H.I.I.T.

H.I.I.T. Aerobics, a New Way to Burn Off Unwanted Fat Fast!!!

Losing weight and getting ones body into shape takes dedication as well as know how. It is extremely unfortunate, but I have seen numerous amounts of people try to lose weight the wrong way and fall short of their goals in spite of this. However on a more positive note I have had the priceless pleasure of seeing people lose hundreds of pounds and keep them off permanently!

As mentioned before taping into our fat stores goes beyond dedication. Just as a magician pulls a rabbit out of his hat, you must be able to pull a fat burning tactic out of yours at a moments notice or your efforts could conceivably dry up like an old well. Today I will discuss an extremely radical and relatively new tactic that you can add to your fat burning bag of tricks! Who know it might be just what you need to magically Wisk away those last few pounds.

To start let me ask you a question. When it comes to burning fat what exercise comes to your mind immediately?

I am sure that many of you said Aerobics. However a complete program should intricately combine both weight training and aerobics seamlessly if your goal is to drop fat like a bad habit! But today we will unconventionally concentrate on the later.

Traditionally aerobics last 30 to 60 minutes and are performed at a modest pace in which the participant can still carry on a decent conversation. This is without a doubt one of The most effective ways to burn fat, bar none! However, what if you are in a rush and only have 20 minutes on a certain day to get an effective fat burning workout in?

Or simply would like a change in your aerobic regimen? Well if you’re interested in either Of these, then this article is might be an answer to your prayers!

You see there is a new and revolutionary way to burn fat and it only takes 20 minutes to complete! Its called H.I.I.T. or High Intensity Interval Training. Besides, shedding excess fat to expose a lean and fit body H.I.I.T is a tremendous way to stimulate new muscle growth, toning and or firming your lower body at the same time It is burning fat!

“Don’t have time for 60 minutes of cardio today? Then try H.I.I.T!”

Again let me emphasize that low intensity aerobics are vital to one’s fat burning program but if you want action or a physical challenge, then you should give H.I.I.T a try. This is a totally different approach to aerobics—something that keeps you interested, takes only a fraction of the time, and can melt off fat just as efficiently as longer lower intensity aerobics. H.I.I.T involves alternate intervals of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise with periods of near-maximum effort. (As I mentioned earlier, each session takes no longer than 20 minutes, tops.)

What does H.I.I.T accomplish?

This type of exercise not only burns a lot of calories while you are working out, but also tremendously speeds up your metabolism and keeps it revved up for some time after your workout. Bottom line is HIIT training burns a large number of total calories and more calories burned equals more fat lost. Being unconventional I would suggest that you forget about the "calories burned" readout on the stairstepper or stationary bike; if you practice HIIT training, the majority of calories burned will come after your workout!

Add HIIT to Your Schedule!

One of the great things about HIIT training is that it can be applied to all kinds of activities—in or out of the gym. Personally, I like running or sprinting, but it can also be done on a stationary bicycle, a stairstepper, treadmill, elliptical, power walking or any activity where you can alternate periods of high intensity with periods of low intensity.

The following outline is a general routine for boosting fat loss, one that's worked well for me. Of course, you'll have to develop at your own pace according to your level of cardiovascular conditioning. If you follow the program properly, three sessions a week should produce significant fat-burning effects. Your HIIT program will likely be most effective if performed first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, but if you can't do it in the a.m., do it at noon, night, whenever after digesting at least three hours from the last time you ate! You see if your goal is to burn fat you should be completely digested before you exercise, this way your body will have to tap into it’s fat reserves.

Important factors involed in H.I.I.T Training

In order to utilize H.I.I.T properly, we use a tool called the "Intensity Guide" to help us create high points. This guide is used to measure the level energy we are applying to the exercise that we are performing. The Index, starts at level 1 and goes to level 10. On the low end-at level l-you've got the intensity of kicking back on your recliner watching TV. Level 2 would be standing; level 3 could be walking; level 4 might be carrying a couple bags of groceries in from the car; level 5 might be carrying those groceries up a flight of stairs; and so on, up to level l 0, which is an all-out, 100 percent effort. In order to use this guide correctly you must apply it to your level of conditioning. And that's why basically any healthy adult, no matter what their prior exercise experience, can use H.I.I.T training. As an example, if you're a beginner walking up stairs might be a level 10 intensity level. Now, someone who's been training for several years might reach a high-intensity effort by sprinting up those stairs. The point is, your high intensity point is yours. It is distinctively yours and not mine or the person next to you in the gym. It's very important that you realize exactly what your high points are. A true high point on this workout, a true level 10 effort, is one where you can honestly tell yourself you gave it every single last ounce of energy you had. That you looked inside yourself and said I’m going to give it all I got!

H.I.I.T : How to Perform the actual workout!

Remember this can apply to any activity you choose. Just pick something you are comfortable with. Begin your workout with a two-minute warm up phase where we perform the activity at about a level 5 intensity. If you haven't been exercising regularly, you could reach level 5 on the Intensity Index by just walking. However, if you've been doing a lot of exercise, level 5 might be a pretty brisk jog. Again it is essential that you remember that your level 5 is unique to you, and my level 5 is unique to me. Now, after two minutes at a level 5 effort, you will take it up a level. You will reach a level 6 effort, we keep it there for one minute; then we increase the intensity of our effort, up to level 7 for one minute before taking it up another level, to level 8, where we maintain for another minute; then we take it up to level 9. We maintain that high-intensity effort for one minute, and then take it all the way down to a level 6 again-a relatively comfortable pace. We repeat that pattern three times, but on the last cycle (between the eighteenth and the nineteenth minutes of this 20-minute workout), we don't stop at level 9-we try to reach a high point-we go for a 10! Then we bring it back to level5 for a minute, and we're done!

Remember, a "high-intensity" may not mean an all-out sprint. If you haven't tried to sprint since you were a kid, you're in for a shock! Don't take off like you're life depends on it, or you'll run out of steam before the twentieth minute. For some, an intense effort may mean just walking up a hill. If that's your level, don't get down on yourself. Say to yourself that you are working out
to get your body inshape for life! Always think positive, because that is something we all have the ability to do, that is if we decide to. Now you won't have a level 10 effort every workout but you can certainly strive for it every workout!

How to maximize fat burning effects!!!!!

The H.I.I.T workout is most effective either when you wake up or at least 3 hours after your last meal. Because it reves your metabolic rate(or the rate in which your body burns calories) you might want to wait one hour after the workout before eating again. This way you are burning fat at an exorbant rate for an hour. Then make sure you replenish your body with a balanced nutritious meal! No starving the fat off! Please I caution you, starving yourself is not the way to effectively lose fat!

H.I.I.T Reviewed:

It burns tremendous amounts of calories while you work out Because it is so intense. And because of it’s intensity it raises your metabolic rate like Nothing you’ve ever seen before!

Conclusion

H.I.I.T can be used several ways. You can use it occasionally when you don’t have time to perform a normal 30 to 60 minute aerobic workout or you can use it for say several weeks to prevent aerobic boredom and then go back to normal aerobics. In any case I think you'll be quite pleased with the fat-burning effects of this exercise routine. But remember be careful, if you haven’t worked out at a high intensity for a while don’t rush into this workout. You should always check with your doctor before starting a program like this.
 
HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING:

THE OPTIMAL PROTOCOL FOR FAT LOSS?

James Krieger

As exercise intensity increases, the proportion of fat utilized as an energy substrate decreases, while the proportion of carbohydrates utilized increases (5). The rate of fatty acid mobilization from adipose tissue also declines with increasing exercise intensity (5). This had led to the common recommendation that low- to moderate-intensity, long duration endurance exercise is the most beneficial for fat loss (15). However, this belief does not take into consideration what happens during the post-exercise recovery period; total daily energy expenditure is more important for fat loss than the predominant fuel utilized during exercise (5). This is supported by research showing no significant difference in body fat loss between high-intensity and low-intensity submaximal, continuous exercise when total energy expenditure per exercise session is equated (2,7,9). Research by Hickson et al (11) further supports the notion that the predominant fuel substrate used during exercise does not play a role in fat loss; rats engaged in a high-intensity sprint training protocol achieved significant reductions in body fat, despite the fact that sprint training relies almost completely on carbohydrates as a fuel source.

Some research suggests that high-intensity exercise is more beneficial for fat loss than low- and moderate-intensity exercise (3,18,23,24). Pacheco-Sanchez et al (18) found a more pronounced fat loss in rats that exercised at a high intensity as compared to rats that exercised at a low intensity, despite both groups performing an equivalent amount of work. Bryner et al (3) found a significant loss in body fat in a group that exercised at a high intensity of 80-90% of maximum heart rate, while no significant change in body fat was found in the lower intensity group which exercised at 60-70% of maximum heart rate; no significant difference in total work existed between groups. An epidemiological study (24) found that individuals who regularly engaged in high-intensity exercise had lower skinfold thicknesses and waist-to-hip ratios (WHRs) than individuals who participated in exercise of lower intensities. After a covariance analysis was performed to remove the effect of total energy expenditure on skinfolds and WHRs, a significant difference remained between people who performed high-intensity exercise and people who performed lower-intensity exercise.

Tremblay et al (23) performed the most notable study which demonstrates that high-intensity exercise, specifically intermittent, supramaximal exercise, is the most optimal for fat loss. Subjects engaged in either an endurance training (ET) program for 20 weeks or a high-intensity intermittent-training (HIIT) program for 15 weeks. The mean estimated energy cost of the ET protocol was 120.4 MJ, while the mean estimated energy cost of the HIIT protocol was 57.9 MJ. The decrease in six subcutaneous skinfolds tended to be greater in the HIIT group than the ET group, despite the dramatically lower energy cost of training. When expressed on a per MJ basis, the HIIT group's reduction in skinfolds was nine times greater than the ET group.

A number of explanations exist for the greater amounts of fat loss achieved by HIIT. First, a large body of evidence shows that high-intensity protocols, notably intermittent protocols, result in significantly greater post-exercise energy expenditure and fat utilization than low- or moderate-intensity protocols (1,4,8,14,19,21,25). Other research has found significantly elevated blood free-fatty-acid (FFA) concentrations or increased utilization of fat during recovery from resistance training (which is a form of HIIT) (16,17). Rasmussen et al (20) found higher exercise intensity resulted in greater acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) inactivation, which would result in greater FFA oxidation after exercise since ACC is an inhibitor of FFA oxidation. Tremblay et al (23) found HIIT to significantly increase muscle 3-hydroxyacyl coenzyme A dehydrogenase activity (a marker of the activity of b oxidation) over ET. Finally, a number of studies have found high-intensity exercise to suppress appetite more than lower intensities (6,12,13,22) and reduce saturated fat intake (3).

Overall, the evidence suggests that HIIT is the most efficient method for achieving fat loss. However, HIIT carries a greater risk of injury and is physically and psychologically demanding (10), making low- and moderate-intensity, continuous exercise the best choice for individuals that are unmotivated or contraindicated for high-intensity exercise.

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10. Grubbs, L. The critical role of exercise in weight control. Nurse Pract. 18(4):20,22,25-26,29, 1993.

11. Hickson, R.C., W.W. Heusner, W.D. Van Huss, D.E. Jackson, D.A. Anderson, D.A. Jones, and A.T. Psaledas. Effects of Dianabol and high-intensity sprint training on body composition of rats. Med. Sci. Sports. 8:191-195, 1976.

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16. McMillan, J.L., M.H. Stone, J. Sartin, R. Keith, D. Marple, Lt. C. Brown, and R.D. Lewis. 20-hour physiological responses to a single weight-training session. J. Strength Cond. Res. 7(3):9-21, 1993.

17. Melby, C., C. Scholl, G. Edwards, and R. Bullough. Effect of acute resistance exercise on postexercise energy expenditure and resting metabolic rate. J. Appl. Physiol. 75:1847-1853, 1993.

18. Pacheco-Sanchez, M., and K.K Grunewald. Body fat deposition: effects of dietary fat and two exercise protocols. J. Am. Col. Nutr. 13:601-607, 1994.

19. Phelain, J.F., E. Reinke, M.A. Harris, and C.L. Melby. Postexercise energy expenditure and substrate oxidation in young women resulting from exercise bouts of different intensity. J. Am. Col. Nutr. 16:140-146, 1997.

20. Rasmussen, B.B., and W.W. Winder. Effect of exercise intensity on skeletal muscle malonyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA carboxylase. J. Appl. Physiol. 83:1104-1109, 1997.

21. Smith, J., and L. McNaughton. The effects of intensity of exercise on excess postexercise oxygen consumption and energy expenditure in moderately trained men and women. Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. 67:420-425, 1993.

22. Thompson, D.A., L.A. Wolfe, and R. Eikelboom. Acute effects of exercise intensity on appetite in young men. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 20:222-227, 1988.

23. Tremblay, A., J. Simoneau, and C. Bouchard. Impact of exercise intensity on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism. Metabolism. 43:814-818, 1994.

24. Tremblay, A., J. Després, C. Leblanc, C.L. Craig, B. Ferris, T. Stephens, and C. Bouchard. Effect of intensity of physical activity on body fatness and fat distribution. Am J. Clin. Nutr. 51:153-157, 1990.

25. Treuth, M.S., G.R. Hunter, and M. Williams. Effects of exercise intensity on 24-h energy expenditure and substrate oxidation. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 28:1138-1143, 1996.
 
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