I have written before about how I used
to do 2 hours of cardio a day. You probably think all that exercise
made me so lean, fit, and muscular... a super human!!!
WRONG!
Logging a couple hours a day on the
road made me tired, hungry, and anxious. It made me fat, too! I was
not overweight, but my body was clinging to my fat, breaking down
muscle, and killing my metabolism.
I knew I had to stop the madness, and
somehow I did. I managed to get my workouts down to an hour and
fifteen minutes a day. It was still too much cardio, but I at least I
had made some progress!
Would you believe
it if I told you these days I am fine if some of my cardio workouts
only take me 40-45 mintutes? That's because when you work out at such
a high intensity, there is no need to go longer. No more taxing
my body with hours of running on a daily basis. I have finally
discovered what athletes have been doing for years- High-Intensity
Interval Training! (HIIT)
What is HIIT?
HIIT is any
activity in which you alternate bursts of high intensity activity
with short periods of less intense activity- or even rest.
Examples:
running sprints
spinning sprints
hill repeats
circuits
Tabatas
Why is HIIT so awesome?
There are so many
reasons HIIT is so effective! It takes less time, burns more fat, and revs up your
metabolism even beyond your workout. Also, you can design your
intervals so you're doing something you actually enjoy. It doesn't have to be
running.
Check out this
article: 8 Benefits of High-Intensity Interval Training by Charlotte Andersen.
(And her awesome
blog: The Great Fitness Experiment)
How do I incorporate HIIT into my training?
These days, my
HIIT is either speed work on the road or circuits in my backyard. My speedwork is
pretty simple- 1 mi warmup, 5 mi alternating .2 miles sprinting and
.2 miles jogging, 1 mile cooldown. The circuits are more for when I'm
feeling a little ADD and need to change things up...
Example of
backyard circuits:
Circuit 1
pushups
jump rope
wall sit
Circuit 2
burpees
walking lunges
plank
Circuit 3
high knees
jump squat/lunge
jumping jacks
Circuit 4
mountain climbers
side planks
ski jumps
I repeat each
circuit 3-4 times without a break, but then take 1-2 minutes rest
before beginning the next circuit. I feel like this is a warm up that
will prepare me for when I finally decide to try a true Tabatas
workout. (Don't worry, I'll blog about the horror of horrors when that
happens!)
How do you incorporate HIIT into your training? Do you have any tips on how I could improve the way I do HIIT?
Tabatas are super fun. Don't be scared of them. They make the workout FLY by.
ReplyDeleteWhile the mainstream fitness media still insists that aerobic
ReplyDeleteexercise is a great way to lose weight, Turbulence Training users
know that interval training is the better way to burn body fat.
Still not convinced?
A recent study published by the North American Association for the
Study of Obesity, subjects aged 40 to 75 were instructed to do 60
minutes of aerobic exercise per day for 6 days per week for an
entire year.
Given the amount of exercise, you'd expect weight losses of 20, 30
pounds, or more, right?
Well, the surprise findings showed the average fat loss for female
subjects was only 4 pounds for the entire year, while men lost 6.6
pounds of fat over the year. That's over 300 hours of aerobic
exercise just to lose a measly 6 pounds of blubber. Not time well
spent, in my opinion.
So what's the better way? Stick with Turbulence Training, using
interval training and strength training to get better bodysculpting
results. With intervals, you'll achieve more fat burning results in
less workout time.
The next time you are out exercising, perform a session of interval
training. If you are walking or running outside, find an incline
that can challenge you for 60 seconds, then walk down for 60-120
seconds, and repeat up to 6 times.
If you walk or run on a treadmill, adjust the incline or speed to
safely increase the challenge for 60 seconds, then return to the
normal pace for 60-120 seconds, and repeat up to 6 times.
You can also use a rowing machine, bicycle or stationary bike, or
even an elliptical machine to do intervals.
But whatever you do, stay away from boring, ineffective cardio
exercise workouts and stick with Turbulence Training for your fat
burning program.
===> Fast fat loss workouts... <=====
Save time, burn fat,
Craig Ballantyne, CTT
Certified Turbulence Trainer
Author, Turbulence Training
"I'm 25 and was seriously overweight at the start of this year. I've
been doing the TT for Fat Loss Workouts and after 5 months of
training. I've lost nearly 28lbs. I want to take this opportunity
to thank Craig for making your knowledge so accessible and your
articles and blogs that not only make us think about our
lifestyles, but encourage us to change them for better health."
Kevin Thow, Sydney, Australia
Get your very own copy of Turbulence Training & the Nutrition Guide here: ===> Cardio is a Waste of Time for Fat Loss <=====
"Turbulence Training makes so much sense and I really enjoy the
different workouts so never get bored. From an aussie that was
looking for something other than just another weight workout
with the same old moves this has been a real eye opener for me and
I have been telling my friends just how great the TT method is."
Kelli Tomkins, Australia