Is HIIT on treadmill good for fat loss?
It's not only a brilliant way to squeeze a workout into a busy day but HIIT running also improves performance, builds speed, burns fat and boosts heart health. All in a short and efficient space of time. Want to know more? Here's everything you need to know before you go out and HIIT the treadmill hard.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is one of the top training trends in the fitness industry today. In addition to being a good challenge (the words “high intensity” in the title give that away), HIIT treadmill workouts can be quick and very effective.
30 minutes is more than enough to work all the big muscles groups with a circuit of light weights and high repetitions. Exhausting these muscles through this type of HIIT has strong calorie and fat burning effects while building muscular strength and endurance.
Two to four sessions of HIIT, each week is the optimum to lose weight, Lloyd said, agreeing with Matt Hodges. 'To lose fat, high intensity interval training is the best way, you should be opting for 10-20 second intervals for eight reps with one minute rest,' he said.
To make a treadmill routine more challenging, add hills. Walking briskly or running at an incline burns more calories because your body has to work harder. It also activates more muscles, which contributes to building more lean muscle mass. This helps you lose weight, since muscle burns more calories than fat.
In essence, a 20-minute treadmill HIIT per day can reduce body fat and grow muscles. While intervals are both physically and mentally draining, they are some of the most effective ways to train especially if you are time-pressed most of the time.
The total duration of a HIIT session should be about 30-60 minutes in length, with warm up and cool down included in that time.
HIIT is a great, safe, and effective workout, but there's no need to do it every day. Keep it to three times per week. You'll still reap the benefits and give your body time to recover properly.
Frequency. You will get the most benefit from setting aside an eight-week period to do HIIT workouts one to three times per week. It is important that you allow a recovery day between days of HIIT workouts. This gives your body time to repair and build muscles and energy systems, and helps reduce the risk of injury.
So how often should you do HIIT? There is a lot of research into this type of exercise and its effects on the body. Our partners at Les Mills and the research they've commissioned suggest 30-40 minutes a week with your heart rate above 90 per cent. That translates on average to two 30 to 45-minute HIIT workouts a week.
How long should I do HIIT to lose fat?
But if the question is, what is the optimal duration for a HIIT workout to be the most effective, I would say 20-30 minutes. There are plenty of other factors that determine what is best for YOU and your lifestyle, but I think that is a good range to shoot for.
We suggest keeping HIIT workouts between 30 and 45 minutes for optimal effectiveness, but the length ultimately depends on your fitness goals.
HIIT workouts are by far superior to steady-state cardio because intervals increase your heart rate and body's oxygen consumption so that you can burn more calories both during AND after the workout.