HIIT The Treadmill! Reach Your Weight Loss Goals With HIIT Training

HIIT training is the secret to getting maximum weight loss results in the shortest amount of time with your treadmill. HIIT is an exercise method that stands for High Intensity Interval Training. HIIT not only requires less workout time, but you lose weight faster and it makes for a more fun and interesting exercise program.

A study conducted more than ten years ago monitored test subjects over a five month period. One group did 45 minutes of steady pace cardio throughout the five months. The second group did 30 minutes of HIIT training for the five months. The first group began exercising at 60% of their maximum heart rate and increased it up to 85% before their five months was completed.

The second group’s workouts involved warming up to 70% of their maximum heart rate. Then they would lower the intensity of their workouts for 10 seconds so their heart rates would go down. This was followed by a 90 second interval of exercise that elevated their heart rates back up. After the 90 seconds of intense exercise they would go into a less intense level of exercise so their heart rate would drop before they began the process again.

The study concluded that the second group doing HIIT not only used less time to workout, but they also used less energy and lost nearly three times more body fat than the first group. Also, the body fat that was lost was the subcutaneous fat, or the fat that is directly beneath the skin.

A great thing about HIIT training is it creates a demand for more oxygen in your body. This is known as EPOC, or Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption. What it means is for your body to return to a resting state after HIIT training, it uses excess oxygen over the next few hours. This means you can still be burning calories hours after your workout.

A study done in 2002 showed there was a substantial increase in the resting metabolic rate of participants up to forty eight hours after exercise. This is great news for someone who wants to raise their metabolism and lose weight!

It is very easy to do HIIT training on a treadmill. Your treadmill workout should last between 20-30 minutes. It should include short bursts of intense exercise (between one and two minutes) that will raise your heart rate into your maximum heart rate range, followed by short intervals (from two to five minutes) at lower heart rate levels. You can change the workout around to suit you. You can do several intervals, or just two or three. The duration of the intervals will depend on how many you plan to incorporate into your workout routine.

It is only recommended that you do HIIT training two or three times per week. It is very intense and will put your body under a lot of stress. It is generally recommended that your HIIT training not be done consecutively. Give your body a couple of days to recover from the workout. The good news is you can take these breaks knowing that you are still burning fat and calories!