So, if you are reading this article and don't know anything about HIIT training, I would assume that you are interested in losing weight and I'm going to guess that you have tried to lose weight before.
Well, if this is the case, let me ask you a question. Did your last weight loss program involve spending an hour or so on the treadmill or stationary bike every day or so? And at the end of the program did you lose all the weight you wanted to? My guess is probably not.
Don't feel bad about this, the worlds majority believes that this is the most effective way to lose weight. You just need to head down to the local gym to see this in action. But here's the problem, steady state aerobic activity is not the right routine for burning fat Now I'm certainly not advocating that aerobic exercise is bad for you, exactly the opposite, it has multiple health benefits that will improve your well being. All that's being said here is that if your goal is fat loss, steady state aerobic exercise is not the right tool.
In fact out of all the tools at your disposal, it is the least effective method for losing weight.
But how can this be? When you finish running on the treadmill it always tells you how many calories you burnt during your run?
Exercise is tiring; surely we must be burning fat? Well unfortunately not, research suggests that after aerobic exercise our fat burning capacity is actually lowered, resulting in an almost negligible amount of weight lost. And the scary addition to this is that the more aerobic workouts we do, the more resistance our body will have to losing any fat.
So if aerobic training is the pea shooter of weight loss, let me introduce you to the cannon.
High Intensity Interval Training has completely the opposite effect on our bodies. High Intensity Interval Training workouts turn your body to 'fat burning' mode and that can last for up to 48 hours after the exercise. Not only does it burn the fat very soon after your workout, but it also facilitates change in your body system to burn fat much more efficiently 'all of the time'. As your muscles begin to require more energy, the body sends fat to the muscles for use rather than storing it in your belly or thighs. An increased frequency of High Intensity Interval Training can result in your body tending to do this more.
HIIT Training can be quite difficult but if you are serious about burning fat this is the number one way to do it. If you have used a treadmill to no avail, you may want to try this. Begin slowly and use a few weeks to gradually increase the intensity and you will see your body improve dramatically.
Greg McKenzie currently runs www.intervaltraining.net and is a regular writer of Interval Training articles on blogs and others sites.
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