Want to burn stubborn fat AND save time doing so? You can with half HIIT workouts: a new twist on interval training that will get rid of stomach and thigh blubber.
Burn that stubborn fat — all over your body — away once and for all.
HIIT beats traditional cardio for shrinking fat cells. One of the studies that shows this comes from Canada’s McMaster University.
But there’s an unexpected surprise: The work intervals do not need to be maximal effort in order to bust stubborn blubber or produce a great training effect.
Ten, 60 Second Intervals
Gibala et al showed that 10 challenging bouts of pedaling on a stationary bike, lasting one minute — with one minute of easy pacing in between — worked as well as many hours of traditional lengthy pedaling of a less intense nature. And at only three times a week, too.
Don’t care to pedal?
No problem. You can take this concept and apply it to any piece of cardio equipment or any kind of movement in free space.
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HIIT saves time because those 10, one-minute bursts of challenging effort with just 60 seconds in between can be over in 20 minutes, plus a five minute warmup and cool-down.
That’s 30 minutes, three times/week — compared to the LESS effective one hour of sustained aerobics seven days a week!
Just 50 Percent
The McMaster study employed a standard stationary bike, but the effort level was about 50 percent of what a person would generate at an all-out, maximal pace. Think of this as “half HIIT workouts.”
However, this 50 percent still qualified as above the comfort zone for most people: 95 percent maximal heart rate.
So why not just do all-out intervals?
Because these sub-all-out intervals are more ideal for certain populations, such as older people, the obese or people recovering from injuries.
Exercise creates a myriad of changes in the body, not just the obvious visible changes of less body fat and tighter muscles.
Exercise also substantially cuts the risk of many diseases.
However, all these benefits are still possible with high intensity interval training, even though the protocol involves far less time spent expending effort.
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Huge Time Saver
Gibala’s study shows that with standard steady-state (long duration) aerobic exercise, you’d have to complete more than 10 hours (cycling) at the moderate level, over a 14 day period.
So now that you know this, you can no longer use the excuse of having no time to exercise for avoiding exercise.
Get on a stationary bike and do 10 challenging intervals of one minute each, with one minute of casual pedaling in between, three times a week, and watch the fat burn off. This includes stubborn fat in your belly.
Or, you can do any of the following for your “half HIIT” sessions: hill jogging or walking, staircase trotting or walking, jump rope, jogging/running, heavybag striking or your favorite cardio equipment.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
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