Why High Intensity Interval Training Rocks

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It is common to see people in the gym that spend 45-60 minutes four to five times a week running at a low to moderate speed on a treadmill trying to lose body fat and tone up. I used to do this and never seemed to get anywhere. This was because:

1) Fitting in 45-60 minutes of cardio sessions into my workout routines as well as lifting weights is difficult if you have a busy life.

2) It can become unmanageable keeping up a lengthy workout routine four to five times a week when you work full time and have other things going on in your life (friends, family, hobbies, girlfriend etc).

3) Working out 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours every other day, sometimes everyday, doesn't give your body much time to recover, leading to over training.

4) Low to moderate cardio sessions are just plain BORING!

This is why I think I was failing to lose body fat. I would stick to my workout routine for three to four weeks and then give up or burn out. This is why I think a lot of people don't achieve the fat loss and lean muscle they desire.

Using Mike Geary's Truth about Abs Training Program I have come to realise that these gruelling workout routines where a waste of time and there is a much easier way to lose body fat and build lean muscle.

Firstly, we need to discuss your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). This is the amount of calories your burn every day while at rest. To lose body fat it is important that you keep your RMR as high as possible throughout the day. You can calculate your RMR using the following equation:

RESTING METABOLIC RATE

As RMR only takes into account your Resting Metabolic Rate, an adjustment needs to be made to reflect your activity level.

1.3 (sedentary) - Light exercise or sports 1-3 days a week

1.4 (moderately active) - Moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days a week

1.5 (very active) - Hard exercise or sports 6-7 days a week

You need to use your chosen activity factor as the multiplying factor for the following RMR equation where:

RMR = your daily calorie needs (kcal / day)

Height = your height in inches

Weight = your weight in pounds

Age = your age in years

Your RMR = 66 + (12.7 x height) + (6.27 x weight) - (6.8 x age)

Therefore my RMR at present is as follows:

My Activity Factor = 1.4 (Moderately active - I go to gym 4 days a week but have a desk job)

My height = 71 inches (5ft 11inches)

My weight = 195lbs (88.5kg)

My age = 24 years old

My RMR = 1.4 x (66+ (12.7 x 71) + (6.27 x 195) - (6.8 x 24) = 2891 calories/day

It is advised that you lose weight slowly. 1 -2 lbs a week is considered safe. Therefore for me to lose 1 lb a week I need to create 3500 calorie deficit to lose 1 lb. To lose 1 lb a week I need to reduce my daily calorie intake by 500 to around 2391 calories / day.

Although you don't need or want to become a calorie counter and worry too much about your calorie intake (You have a life), your RMR gives you a rough idea on how much calories you should consume daily to lose body fat.

INCREASING YOUR RMR

We all want a lean muscular body that increases your sex appeal and generally gives you more confidence. The more lean muscle you have the higher your RMR will be and the more calories you will burn daily. Therefore weight training is very important. If you diet excessively and are constantly undertaking cardio you will lose muscle and your RMR will lower, meaning fewer calories burned per day.

I won't start talking about weight training in this post as there is so much to cover. If you want to learn how to increase your RMR by building lean muscle then check out Mike Geary's Program. The Truth about Six Pack Abs eBook is full of weight training exercises and workout routines that will sky rocket your RMR, build lean muscle and lose body fat. I have been using his training program for the past few months now and seen unbelievable results. I am currently writing a post that will show before and after pictures of my training results using his program. Make sure you start using Mike's program as soon as possible to get the lean muscular body you deserve. It is very important that you use his weight training program in conjunction with High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) that I will talk about next.

HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING

As discussed above, I used to use low to moderate intensity cardio as part of my workout routines and I never seemed to lose much body fat. If you look around the gym when your there next you will notice it is the same for most people. They seem to get to the point where they have lost as much body fat as they can and wonder why they can't lose anymore. This is because they focus more on long cardio sessions rather than weight training, decreasing their RMR in the process. Whilst it's true that your RMR remains high for 1-2 hours after a long cardio session, your RMR will actually remain high for 1-2 days after weight training mixed with HIIT exercises. This is because your skeletal muscle has been so strained and traumatised your body needs to increase the amount of calories burned to repair it, meaning a higher RMR.

Your body is designed to perform physical activity at stop and start movements, and this is why high intensity interval training is very important and needs to be used in your workout routines. Take sprinters for example. Their bodies are lean and muscular with low body fat. Now look at Marathon runners who have a more gauntly appearance. What one would you rather look like?

HILL SPRINTS

This is a great way to get your ripped and muscular. If you have a hill nearby, this workout is simple. Run up the hill as fast as you can and then walk back down the hill as your recovery period. Keep repeating this process for about 10-15 minutes. This is a very intense workout and you will see a leaner body in weeks.

PLAY SPORTS

Any sport that involves stop and start movements should be considered such as football, basketball, squash, rugby.

GYM EQUIPMENT

You can use a treadmill to perform high intensity interval training. This is my personal favourite. You train in intervals and varying at high and low intensity (stop and start movements). My routine looks like this:

* Warm up for 5 minutes
* Interval 1 - run at 8.0 miles per hour for 1 minute
* Interval 2 - run at 4.0 miles per hour for 1 minute
* Interval 3 - run at 10.0 miles per hour for 1 minute
* Interval 4 - run at 4.0 miles per hour for 1 minute
* Repeat these 4 intervals 5-6 more times for an intense 20-25 minute workout.

I use high intensity interval training in my workouts as follows:

MONDAY

Mike Geary's Weight Training Workout A

8 minutes high intensity interval training

TUESDAY

Rest

WEDNESDAY

Mike Geary's Weight Training Workout B

8 minutes high intensity interval training

THURSDAY

Rest

FRIDAY

Mike Geary's Weight Training Workout A

8 minutes high intensity interval training

SATURDAY

25 minutes high intensity interval training

SUNDAY

Rest

BENEFITS OF HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING

Apart from increasing your RMR and reducing your body fat, I believe the main benefit of high intensity interval training is there is a lower drop out rate. As you are only performing HIIT for short periods of time and you vary in speed it is less boring, meaning you are less likely to skip it in your workout routines compared to long cardio workouts. You feel even more motivated to do it when you can see the fat dropping off your body. Other benefits include:

* An increase in oxidant production
* A more efficient nitric oxide response
* An increase in metabolic rate response
* An overall increase in general health

Hopefully this post has encouraged you to give High Intensity Interval Training a try and include it in your workout routines. Also make sure you include intense weight training in your workout. Make sure you read Mike Geary's Truth about Six Pack Abs eBook for more information.

WHAT CARDIO TRAINING DO YOU USE IN YOUR WORKOUT ROUTINES? SHARE WITH US IN THE COMMENTS.

Recommended books (downloadable pdfs):

John Overdurf - Training Trances
Simon Heong - How To Instantly Attract Any Woman
Nancy Stevenson - 10 Minute Guide To Motivating People

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