HIIT Training on Treadmills Results In Faster Weight Loss

By Torii Tompson | June 12, 2008

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by Torii Tompson

There is a way for you to lose weight fast on a treadmill. It’s called HIIT. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. The great thing about HIIT is that your workouts are shorter, but the weight falls off faster. HIIT is also fun to do on a treadmill because it’s interesting and you can change up your workout routine.

Treadmill owners started showing an interest in HIIT after a study came out reporting that it showed better results than other forms of cardio for fat loss. The study involved participants being divided into two exercise groups for five months. Group one did a steady pace cardio workout for 45 minutes. At the beginning of the five months, group one started working out at 60% of their maximum heart rate. By the end of the study they were up to 85% of their maximum heart rate. Group two worked out the entire five months doing HIIT for 30 minutes.

Group two would start their routine by elevating their heart rates to 70% of their maximum heart rate. They would then follow this up with ten seconds of less intense exercise that decreased their heart rates, and then a 90 second burst of intense exercise that increased their heart rate, again. This was followed up with an interval of exercise that brought their heart rate back down. This HIIT routine was done over and over throughout their workout.

The study found that the second group who had done the HIIT worked out for less time overall, expended less energy and shed three times more fat than the first group. They also noted that the fat group two lost was mainly the fat beneath the skin, or subcutaneous fat.

What makes HIIT so great for weight loss is your body goes into EPOC, or Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption. In a nutshell, your body requires more oxygen to get back to its resting state which means you continue to burn calories even hours after you have completed a HIIT routine. In fact, a 2002 study showed the resting metabolic rate of participants was still elevated 48 hours later. This is great news for someone who wants to lose weight and get their metabolism boosted.

HIIT on a treadmill is fast and easy, but it is intense. Workouts should last anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes. Once you have warmed up, get your heart rate up to its maximum heart rate range. Follow this by intervals of exercise that will lower your heart rate and then raise it back up again. Change up the length of the intervals, or the number of intervals you do, depending on your personal preferences.

While HIIT is a very popular way to lose weight fast with treadmills, keep in mind that it is not recommend that you do HIIT more than two or three days a week. HIIT works and it does put your body under stress. You shouldn’t do HIIT day after day. But, don’t feel like you are cheating. Your body is still burning fat and calories long after your workout is over!

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Topics: Weight Loss |

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