Many people spend countless hours on the treadmill at gyms, yet after weeks they see very little results in terms of weight loss. It is true that weight loss is a simple mathematical equation--if you burn more calories than you consume, you will eventually lose weight. Luckily, with a specific type of exercise, called high intensive interval training (HIIT) you burn more calories in a shorter period of time and you can achieve maximum weight loss. The Journal of Applied Physiology reported that after two weeks of doing HIIT, women lost 36% more fat than compared to when they exercised at the same intensity for long periods of time.
Steps to Doing HIIT
Step 1
Decide what type of exercise you would like to apply high intensive interval training to first. You can do it on a recumbent bike, an elliptical trainer, a treadmill, while walking or jogging, or even swimming in a pool. Pick a physical activity that you like and are willing to devote time to. Take a stop watch with you to the gym or wherever you work out so that you can time your intervals.
Step 2
Warm up your muscles with five to ten minutes of a slow, yet steady workout. The American Council on Exercise recommends warming up to an intensity of about three to five on a level of one to 10. Therefore if you are going to be jogging, you can walk quickly or jog lightly. If you are warming up on the bike, make sure your legs are moving continually but you don't feel to winded or tired.
Step 3
Exert as much effort as you possibly can, without hurting yourself, during your high-intensity interval. For instance, if you are jogging on the treadmill, sprint as fast as you can for about one minute. If you cannot exert intense energy for one minute, you can do it for less time, such as 20 or 30 seconds. The point of this interval is to exert as much energy as possible in a short amount of time. You should feel that you are giving at least a seven as far as effort, on a scale of one to 10.
Step 4
Relax by following up your intense minute with two to three minutes of light effort. This is called active recovery. If you are already very athletically active, you can do only two minutes of active recovery at an effort of about five on a scale of one to 10. If you are not used to exercising a lot, you should do active recovery for about three minutes, exerting effort to about a four on a scale of one to 10.
Step 5
Repeat the intense interval and the active recovery interval for a total of ten to twelve times each. You may find that as your workout goes on, you cannot do as long intense intervals as when you first started the workout. Simply do what you can for a time period of 20 to 30 minutes. Finally, cool down with a five- to 10-minute slow interval, exerting only about a level four intensity. Rest the day after doing the high intensive interval training session so that your muscles have time to recover. For maximum weight loss, repeat this high intensive interval training session three to four times every week.
Things You'll Need
- Stopwatch
References
- Journal of Applied Physiology. Two weeks of high-intensity aerobic interval training increases the capacity for fat oxidation during exercise in women. JL Talanian, SDR Galloway, GJF Heigenhauser, et al (2007); 102; 1439-1447.
- ACE Fitness. What is High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and what are the benefits?
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