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Ok, I take the easy part back. Exercising is really never easy and don't let anyone fool you that working out is effortless or painless. Those who say so are selling you something with smoke and mirrors. But fat loss can be sped up with more productive means.
photo credit: vestman
Would you believe me if I told you you could potentially double your fat loss results using one simple training method? I'm telling you how, yet it is possible to burn more calories using interval cardio workouts over traditional long distance, low to moderate intensity cardio and exercise.
Who really wants to run at a boring, slow pace on a treadmill or ride a bike for an hour. You're not going anywhere. It doesn't even make sense to me. So what exactly is interval training? We can always go into the technical definition but to put it simply in english,
Interval training is alternating bursts of high intensity exercise with intervals of lighter exercise or short rest periods. That's why it's called high intensity interval training or HIIT. The high intensity exercise depends on how hard you work, the speed of exercise, and the number of reps per exercise. The lighter rest phase of a high intensity workout may include active rest like slow walking or jogging, jumping jacks, or stretching.
Interval training can be applied to any exercise you can think of. This includes both bodyweight movements and calisthenics, cardiovascular and conditioning, and even free weights barbell and dumbbell movements.
For distance and running work, an example would be running or sprinting at close to top speed for 30 seconds for the work phase, then walk or lightly jog for 30 seconds for the recovery/active rest phase. This is a 1:1 work/rest ratios of one interval. This can be done on a treadmill, mountain bike, stationary bike, elliptical, jumping rope, or any other cardio machine involving distance work.
Interval workouts can be done with bodyweight exercises as well. For example, do pushups for 20 seconds non-stop, rest 20 seconds, then do pushups again for 20 seconds. In each 20 second interval, you're trying to do as many reps as you can. This model can be combined with several different bodyweight exercises in a circuit for a longer and tougher workout.
By alternating short bursts of high intensity actions, you're essentially going fast to speed up heart rate, then slow, then fast, slow, fast, slow until the desired number of intervals. A productive interval workout can be done anywhere.
The list of benefits include:
1) more calories burned with an increase in workout intensity through intervals. The body's metabolic rate rises burning more calories after the workout for up to 48 hours. Why? Because you're stressing the anaerobic and aerobic pathway energy systems. Higher intensities stimulate your metabolism far more after the workout than lower intensity workouts. You will definitely burn more calories and fat for longer periods, up to 48 hours after training. During high intensity effort, you use glycogen which is energy stored directly in your muscles. Glycogen is primarily used for short bursts of energy, as in the case of interval work phases. This burst of energy is done without oxygen. Over the duration of the workout, your body goes into oxygen debt producing lactic acid as a byproduct. During the interval work phase, your body is using the anaerobic energy pathway to process ATP and glycogen for energy. Then at the recovery phase, the aerobic system kics in to convert lactic acid by breaking it down and combining it with oxygen to pay back this debt by converting stored carbohydrates into energy.
In plain English, this is a double whammy for fat loss. You're stressing both the anaerobic and aerobic energy systems with intervals. Your fat loss efforts are doubled as the body responds by building new capillaries, becomes more efficient at taking in and deliverying oxygen to muscles, heart and lungs strengthened, and heightened tolerance to lactic acid lets you able to work even harder to burn even more fat.
All leads to improved performance and conditioning as you're able to work longer and harder with higher intensities.
Take a look at this study by Dr. Izumi Tabata at PubMed.
Quoted from the Tabata Interval study
"This study consists of two training experiments using a mechanically braked cycle ergometer. First, the effect of 6 wk of moderate-intensity endurance training (intensity: 70% of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), 60 min.d-1, 5 d.wk-1) on the anaerobic capacity (the maximal accumulated oxygen deficit) and VO2max was evaluated. After the training, the anaerobic capacity did not increase significantly (P > 0.10), while VO2max increased from 53 +/- 5 ml.kg-1 min-1 to 58 +/- 3 ml.kg-1.min-1 (P < 0.01) (mean +/- SD). Second, to quantify the effect of high-intensity intermittent training on energy release, seven subjects performed an intermittent training exercise 5 d.wk-1 for 6 wk. The exhaustive intermittent training consisted of seven to eight sets of 20-s exercise at an intensity of about 170% of VO2max with a 10-s rest between each bout. After the training period, VO2max increased by 7 ml.kg-1.min-1, while the anaerobic capacity increased by 28%. In conclusion, this study showed that moderate-intensity aerobic training that improves the maximal aerobic power does not change anaerobic capacity and that adequate high-intensity intermittent training may improve both anaerobic and aerobic energy supplying systems significantly, probably through imposing intensive stimuli on both systems."
The higher intensity training with 20 seconds work phase and 10 seconds rest phase resulted in an anaerobic capacity increase of 28%. And these are highly conditioned and trained athletes. Compare that with the moderate intensity study at 70% of VO2Max.
2) Another advantage are shorter workouts. You get better fat loss, strength, and conditioning results with a 10-15 minute interval workout than a 45 minute long, slow, and boring cardio session. Which one would you pick?
3) The entire workout is of a higher intensity, providing a more quality workout.
4) Strength and overall endurance improves. Cardiovascular conditioning improves. You can work longer and harder. If you can exercise more and exercise harder with the same intensity for a longer period of time, this means you will be able to burn more calories in the actual exercise session and raise your metabolism. The result is more fat burned.
Now let's move right on to part 2 of this series to see how we can use high intensity HIIT interval workouts in our routines to maximize and double our fat loss efforts and results.
If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to leave a comment below or email me at ZQH245@gmail.com or ZQH250@gmail.com
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