About 1-2 days per week we like to do HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) included in the overall routine. We do heavy weight lifting days with lower reps and longer rests between sets combined with lower weight lifting days with higher reps and shorter rest periods. HIIT is included during the lower weight high rep days. Exercise routines should be fun and never boring. Having a good mix of exercises and types of exercise helps keep it interesting and engaging.
HIIT helps to make you stronger and lose fat. Cycle high-intensity with a short period of low intensity, or no intensity at all. This alternating pattern of high and low-intensity intervals helps to increase overall cardiovascular fitness as well as fat metabolism. Research has shown that HIIT can help with muscle strength, fat loss and improve endurance. So it’s like a cardio day but not really. We get a pump with lifting with lighter weights and higher reps and we do some HIIT.
This type of exercise can be done for those with obesity and chronic disease although supervision by a professional is highly recommended. Start slow and see how things go. Maybe do 10 seconds of intense and 1 minute of rest for a few intervals and see how things turn out. Next time could up it to 20 seconds of intense activity and 1 minute of rest for a few intervals. Slow and steady is the way to approach this. Many can burn out quick if start out hard and focused only to fizzle out and then stop all together.
We chose to push a sled with some weights on the sled which took about 20-30 seconds to go up and back on the functional training area at LA Fitness. While he did it I was able to rest and while I did it he was able to rest. We were able to get our heart rates up and use our muscles to improve strength by pushing the weighted sled. There are many ways to do HIIT, including running, walking, swimming, exercise bike or a treadmill.
If you are just after fat loss there is LISS (low-intensity steady state) cardio typically done for 30 minutes to one hour or more which has been shown to be effective. Sometimes we include a day of just LISS in the program to keep it interesting and not get bored. Exercise is exercise if you know what I mean. Consistency outperforms and is something to remember throughout a lifetime of training.
