Are You Looking For A Fat Blasting Cardio Workout?

Effective Cardio for Fat Loss

Are you doing hours of cardio each week but the weight is not coming off?

Hands down, experts in the fitness industry are saying that High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) will give you the greatest benefit for fat loss, heart health, and muscle retention than long, steady state cardio. So what does that mean, what is the explanation and how do you do it?

High Intensity Interval training is essentially periods of hard work alternated with easier periods of work using a cardio exercise. Our bodies are designed to perform physical activity in bursts of energy followed by recovery, such as running up a flight of stairs or running to catch a bus.

Steady state cardio can help your cardiovascular system as well but it only trains the heart at one specific heart rate range, rather than a variety of ranges. Simply put, HIIT teaches the heart to respond to the different stresses that we may face each day.

Research tells us that variability is key to consider in your training to show improvement down to the cellular level. HIIT is superior to slow steady cardio because you burn more calories after you do the exercise. When you do steady state cardio, you burn calories from the exercise while you are doing it but not afterward.

The bulk of the calories you burn in a day come from your resting metabolic rate (RMR). What happens when you do HIIT, you increase the RMR and that makes a big difference in your fat loss.

You will probably notice the total calorie count on the cardio machine you are working on will seem less with the HIIT workout than the slow steady cardio routine you are used to, but you may feel the workout to be more challenging. Be careful not to pay too much attention to what the calories say on the machine (most of them are not very accurate anyway) rather, pay attention to the bigger picture, and that is increasing your RMR. Focusing on the calories being burned during the exercise is very short sited when working out for fat loss.

Strength training by the way has the same effect on RMR and that is why if you are on a weight loss program it is critical that you include lifting weights as part of the fat-loss equation. Imagine your fat blasting results when you combine HIIT for your cardio workout, strength training, and eating 5 smaller meals spread out over the day instead of 3 larger meals? You’ll have done 3 things to increase your RMR!

One key thing to remember… It’s not the diet. It’s not the intervals or the strength training. It’s the synergy between all of these things. I would argue that the biggest factor is your determination to do it all. Just how determined are you to stay the course for all 3… for your lifetime?

My coaching program will keep you on track with your exercise, nutrition and your determination to do it all. Click here to get your Free 30 minute Best Body Makeover Strategy Session!

Here is an example of a HIIT workout:
1-Beginners
1) Warm up for 5 minutes using your choice of cardio exercise.
2) Perform the exercise by going at a hard pace or high intensity for 1 minute (about 8/10 your effort).
3) Continue at a slow pace or low intensity for 2 more minutes (about 3/10 your effort).
4) Repeat for 4 more intervals.
5) Finish with 5 minutes of very low intensity (3/10) for a cool down.
6) Complete this work out at least 3 times a week.

2-Intermediate

Use the above workout for beginners except add on an extra interval or two for a total of 30-minute workout. Do the workout 4 times a week.

3-Advanced
Use the same workout above, but vary the intervals, either 30 seconds high intensity (9/10 effort) and 90 seconds low intensity (3/10 effort), or 1 minute high intensity (8/10 effort) and 1
minute low intensity (3/10 effort) for a 30 minute workout.

Doing your cardio workout this way will require you to focus more carefully. To get the most effective cardio workout, you should not be multitasking… give it your full attention, no TV, no reading. Be present and focused. This too will get you better results. You should not be able to carry on a normal conversation with your friend on the next treadmill! Really pay attention to what you are
doing!

Be Well,
Lauren