Coach Ange’s Corner: High Intensity Interval Training

Everyone has seen the infomercials about the fat-loss supplements that can change your life in a few weeks if you use their products. However, the proven way to lose fat is actually a mixture of a healthy diet and quality training techniques.

When training with the goal of dropping your body fat percentage, there are tons of tips and tricks for how to go about exercising. The focus of this article will be on a program called High Intensity Interval Training, otherwise known as “HIIT.”

HIIT workouts are designed to maximize fat burning in a short, time-efficient training period, through a cardio session arranged with short bursts of very hard work. The point of high-intensity training is to kick up the intensity of your cardio. Numerous studies have shown that working your hardest is key when it comes to boosting endurance, increasing metabolism, regulating insulin levels and losing body fat.

The basic breakdown of these types of workouts is a mixture of intense intervals of exercise such as jumping jacks, push-ups or burpees combined with subsequent rest periods that are short. Rest periods between each set are an essential part of the workout — if you do not take time to recover, you are not doing it properly.

Recovering before the next interval is crucial, essentially because you are forcing your body to repeatedly acclimate between two very different states, which provides excellent cardio conditioning.

These high volume workout sessions mixed with short rest times maximize the effects of the workout and are perfect for people with a busy schedule. A typical HIIT session is about 20 to 40 minutes of working and resting. Another popular workout similar to HIIT is Tabata training, where you are working for 20 seconds and resting for 10 seconds, repeated for four minutes. Both are very effective ways to incorporate interval training into your weekly workout routine.

Both of the workouts below will provide a comprehensive introduction to HIIT for anyone who has not done this type of workout before and is also a great addition to anyone’s weekly workout schedule.

HIIT Circuit:

Complete 4-6 rounds with 60-90 seconds of rest between rounds

• Dumbell Squat Jumps x6-8
• Kettle Bell Swings x6-8
• Pull-Ups x6-8
• Medicine Ball Slams x6-8
• Push-Ups x6-8

Tabata Training Routine:

Complete four minutes of 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off

• Dumbell Squat & Press (shoot for eight reps in 20 seconds)

Complete four minutes of 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off

• Alternating Medicine Ball Lunge & Chop (shoot for eight reps in 20 seconds)

Written by J’juan White and Angela Dendas-Pleasant.