"I need a HIIT": 20min Fat-Blast Workout & Why sprints are sexier.

Gone are the days of endless hours of cardio in the “Fat Burning Zone” (spoken to the bliss of those with ADD, like myself…undiagnosed, but I’m pretty sure about it).

We’ve since realized that hours on end of work on the ‘hampster wheel’ burns mega calories over loooong periods of time *duh*, BUT it also teaches your body to become VERY efficient at storing body fat later on, which means it will be harder to “trick” your body into giving up the extra “stored energy” *aka body fat*.

So what’s to be done? We need a HIIT. Not a hit, but HIIT.

High Intensity Interval Training (or anaerobic cardio)

This is the kind of cardio training that forces your body to work at super high intensity levels without oxygen coming in like it does regularly and relatively easily with anaerobic cardio’s evil, energy-efficient, fat-storage-encouraging cousin, aerobics (or endurance training).

“But Rachel, what about the endurance athletes who look like they haven’t eaten in months?” you ask.

“For their energy needs, based on their caloric intake, they basically haven’t…” I reply. Read my post on ‘How Many Calories (you need)’

For a healthy physique, this says it all.
Left: Endurance. Right: Sprinter

So then you ask, “What does a HIIT workout look like?”

And I say… you can make almost any activity into a HIIT activity, and likewise, almost any aerobic cardio can be transformed into anaerobic cardio. Here’s some examples:

YOU COULD…Hop on the old-school Stair Master, lower the resistance and climb as fast as you can for 20–40 seconds, then recover your heart rate and repeat. Depending on your current level of conditioning, recovery times will vary. I like 30 seconds on, 30–60 seconds off/recovery.

Other activities that can turn into HIIT workouts:

stadium stairs
treadmills
cycle bikes
trails and tracks
swimming pools/lakes
rollerblading, unicycling, trampoline.….the list goes on…

Here’s my GO-TO HIIT workout…enjoy!

Warm up for 5 minutes
:30 ALL OUT SPRINT!!!
:30 Rest/recover
:30 ALL OUT SPRINT!!!
:60 Rest/recover
:30 ALL OUT SPRINT!!!
:60 Rest/recover
:30 ALL OUT SPRINT!!!
:60 Rest/recover
:30 ALL OUT SPRINT!!!
:60 Rest/recover
:30 ALL OUT SPRINT!!!
:60 Rest/recover
:30 ALL OUT SPRINT!!!
:60 Rest/recover
:30 ALL OUT SPRINT!!!
Cool down for 5 minutes

Sometimes all you have is your running shoes and a treadmill. No excuses. Blast that fat! :)

HIIT the ground *or the treadmill* running…then SPRINT like someone’s chasing you!

YOUR TURN: What’s your favorite HIIT workout or HIIT equipment? If you’ve never tried HIIT before, do you think you will? Would you share a workout like this with your friends?

Prove it.

#causefitness

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courtney

Would you do this after every workout?? Like lift and then do HIIT??? For weight training is 4that days on and 3 days off best or 2 on and 2I off? And supplements like pre workout post workout and during?? I am thin just trying to tone and gain lean body mass. Trying to firgure out what will work best for me its so hard!!
- http://twitter.com/causefitness Rachel Elizabeth
  
  Oh no, not unless you kept the workout really short, but it’s intense so I like to separate HIIT workouts by a day (ex: Mon-on, Tues-off, Wed-on…) depending on goals and how much weight you need to lose. For you, I’d start with once a week, IF at all. If you’re struggling to put on some muscle at all, there’s no need to do cardio on top of your training. You need to conserve energy, not burn through it. But I don’t know all your personal stats and training history, so that’s just a general suggestion. :)
- http://www.causefitness.com/ Rachel Elizabeth
  
  Oh no, not unless you kept the workout really short, but it’s intense so I like to separate HIIT workouts by a day (ex: Mon-on, Tues-off, Wed-on…) depending on goals and how much weight you need to lose. For you, I’d start with once a week, IF at all. If you’re struggling to put on some muscle at all, there’s no need to do cardio on top of your training. You need to conserve energy, not burn through it. But I don’t know all your personal stats and training history, so that’s just a general suggestion. :)
Kim

When you say rest do you stop or do you just slow to walk?
- http://www.causefitness.com/ Rachel Elizabeth
  
  You can do either. I find it easiest when I’m timing my intervals to just hold the handles and hop off in a straddle jump and recover straddling the belt while it’s still moving at full speed. But feel free to slow to a walk or light jog between if that’s scary at all :)
  - Jessica p
    
    How do you get your body off the cardio queen trAck I run a good 4–5 mi 4 days a week
Jules

Hi Rachel, what are your thoughts on calorie shifting or cycling? For example I’m doing an 11 day calorie zigzag with 4 meals a day 2.5 hours apart. Ex meal 1 is scrambled eggs and 1/3 of an avocado meal 2 is lean fish like cod meal 3 is 5 almonds and 1 hard boiled egg and meal 4 is a bowl of mixed veggies low on the GI. Then there’s one day of only fruit low on the GI like raspberries and citrus. Then another day of all veggies and the rest of the days are similar to day 1 with protein and low carbs. Would you recommend doing hiit 2x a week plus 4 days of weights or would you take it easy during this “diet”(I would be making low carb and higher lean protein a priority –I also don’t eat gluten or dairy)

I need a HIIT: 20min Treadmill Fat-Blast

Here’s my GO-TO HIIT workout…enjoy!

Sometimes all you have is your running shoes and a treadmill. No excuses. Blast that fat! :)

YOUR TURN: What’s your favorite HIIT workout or HIIT equipment? If you’ve never tried HIIT before, do you think you will? Would you share a workout like this with your friends?

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Here’s my GO-TO HIIT workout…enjoy!

Some­times all you have is your run­ning shoes and a tread­mill. No excuses. Blast that fat! :)

YOUR TURN: What’s your favorite HIIT work­out or HIIT equip­ment? If you’ve never tried HIIT before, do you think you will? Would you share a work­out like this with your friends?

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Sometimes all you have is your running shoes and a treadmill. No excuses. Blast that fat! :)

YOUR TURN: What’s your favorite HIIT workout or HIIT equipment? If you’ve never tried HIIT before, do you think you will? Would you share a workout like this with your friends?