Basic HIIT can be used as followed: 45 seconds of easy pace, followed by 15 seconds of all out effort. This could be a great place to start for many but varying the easy pace with all out effort can dramatically increase the difficulty of your workout. As you progress, the easy pace can be shortened to 30 seconds easy, and 30 seconds all out which would be a 1:1 ratio, or a 1:3 ratio as in 15 seconds easy pace- 45 seconds all out effort. It’s up to you to be creative in your HIIT but you must always be progressive and keep the intensity high to achieve results.
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Stairs/Stadiums You don’t hear much about stair sprints these days, but they are a great way to get in great shape very quickly! Don’t just run to your local stadium right away, but prepare yourself through jogging 2-4 times a week or power walking before you begin this vigorous type of exercise. As with any of the exercises I have laid out, please perform a stretch and proper warm-up before starting the stairs. A proper progression would be to first walk the stairs, followed by jogging them, and then finally sprinting. After you have walked the stairs 2-4 times you are now properly warmed-up and you can now begin your routine. Start with 3-5 sprints and work your way up to 10-15 sprints through a period of a few weeks. To add difficulty for the go-getters out there, a weight vest can be added. Do not overuse stairs as they can be very hard on the nervous system and your recovery. Start by exercising twice a week and add in another day when you are conditioned enough to do so.
Tabata Intervals A Japanese scientist named Izumi Tabata invented the exercise method called Tabata. He and his colleagues found that it was highly effective at increasing aerobic and anaerobic conditioning. Each Tabata interval consists of 20 seconds of high intensity (as hard as you can go) exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest. This is repeated for eight rounds, which will total 4 minutes of time. Some people prefer to do one exercise per Tabata workout but one, two or even four can be used in one single workout. You can pair any exercise you like whether it’s upper-body, lower-body, abdominals/core, or even a full body movement. For instance you can pair push-ups with squats or lunges with pull-ups. It’s up to you to be creative but still follow the guidelines of the Tabata sequence for best results. For those looking to increase the size of his/her legs, Tabata front squats are a highly effective way to pack on lean muscle to the quadriceps. Just a warning, this is very difficult but the results are mind blowing! For a great way to track your Tabata intervals go to www.tabatatimer.com for a free Tabata counter!
Sprints
Sprints are a great way to increase the body’s ability to burn fat. Sprints don’t need to be draining and consecutive without rest like suicides. Now if you haven’t sprinted in a long time, take it really easy and slow. I mean really slow! First, start with a proper warm-up and a light jog, then sprint for 30-60 yards, resting until you are completely ready for maximum effort on the next sprint. In your first few weeks don’t go 100%, rather run at a speed that is around 75-80% of your maximum. Before you sprint, make sure you are completely rested between your runs. A great way to add strength endurance and fat loss is to sprint 40-60 yards, perform 10-20 push-up variations and 10-20 abdominal exercises in between. This can be done three to fives times. Try to do a different abdominal and push-up variation after each sprint. Before you know it, you’ve gotten an insane workout, and knocked out 30-100 push-ups and abdominal work! Well, I hope that you’ve enjoyed my top 5 exercises for fat loss. These are not meant to be done at the same time but rather used in a 3-5 week progression separately. By then, you will be in great shape and ready for the upcoming holidays without worries of holding on to that extra weight from bad eating!
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