You Should Be Doing Interval Training! (Part 1)

So I'm going to break this up into three parts: first, the fun part that let's you get to work right away.  The second will be a little more in-depth explaining some cool studies about metabolizing fat.  The third will be how breathing properly can help you burn fat, and how if you're not breathing properly, you may not benefit from HIIT (I can personally speak to the benefits, or rather, the negative effects of not breathing properly).

Know that the workouts listed are for high intensity interval training or HIIT.  To do this properly means you must REST!  During the rest intervals you must rest, the circuits are not meant to be non-stop.  Take the rest, you need the heart rate to go up and down.  To get the most benefit you also need to focus on moving quickly.  Speed is what makes this effective.

Benefits of HIIT:  Increased lung power which better oxygenates the blood, heart gets bigger (stronger) and beats slower (big slow beats is what you want when at rest), helps regulate hormones, and increases fat burning.  With so many positives it's hard to find a negative, but it could be overtraining.  Without proper diet and sleep, you can make a good training stress become negative.  

Some quick facts you'll want to read before you start:

• Really high intensity work (i.e. sprinting- either on a bike or running) for 30 seconds is too long.  Builds up too much lactate which gives you that sick feeling and you'll fatigue much quicker.

• Keep the intervals to less than 10 seconds.  You'll get the same metabolic effect (aka boost fat burning) without the consequences.  It was found that intervals of 8 seconds produced the same boost in fat burning hormones as intervals of 12 and 20 seconds, but yet, didn't leave participants with the sick feeling.  So it only makes sense to work for less than 10 seconds- you'll get the same results!

• Work faster, not harder.  The goal is to do less, but get more out of it!  But... you must work quickly in these intervals.

• Healthy eating (NOT dieting), sleep and stress control are main factors to regulate if you are looking to burn fat.

• What you eat before and after makes a huge difference on your results!  Fun fact- if you eat nasty sugar before this workout, it will stop any fat burning.  So cut out the unnecessary sweets- you don't have to drink that soda/energy drink, you don't have to eat that sugary treat.  However, if you drink true green tea (not the processed kind with sugar- cause we just cut that nasty sugar part out) before these workouts, you can double your fat burning!!

• You MUST consider stress.  Interval workouts are very stressful on the body.  If you already live in a high stress lifestyle, proceed with caution,  You may end up pushing your body too far and it will cause negative results.  I can personally speak to this.  I trained hard under a very stressful lifestyle about nine years ago and it greatly hurt my body.  My hormones failed,  my thyroid failed, my digestion failed, my ability to continue training failed.  It's been a long road of recovery but thyroid is healthy, digestion is improving, and I am able to train regularly again.  So, I give you a fair warning, these are great workouts, but you must keep control of your stress levels.  Sometimes it's better to rest than beat yourself down more.

• On that note, you must give your body enough rest.  These workouts are meant to really challenge your body.  It doesn't get stronger or better during the workout, it gets better and burns the fat during the rest!!  I promise.  You do these workouts correctly, your body will be burning fat while you rest.  It's so important to get enough sleep and allow time for rest and recovery.  If you want to see the benefits, then take your time to rest!!

• It's recommended you do at least 1 training session a week.  If you create your own interval workout, plan to warm up for about 15 minutes, maybe do a little strength work, and work hard in an interval circuit for no more than 20 minutes.  You can have a very successful workout in under an hour!  You can do HIIT sessions 1 - 3 times per week, but again, only if you are giving yourself enough rest.  It's still highly effective to only do 1 of these per week, don't overdo it!

Let's get to work:

Make sure you get in a proper warm up before you start.  If you'd like to do strength training, I recommend choosing 2-3 drills max.  For example, do a Bench Press 3 sets x 6 reps.  Lat Pull 3 sets x 6 reps.  Seated Row 3 sets x 6 reps. Strength is optional, the warm is mandatory.

Find any good interval app timer.  Set it for 8 seconds work, 12 seconds rest.  60 rounds = 20 minutes

Workout option #1- Cardio Machine

A stationary bike is best.  Can be a rower, an elliptical, or any other version you have available.  A treadmill is not ideal, it can't keep up with the fast time and speed changes.  You MUST keep the resistance low.  You do not adjust the resistance.  It's enough to keep the legs in control, but light enough for the rest.   

The Goal: move your legs very quickly (on a bike, get to 80-120 RPM)

The Time Interval: 8 seconds of work, 12 seconds of rest.  Keep repeating this pattern for as long as you can.  Do not go over a total of 20 minutes.

How to perform:  On your machine with light resistance, move very quickly ("sprint") for 8 seconds, then keep the feet moving very slowly for 12 seconds.  Start to build up the speed again so by 8 seconds, you're back to full speed.  Do not use the 8 seconds to get up to fast sprint.

Workout option #2

1. Mountain climbers (or plank) alternating each 8 seconds with hollow body (found this well instructed video)

2. Jump rope (or just mimic with jumps) alternating with punches

3. Squats with battle rope (if available) or jumping jacks

The goal: get variety with drills you can do quickly

The Time Interval:  8 seconds of work, 12 seconds of rest.  Do number 1 for 10-20 rounds (3:20 minutes - 6:40 minutes).  With very little rest move to #2 and then again very little rest, finish round #3. 

Workout option #3

Simply go out for a walk or a run.  If walking, then you walk faster and walk slower.  If you are running, you run faster (or sprint) and walk during the rest.  The key is to move fast for 8 seconds and rest for 12, you choose the intensity.  Work up to a total of 20 minutes.

Give these a try!  Be sure to eat properly and get enough rest!  Give it 6-8 weeks of consistent effort and really pushing yourself to move quickly- get out of your comfort zone.  Or as my client recently termed it "CZ crushers" (yeah that term will be used regularly now).  Good luck!  Get your sweat on and the fat off, you got this, you're awesome!!