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, an 84km overnight run through Bali, and a 67-day 3253km run across India (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.

    • It can help build speed and endurance
      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.

    • It may be good for your heart
      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.

    • It’s a really efficient way to exercise
      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.

    • It can help burn fat
      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

    • It adds variety to your workouts
      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. 

    • You don’t need any fancy equipment
      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.


    By AIA Vitality NZ
    AIA Vitality Staff writer

    AIA Vitality is a personalised, health and wellbeing program that supports you every day to make healthier lifestyle choices. Visit aiavitality.co.nz

    FOLLOW


    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.


    You might like these

    05 November 2020

    How to make your wearable work better for you

    AIA Vitality NZ - 5 min read


    Here are some tips on how to stress less and make your wearable work for you.

    19 October 2020

    Can you actually strengthen your self-discipline?

    AIA Vitality NZ - 3 min read


    We ask a few AIA Vitality ambassadors to weigh in on how we can develop better self-discipline and impulse control.

    01 November 2020

    A dietitian’s guide to plant-based protein

    AIA Vitality NZ - 5 min read


    We chat to a dietitian about finding the right nutritional balance when it comes to plant-based sources of protein.
    Contact Us

    0800 500 108

    Live chat

    Mon-Fri 8am - 6pm

    AIA New Zealand Limited
    AIA House, 74 Taharoto Road, 
    Takapuna, Auckland 0622
    New Zealand

    Request an Adviser Call
    Apply Online
    Make a Claim
    FAQs
    View all contact options
    CONTACT US

    0800 500 108

    Live chat
    Mon - Fri 8am to 6pm
    AIA House, 74 Taharoto Road, Takapuna, Auckland 0622, New Zealand
    Request an Adviser call
    Make a claim
    Update my details
    View all contact options
    About AIA
    About AIA New Zealand
    Careers
    News and Press
    Sovereign joins AIA
    Anti-bribery and corruption
    Vist AIA.com to learn more about AIA Group.
    Why AIA
    AIA Vitality
    Airpoints™
    Our Financial Strength
    Our Commitments
    Useful Links
    Home Loans: GO Online login
    MyAIA login
    Investment Products
    Past Insurance Products
    Popular Products
    Life Insurance
    Health Insurance Cover
    Income Protection Insurance
    Business Continuity Cover
    ABOUT AIA
    About AIA New Zealand
    Careers
    News and Press
    Sovereign joins AIA
    Anti-bribery and corruption
    Rainbow Tick
    Visit AIA.com to learn more about AIA Group.
    WHY AIA
    AIA Vitality
    Airpoints™
    Our Financial Strength
    Our Commitments
    Useful Links
    Home Loans: GO Online login
    MyAIA login
    Investment Products
    Past Insurance Products
    Popular Products
    Life Insurance
    Health Insurance
    Income Protection Insurance
    Business Continuity Cover

    Copyright © 2020, AIA New Zealand Limited (Company Registration No: 352806), and its affiliates and subsidiaries. All rights reserved.
    Terms of Use | Privacy Statement | Cookie Policy | Duty of Disclosure

    This website uses cookies for the purpose of enhancing your user experience. You can find more information on the types of cookies we collect, what we use these for, and how to manage your cookie settings in our Cookie Policy and Privacy Statement.