Health and Fitness

Health and Fitness - High intensity interval training:

High intensity interval training, known as HIIT for short, is the technique of alternating short (usually 30-60 second) periods of very high intensity cardio with short periods of low to moderate intensity.

HIIT Workouts generally last only 15-25 minutes, total.

HIIT has received a lot of press lately as being superior to steady state exercise. In some ways, it IS superior: HIIT burns a lot of calories during the workout, but where it really shines is after the workout.

Your metabolic rate stays elevated longer after the workout is over than steady state, low intensity cardio.

Here's an example of an ascending 21 minute HIIT workout on a stationary bike:

Level 3: 5 minutes (warmup)

Level 5: 1 minute (work interval)

Level 4: 1 minute (recovery interval)

Level 6: 1 minute (work interval)

Level 4: 1 minute (recovery interval)

Level 7: 1 minute (work interval)

Level 4: 1 minute (recovery interval)

Level 8: 1 minute (work interval)

Level 4: 1 minute (recovery interval)

Level 9: 1 minute (work interval)

Level 4: 1 minute (recovery interval)

Level 10: 1 minute (work interval - maxed out)

Level 3: 5 minutes (cool down)

This is just an example of course; you'll need to adjust the workout based on your fitness level.

You can adjust the duration of the intervals, the number of intervals performed and the difficulty level. You can perform similar workouts on almost any piece of cardio equipment.

HIIT is often touted as a superior fat burning method, but it really depends what you're comparing it to. When compared to low intensity, long duration cardio (as it frequently is), HIIT wins hands down.

Low intensity cardio like casual walking is not the best way to los.e fat, except for beginners who are not physically prepared for high intensity yet.

More at : http://www.fitnessattitudes.com/cardiotraining.html