First of all what is a normal workout? It’s all goal dependent. If you’re looking to raise your vo2max, melt off fat, develop significant leg strength/endurance, and become a total bamf, well you are well on your way. To answer your question, a significant amount of evidence as been provided to prove that High Intensity Interval Training is the best mode of burning off calories. But be weary. You are also on a fast track to over-training. Research on how you should cycle ur workout plan so that you don’t over-train and injure yourself. Also pay attention to your diet. Not all calories are equal. Good luck.

Have you just started ellipticals at all or just interval training? If you’ve just started, and haven’t gotten yourself up to a decent resistance level, it may be too soon to try pushing the envelope with interval training. The elliptical is a great machine ( Using sustained resistance,I lost 20 lbs without a change in diet and using a truly crappy elliptical).

Interval training is way better than just going mid pace. It is essentially training your body to go full tilt for the whole workout, but starting out with the intervals will not lead to as much exhaustion as going all out for the entire time. It burns more calories because your body is working harder during the faster intervals. It is a really good cardiovascular workout. I have just started my own on the treadmill, and find that it kicks my butt too – but I have seen some results after 2 weeks.