Do you think your cardio workouts have to be long to be effective? What if you could burn more calories in a shorter amount of time?
What if this exercise protocol also:
- Increased your metabolic rate, allowing you to burn calories for hours after you were finished.
- Improved your oxygen consumption (VO2 max).
- Decreased both your heart rate and blood pressure.
- Decreased your blood sugar.
- Helped you lose that stubborn fat, even belly fat.
Perhaps it sounds too good to be true, but research shows that high intensity interval training can provide all of these benefits, and more.
High intensity interval training (HIIT) is a form of cardio that alternates periods of intense exercise with low-intensity recovery periods. Typically the sessions last from 10-30 minutes in duration.
So, how does this look? I always start my clients out on a stationary bike. For the first 45 seconds of every minute I have them pedal at a normal pace. Once the timer hits 45 seconds, they are instructed to sprint.This is the high intensity part. Your heart rate should be between 80-95% of your maximum heart rate (maximum heart rate = 220-your age). If you don’t have a way to monitor your heart rate then just make sure you can’t talk during those last 15 seconds.
Start with a total of 10 minutes and work your way up to 20-30 minutes one to two times a week. While I always start my clients out on the stationary bike, any form of cardio will work. For more info, see https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/benefits-of-hiit.
Try working HIIT sessions into your exercise routine for a couple of weeks and see what difference they make!”
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