H.I.I.T. It! It's Just A Better, Quicker Way of Burning Fat and Calories.

How many of you spend up to an hour on your treadmill or other cardio machine and are not seeing the fat burning benefits you had hoped? What if I told you it's entirely possible to cut that time in half and get even more fat and calorie burning benefit from your workout by using the High Intensity Interval Training method?

HIIT is actually far more superior then long duration training for a few reasons. First, you push yourself for 15 -20 minutes and your workout is done. This takes away all the excuses, everyone can find 20 minutes for better health and fitness. Second, the intensity you will put into this 20 minute workout is such a push that your body will burn more calories throughout the day trying to recover from it. Third, long duration training actually burns muscle mass as you put your body into a catabolic state. This is why sprinters have a muscular build while long distance runners lack that muscular look. And honestly, if you are looking to burn fat off of your body you can't afford to lose muscle. Each pound of muscle you have burns around 6 calories a day at rest, while each pound of fat only burns 2 calories per day.

So how does this HIIT stuff work? First find the type of cardiovascular workout you enjoy, whether it's running, swimming, cycling or even jumping rope. I'm going to use running as an example. Start off with a brisk walk or a slow jog as a warm-up for 5 minutes. Then the rule of thumb is a 2:1 ratio of rest:HIIT. Translated this means for every 30 second sprint you take, be sure to walk or jog for 1 minute. Complete the sprint, walk, sprint, walk sequence for the remaining 15 minutes of your workout. (And when I say "sprint", I mean really kick it into high gear!) Be sure to cool down afterwards and stretch those muscles that you just put through a killer workout.

Do this routine 3-4 times a week to jumpstart your calorie burning body. Don't be afraid to eat a nice healthy recovery meal afterwards too!