HIIT Training (High Intensity Interval Training) (page 2)
For the particular session in the previous page, HIIT burned 20 percent more calories. But wait — it gets better. Steady-state does not result in an
After-burn. An after-burn is a metabolism that remains elevated after the exercise is done: a faster resting metabolic rate.
This is what happens after HIIT — for up to 24 hours after, even while you sleep. What you did at 6 p.m. is still kicking in at 2 a.m. Put simply, your body is still shaken up from the HIIT jolt; the metabolism remains elevated to supply energy for recovery. Steady-state provides no shock or jolt; your body recovers without a hitch, i.e., without having to dip into fat reserves.
In fact, a trained body from consistent HIIT sessions will derive about 70 percent of its required fuel, during normal everyday living, from body fat, and 30 percent from stored sugar: a 70/30 ratio. On the other hand, the individual who adheres only to steady-state may burn at only a 50/50 ratio, or even a 30/70 ratio, during everyday living, especially if this person’s workout regimen excludes weight routines. A 30/70 ratio stinks.
Simply put, HIIT dramatically increases your body’s need for recuperative energy. Your body takes such a thrashing during HIIT, that it cries out for much more energy than what it’d be demanding after steady-state. And the question is this: Where is this energy going to come from? BODY FAT. That blubber in your stomach is fuel in dormant form. All that soft padding in your thighs is energy in an inert state. HIIT forces your body to raid these stored energy reserves.
You don’t have to be overweight to lose fat from HIIT. A woman preparing for a figure contest, with 13 percent body fat, will appear more “cut” at 10 percent body fat. Rather than dieting, which could cause loss of valuable muscle, she could knock down her body fat percentage by doing two HIIT treadmill sessions per week. HIIT recruits fast twitch muscle fiber, which burns more calories than slow twitch muscle fiber.
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