It’s no doubt that regular exercise has an effect on body fat. However, some kind of exercise has a greater impact on your overall body composition. When it comes to cardiovascular exercise, not all exercises have the same effect on our bodies. Cardiovascular workout has been a subject of many scientific types of research. It continues to draw attention, accordingly to the fact it has a huge impact on reducing body fat. The research behind HIIT cardio will answer why the HIIT is the better cardio for fat loss.

If we ask random people what they consider cardio exercise, they would probably answer running. Running is known as the most common exercise. It doesn’t take any equipment or a special place to perform, although there are lots of misconceptions about running. First, people usually think there is nothing they need to know about running since it is in human nature to run and it is considered everybody is able to run properly.

The second misconception concerns the running pace. This is what makes a difference between ordinary running and running that will make a great cardio workout, which will actually affect the reduction of body fat.

The current way of life forces us to constantly seek an effective and economical way of training, which will not waste our time but provide us maximum possible gains. Instead of long, slow cardio sessions, try to switch for a high-intensity interval training.

The research behind HIIT cardio

It is not disputed that low-intensity cardio sessions help to burn fat, but many types of research give advantage to high-intensity interval exercise. Trapp et al. [1] researched the effects of a 15-week high-intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE) program on subcutaneous and trunk fat and insulin resistance of young women. This cardio protocol included high-intensity interval training on a stationary bike, which was composed of 8 seconds of the sprint, followed by 12 seconds of low-intensity cycling, for a maximum of 60 repeats a session.

Result

High-intensity interval training three times per week for 15 weeks compared to the same frequency of steady-state low-intensity cardio exercise was associated with significant reductions in total body fat, subcutaneous leg and trunk fat, and insulin resistance in young women [1]. Also, it was significant that overweight women lost more fat than lean women.

How to use HIIT cardio for fat loss and set your body on fire in 8 minutes?

Here is the simple protocol used in this research, which is performed using a stationary bike. It includes 8 seconds cycle sprint, followed by 12 seconds of low-intensity cycling, for a period of 20 minutes.

In numbers, you will spend just 480 seconds or 8 minutes of high-intensity intervals to get the maximum of your cardio session. That 8 minutes will have a huge impact on your body composition. We already discussed the benefits of HIIT. Here is proof that everybody can achieve those goals.

Eight minutes, three times per week and your body fat will be burning.

References:

E. G. Trapp, D. J. Chisholm, J. Freund, and S. H. Boutcher, “The effects of high-intensity intermittent exercise training on fat loss and fasting insulin levels of young women,” International Journal of Obesity, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 684–691, 2008.