OH CARDIO… the thing many of us dread! When you think of cardio, many of us may think of endless minutes and hours on a mechanical piece of stationary equipment. Going into your cardio session without your phone or Ipod almost seems like a complete tragedy! God forbid you FORGET your headphones… that cardio is just not happening anymore.
Well I’m here to enlighten you on how to get more bang for your buck on your next cardio session! Say goodbye to the long, endless and dreaded cardio and HELLO to a new fast and efficient way of doing your cardio!
I’d like to introduce you all to your new best friend, HIIT training.
WHAT IS HIIT? HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training! It is a training technique that involves giving your absolute 100% effort for a short period of time, followed by a recovery period (can be active/non-active rest depending on your intensity)
WHY DO HIIT? This will give you a HIGH intensity workout in a short period of time! Due to the high intensity of the workout, you keep your heart rate HIGH and burn MORE fat in LESS time! (like I said before, say buh-bye to staring at the clock on that cardio machine!)
BUT STILL, you may ask, “Ayesha, I don’t get how you are burning more in 20 mins when the treadmill said I burned 550 cals on my hour long steady state cardio…”
I SAY…
ITS ALL ABOUT THE EPOC! (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption)
When you have high intensity workouts, you increase the body’s need for oxygen during the workout and this creates an oxygen shortage, resulting in asking your body for more oxygen during recovery. This afterburn effect is known as EPOC and will keep you burning calories ALL day long, even AFTER you’ve left the gym! Now, how great does that sound?
Burning fat even when you’re not working out!
SO OVERALL, yes your steady state cardio may burn a lot of calories during your cardio session, but HIIT training burns a great deal of calories DURING & AFTER your workout.
THEREFORE MAXIMIZING YOUR FAT LOSS!!!!
...Still interested in learning more about HIIT?
Below is a list of my favourite benefits of HIIT training!
OTHER BENEFITS OF HIIT:
- Increased resting metabolic rate for up to 24 hours AFTER exercise.
- Lose fat, NOT muscle.
- Large spikes in growth hormone levels (aids in fat loss) and catecholamine levels (chemicals your body produces to directly induce fat mobilization)
- Post exercise appetite suppression
- Choose your own workout variations that challenge you to become a healthier and stronger YOU!
Interested in trying out some of MY HIIT workouts & learn more ways on MAXIMIZING efficient ways at fat loss?
Shoot me a message in my contact forum and inquire about my One-On-One Personal Training Program!
