Using A HIIT Workout Routine For Training: The Best Cardio For Weight Loss

No matter how overweight you may be, a HIIT workout routine will help burn off belly fat fast. I feel that it is the best cardio for weight loss. While you can achieve your weight loss goal by combining diet, strength training, and even steady state cardio, HIIT can take your fat burning to the next level.

HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. The basic premise behind HIIT training is that you work really hard for a short burst and then have an active recovery period. Generally speaking, you may sprint for 30 seconds and then jog or walk for 1 minute. You would repeat this process a number of times to get the best workout.

A HIIT workout offers many important benefits. First, HIIT provides a great workout for your legs. Unless you want bulging leg muscles, you shouldn’t need to do strength training for your legs if you perform a HIIT workout a few times a week. And HIIT increases your body’s fat burning potential Periods of strenuous activity causes the body to release fatty acids into the bloodstream. Additionally, HIIT results in increased HGH levels. HGH is a hormone that burns fat while preserving muscle. To top it off, HIIT workouts create EPOC, an after-burn effect which lets your body burn more calories for hours after you have finished exercising.

HIIT is not perfect in every way. For example, it is not meant to be done every day. Doing this kind of intense interval training daily mixed with strength conditioning can cause overtraining. This can be a serious condition where the muscles become over tired and more prone to injury. To avoid this, it is best to vary your cardio routine from day to day.

You can modify your HIIT training in a number of ways. The first is the length of the sprint intervals. Shorter intervals of 15-30 seconds allow you to exert more effort during the sprints. This increased exertion will help release more HGH into your system. You will also release higher amounts of fatty acids into the bloodstream.

Longer intervals of greater than 30 seconds require more perceived effort. These result in a greater number of calories burned. Longer, high intensity intervals also allow glycogen levels in the muscles to be depleted which causes the body to turn to stored fat for its energy supply.

The length of your recovery period is also important in an HIIT workout. During this lower intensity portion of your workout you may walk or job to give your muscles time to recover. The length of recovery is relative to the sprint interval. If your ratio is at 1:1, for example, if you sprint for 30 seconds and then recover for 30 seconds. If you sprint for 15 seconds and recover for 45 seconds, the ratio is 3:1.

When your recovery interval is longer, 2 or 3:1 for example, your high intensity interval can be more strenuous. Increasing your effort will produce higher HGH levels. And giving yourself a longer recovery interval will reduce the risk of over-training your muscles.

A short recovery relative to the sprint interval (1:1) results in lactic acid buildup, glycogen depletion, and a greater after-burn effect (EPOC). But the risk of over-training is increased.

The HIIT workout that provides the best cardio for weight loss makes use of both high and low intensity activity to provide a high HGH release, increased calorie burning and the release of fatty acids. Your workout should start with the short sprint to long recover ratio part of the HIIT routine. A sprint of 15 seconds and then recovery period (walking or jogging) of 45 seconds is appropriate. In this way, you will release high levels of HGH and fatty acids. I prefer to warm up for 2 minutes and then perform 8 sets of this type of HIIT for a total workout of 10 minutes.

For the second phase, I perform 25 minutes of steady state cardio (light paced jog or exercise bike). This provides an active recovery for your muscles. Additionally, steady state cardio helps burn the fatty acids that short interval HIIT released into the bloodstream.

End with long, high intensity intervals combined with shorter recovery periods. This will fully deplete your body of glycogen allowing for a greater after-burn effect and fat burning once your workout is complete. I perform 1 minute sprint intervals with 1 minute of jogging. The sprint intervals for this portion are not as intense as the first phase, by necessity as your muscles will be slightly tired. It’s best to keep this final phase to around 10 minutes as well.

So there you have a 45 minute HIIT workout that I believe is the best cardio for weight loss. Following this routine a few times a week will burn off belly fat quickly, no matter what your weight loss goal may be. 

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