Go Ahead and H.I.I.T. it for maximum weight loss

As a personal trainer I read industry periodicals every month to keep up to date with what's new and exciting.  Lately I've been reading some impressive studies about High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT. I must admit that when I first heard about HIIT I was skeptical because in the fitness industry there is always a new 'super duper' weight loss workout but the science behind the studies was impressive AND from a reliable source sooooo I decided to use myself and a friend as test subjects. Even though we weren't in a lab setting the results were pretty similar to that of the studies. The beauty is that HIIT is simple to understand, simple to carry out and allows you to gain real results in a shorter amount of time.  At this point are you just dying to know what the secret workout is?

Okay the pattern is a 30 second rest or recovery period followed by a 60 second hard work period then 30 seconds of rest and repeat for 15-20 minutes.  An example might look like a person walking on a treadmill for 30 seconds at 3.5 MPH at a 5% incline then increasing the incline to 10% for one minute (60 seconds) then reducing the incline to 5% for 30 seconds then increasing the incline to 10% for one minute and keep repeating the pattern for 15-20 minutes.  When you are approaching the end of your workout then set the incline at 0% and the speed as well for a more complete cool down.

If you're new to working out do NOT do the workout I described above. You will want to start at a much lower intensity for a shorter amount of time and work up to more challenging workouts.  One of my clients walks at 2.5 MPH and raises and lowers the incline from 0% to 3% for 5 minute sessions on the treadmill which is just fine.  It's important to be respectful of where you are starting from and work at a lower level until you can build up.

I'd love to hear from those of you brave enough to give it a try - let me know what you think and if you can see and feel a difference in your workouts.  In fact this is a great way to put a little Wuhoo in everything you do!  Jennifer :o)