HIIT: The fastest way to get in shape for Christmas

12th October 2014

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Are you desperately seeking a speedy solution to get in shape for Christmas? If you’ve answered with a resounding yes, it could be that HIIT is the answer for you.

HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training simply means exercising at an intensity that keeps your heart rate high and taking only short breaks between each work interval so that your heart rate doesn’t drop back down by too much.

If you’re determined to be in shape by Christmas here are three reasons to choose HIIT:

HIIT can greatly affect the levels of hormones being released in your body and transform it from a fat storing environment to a fat burning one. You see, when you exercise at high intensity, the hormones adrenalin and cortisol are released and this causes lactic acid to build up in the muscles. A lactic acid build up in your muscles means testosterone and Human Growth Hormone are released too. It’s the combination of all those four hormones, being produced in the correct amount, that promotes an overall fat burning environment within your body.

Excess post oxygen consumption may mean nothing to you but the term afterburn effect may be more familiar. When you workout using HIIT your body will continue burning fat for up to 36 hours after your HIIT session ends.

In order for your body to respond to HIIT and burn fat your workout only needs to be 20 minutes long. It’s ideal for you time compressed folks as once you’ve added in a warm up and cool down you only need to commit half an hour out of your day.

So if you’re looking to burn fat and transform your body shape the type of exercise you need to do is high intensity interval training. Three 20 minutes sessions every week for the next eight weeks is all it will take.

Let me know how you get on!

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