High Intensity Interval Training Cardio Guide

High Intensity Interval Training Cardio

There are only two ways to lose body fat: eat less total calories or burn more total calories, each with the goal of being in a caloric deficit to lose weight. Everyone wants to know how to lose body fat the fastest way possible and the answer to that would be in the form of cardio called high intensity interval training.

Incorporating high intensity interval training (HIIT) in your cardio routine is a great way to burn body fat while using less time on the treadmill or outside running. HIIT is a series of sprints and walks that work together to make your heart rate spike several times over your workout, which in turn ends up burning more calories than you would in a regular jog or fast pace cardio session. HIIT is also usually much shorter than your usual cardio, making it a win/win for those that want to burn more in less time. Worth noting though, just because it is done in less time doesn’t mean it’s easier, because it isn’t. It won’t take you but once to try it out and see why.
Getting the heart rate to spike several times is the main goal in this routine, and that is easily done by a few sudden start and stops. Here is a quick graph below that can be used as a rough guide to get you started, make changes wherever you feel necessary.

5 minutes is a good warm-up for each session. After that it’s a dead sprint as fast as you can for the time listed in ‘high interval intensity’ for that week, suddenly throwing on a ton of work your heart has to do. As soon as the seconds are up, slow down into a slow jog and transition into walking over the course of 5-10 seconds. From here its a slow paced walk for the time listed in ‘recovery interval’, giving your heart time to slow down and rest before throwing it into overdrive again. Repeat for however many more times is listed for that week, then call it a day. Easy, right?

HIIT is done everyday (possibly every other day during the first week, may take a little to ease into) for as long as you want. The graph shows up to 8 weeks, but gives an idea of how to continue on. You don’t have to progress much further than what is listed on week 8, as it can be strenuous on the heart if you continue to get to a ridiculous set of numbers, but everyone has a different threshold so use a little trial and error here. Best to get a decent stop watch or phone app, don’t plan on counting out the seconds while running because that will get old fast. While being in a calorie deficit is the only way to get lean, having a great workout for abs is what’s ultimately going to make them “pop”, so be sure to look into that if it’s a main goal of yours.

Also, it’s highly recommended to not use stimulants when doing HIIT. No caffeine, ephedra, pre-workouts, nothing, especially starting out. HIIT is taxing enough on the heart, it doesn’t need anymore stress due to drugs or supplements. You probably (hopefully) won’t die from overdoing it, but it isn’t uncommon for people to black out due to an absurd, unsafe heart rate.

Credit: http://ceefitness.com/high-intensity-interval-training/