March 11, 2010

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Since the book by Bill Phillips came out a number of years
ago titled “Body For Life,” I have recommended high intensity interval training
to patients as a great way to get fitter, lose weight, and conserve time. The
excuse most people have for not working out is not having time. This type of
workout allows you to get maximum results in a short amount of time.

I often talk with patients about their desire to lose weight
and get fitter. Most of those assume they need to be doing 40 – 60 minutes of
cardiovascular exercise to lose weight. I often get crazy looks when I tell
them that it is not necessary to do that, and it is not as effective as a
shorter training program like HIIT.

The principal of HIIT training is to perform short bouts of
intense exercise followed by a less intense resting period. HIIT workouts are
typically 20 minutes in duration not including a short warm-up and cool down.
Typically a HIIT workout is associated with sprinting and jogging, but can be
tailored to any exercise.

Now, if you are training for a 5K or some other distance
run, you will need to do longer durations of training. But, if you are not,
this type of training is super effective to stay fit and lose body fat and
takes a fraction of the time most people think they need to exercise.

The “Body for Life” HIIT routine comes from a workout made
famous by Bill Phillips. The “Body for Life” HIIT routine has four sets of
increasing intervals. Each of these intervals is 1 minute long. Each set is
four minutes long. I followed this program for twelve weeks a number of years
ago and saw my body fat drop to 7 percent.The full program combines the HIIT
along with weight training, and balance nutrition.  The nice part about Bill’s book is that it is a simple, easy
format to follow.

If you don’t choose to follow the “Body for Life” format, a
30 Second HIIT workout is the ideal place to start with Interval training.
Let’s say you are doing a HIIT workout on your treadmill. You would first
perform a five-minute warm-up. The warm-up just needs to be enough to get your
blood flowing and muscles warm. Once you are warmed up, you will perform a
series of intervals in which you have a sprint/intense phase and a jog/rest
phase.

Following your five- minute warm-up, sprint for a period of
30 seconds. Then, depending on your fitness level, decrease your intensity to
about 50 percent of your sprint phase for 30 to 90 seconds. (Think 90 seconds
for beginners, 60 seconds for intermediate, 30 seconds for advanced).  During your sprint phase you need to go
fast enough so that in the last few seconds it feels almost impossible to keep
running. Everything in your body should be burning. Once the rest period is
over, you start another sprint/rest cycle. Beginners should be able to perform 10
cycles, intermediates – 13 cycles, and advanced – 20 cycles in a 20 minute
workout. When 20 minutes is over, finish with a 3-5 minute cool down.

The 60-second HIIT workout will completely exhaust your
muscles of their stored energy, this energy will take 24 to 48 hours to
replenish. This HIIT training is superb for immediate fat burning and weight
loss. The idea is similar to the 30-second HIIT but the intense phase is 60
seconds and the rest phases are: 120 seconds – beginner, 90 seconds –
intermediate, 60 seconds – advanced. You still perform a warm-up, 20 minute
HIIT, and finish with a cool down.

Tabata interval training is the single most effective type
of high intensity interval training, its also the most intense by far, and
surprisingly its the shortest in duration, it only last for four minutes, but
those four minutes produce remarkable effects. Tabata training intervals are:
20 seconds as intense as possible followed by 10 second rest. You will likely
need someone to help with the timing or a tabata timer. Tabata workouts are
adaptable to any exercise as are all the HIIT cycles. You can Google these
types of workouts on the net and find many examples.

While these cycles are designed to be short bouts of intense
activity, anyone starting an exercise program needs to ease into their new
workout. Start with mild intensity and build up to the more intense level. Give
this type of workout a try. You will love the results if half the time of a
traditional workout.

* Eric Balcavage is a practicing chiropractor in Concord
Township. Address questions to gmchiro@aol.com.