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Is HIIT Really Effective For Weight Loss?

HIIT

By Howe Russ


HIIT is becoming an increasingly popular workout choice for those looking to burn unwanted body fat. If you've ask any trainer how to lose weight they will stand by high intensity interval training as one of the most effective methods in existence today.

While there are many different variations of HIIT out there to suit different goals or sport specific performance targets, the majority of gym goers primarily look at this method as a way to burn body fat so today we will explain the benefits for you.

We will also throw in some additional tips to help you get more from your exercise routine. If you can combine a quality HIIT routine with the proven rules of a solid diet you will be well on your way to achieving a better body.

One of the best things about the health and fitness industry is the constantly evolving scientific studies which are regularly bringing us new forms of improving our results both in and out of the gym.

However, it's not always a good thing. People are sometimes unnecessarily overwhelmed by the sheer volume of content available at their fingertips and they can find themselves getting lost with their fitness, getting different advice and opinions from everybody they turn to. Today we'll show you the science driven facts.

Is high intensity interval training better for fat loss than regular steady state cardio exercise?

Yes. In fact, there is a growing body of evidence which suggests high intensity training can be as much as 50% more effective than long steady state cardiovascular exercise when it comes to fat loss. Furthermore, of course, it usually results in more interesting and less time consuming workout sessions.

The concept is very simple indeed. By mixing short bursts of intensity with longer periods of moderate work you challenge the body to improve and adapt in a way regular cardio does not. There are various choices when it comes to the split between the two intensities, of course, but which works best?

There are several ways you can play this but recent research lends to the idea that your recovery periods should be longer than your bursts of energy. Many people train with a 50/50 approach but a study from Canada discovered that results were greatly improved when test subjects performed three thirty minute sessions each week with a split of four minutes to thirty seconds.

You could be looking at those results now and thinking to yourself that four minutes of recovery time between bursts seems like quite a lot. Those four minutes allow you to hit each bout of intensity with your maximum effort, therefore resulting in superior workouts.

Of course, exercise itself is only part of the deal. You will need to follow a few others pointers such as a good diet, sufficient recovery time between sessions and regular hydration, all of which are covered in today's video session for you.

While you'll probably hear HIIT given as a popular answer whenever people ask how to lose weight it's rare that people explain how and why it works. Now you know both, this will allow you to structure a plan which works for you. Combine this with your resistance training routine and you will bring about a new era of progress.




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HIIT Vs Cardio - The Weight Loss Facts

HIIT Vs Cardio

By Howe Russ


An increasing number of fitness enthusiasts are choosing high intensity interval training over regular cardiovascular activity in the gym, firmly establishing HIIT as one of the most popular weight loss tips in the post millennium era. If you're thinking about tackling a HIIT routine, you need to know the basic facts first.

This isn't a fad or a passing trend, so today you will learn why it's becoming such a popular choice.

Although it has only recently crossed over in to mainstream society, HIIT has been used for nearly three decades. It was previously widely believed that cardiovascular activity performed over a long distance at a steady pace was better for both endurance and fat loss. However, recent studies have blown these old theories out of the water.

To go back to the roots of HIIT, you need to look at the two studies which brought it into the public eye. The first of which dates all the way back to 1985. Initially designed to test if exercises helped speed the metabolism, scientists noticed that most of the weight loss results were from individuals working harder in the gym. A further study confirmed this, with three weekly HIIT sessions outperforming five regular cardio workouts for fat loss, despite those workouts being twice as long.

That was the starting point for HIIT. Since then, many sprint coaches and swimming trainers adopted the approach to help their athletes increase their explosive speed in their selected events and HIIT gradually made it's way into the world of mainstream gym training.

After initially becoming popular during the 1992 Olympics when many sprinters adopted the approach, the first major breakthrough for fat loss studies didn't arrive until 2001. While the fully expected to confirm that HIIT increased the breakdown of carbohydrates, they didn't expect to discover that it also increased fat breakdown, too. Also, they were shocked to see that this increase in fat burning lasted for 14 hours in some subjects. []

So not only was HIIT proven to be effective for losing blubber, it increased the body's ability to burn excess fat for over half a day after the workout had finished!

The biggest finding of the whole test, and the one which will undoubtedly interest the most people reading this review, is the fact that researchers confirmed that one calorie used during a HIIT workout shed almost six times the fat of one calorie used during a steady state workout. That's because the body continues to burn calories after the session as a result of keeping the intensity level quite high.

These startling results have since been backed up by many further studies. In fact, over the last few years this training method has crept it's way into many mainstream gyms around the world and it now appears to have earned it's place among proven fitness techniques.

Like all new fitness concepts, high intensity interval training has recently made it's appearance in the mainstream. This can lead to some labeling it as a passing fad but, having seen the mounting evidence behind it's effectiveness, you now realize that HIIT can become one of the most productive weight loss tips for those who are prepared to learn a little bit about it before jumping in.




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