Do you feel like you never have enough time to get a workout in? Well no more excuses! High Intensity Interval Training will burn more fat while spending less time at the gym.
High Intensity Interval Training, HIIT, is fast and intense. Workouts last around 20 minutes and can burn nine times more fat than cardio workouts because HIIT is short bursts of high power exercise followed by an active recovery period.
"Keeping your body on edge, keeping your heart rate up higher for a shorter duration of time thus getting you more efficient at those movements," said fitness coach Kris Morrill.
You can use a treadmill, elliptical or stationary bike in a gym or head outside for running or biking sprints. The workout can be just sprinting or a combination of sprinting with other movements like jumping jacks or pushups. Pretty much any type of exercise you want as long as it is done at a high exertion level for short intervals.
Time yourself doing one set then multiply how long it takes by three to get your rest length. Say it takes 30 seconds to get through one sprint and 20 jumping jacks, multiple 30 by three to get a minute and a half. Between each 30 second set, you should rest a minute and a half, or a three to one ratio.
As you become more comfortable doing the three to one ratio, you can shorten the rest period. Work your way into a two to one ratio and eventually a one to one ratio.
You're heart can only work for so long at these high levels which is why the active recovery is so important. The intervals guarantee that your heart rate never gets down to a resting heart rate. Constantly changing your heart rate forces your body not to adapt. This challenges your body and burns more total calories in less time.