Now if I said, “Hey, are you looking forward to training for 25 minutes 4 times a week to lose that 20 pounds?” In that case you would say “Really?” or “Is that all?” or even “OKAY! That’s great”.
I deal with people every day who have simple straight forward goals. They either want to lose a few pounds, get in shape to keep up with the kids, or simply stick around long enough to see their grand children grow up.
However, when it comes to getting fit, life often gets in the way. Time becomes a precious commodity. If you could get your workouts done quickly and effectively, you could manage to have your life and fitness not compete for your time. Well, I’m going to let you in on a way you can train to maximize your cardio. I have used these techniques myself and have found excellent results.
HIIT (High intensity interval training):
With HIIT, you will be working harder than you normally work for about a quarter to a half of the time that you would normally spend on the cardio machine. This usually works best on a machine with high calorie burn potential, like a elliptical or treadmill. HIIT is so intense and effective that you only need 20 to 25 minutes.
-Do a good warm up, about 5 minutes. You’ll want to be limber for this.
-After increase to a moderate pace for 1 minute.
-Then go for 15-20 seconds at 90-95 percent of your heart rate maximum.
-Follow this with another 1 minute moderate interval.
-Continue this process for 10 to 15 minutes.
-When you are done, do 5 a minute cool down to let your heart rate slowly come back down.
After training this way you should be drenched in sweat and more than happy to hit the showers.
There are many benefits with HIIT:
-You will burn a massive amount of calories in a short time.
-This gives your body a major boost in growth hormone, an important hormone that helps regulate fat burn and muscle tone. Growth hormone also helps people look young and feel energetic.
-Most importantly, growth hormone elevates your metabolism for the rest of the day.
There you go! Now you have a way to maximize your time with your cardiovascular exercise. Keep in mind that this type of training works best with a low-impact machine or a treadmill with good cushioning. HIIT is intense and can be a bit harder on the joints so avoid doing it outdoors or on a cheap piece of equipment.
Lou
