Want to burn fat and keep burning it throughout the day? Then wake up and do some HIIT Cardio!
The concept of doing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) first thing in the morning is that it speeds up your metabolic rate, which means that you will keep burning fat throughout the day when you're not exercising. This is the way to lose fat quickly and surely!
You'll do this on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning. You can have half a cup of coffee for the quick caffeine boost, but NO SUGAR. Sugar will make you conk out half way through the workout once the sugar is used up. You can have sugar in the form of half a cup (4 oz) of grape juice or OJ instead of coffee.
THE WAY IT WORKS:
You'll be doing intervals of 30 seconds, alternating between High Intensity and Low Intensity exercises. For the Low Intensity intervals, you'll simply run in place in a calm, let-me-catch-my- breath-so-I-don't-die pace. Start with a Low Intensity interval.
For the High Intensity intervals, go through this list, one by one, preceding each with the low intensity runs:
- Pushup Dumbbell Rows (better with hexagon dumbbells so that they don't roll. use a weight that's challenging for the rows but not so much that you can't do 30 seconds of it. i use 20#)
- Squat Jumps (all the way down, ass to ankles)
- Crunches (fast, but really 'crunch' it at the top and don't hold your breath)
- High Jumps (knees to chest, way up high. one mini hop in between)
- Reverse Crunches (thighs don't go past 90° on the way down)
- Sprint In Place (super fast, raise the knees high, and don't forget to crank your arms too. think ‘flash dance’)
Rest one minute and REPEAT once! Try to beat the number of reps for each exercise the second time around. That's six high-intensity exercises plus six rounds of low intensity jog in place. Do the whole circuit twice and you have 12 MINUTES OF HELL, I mean; Happiness.
The only equipment you need are a pair of dumbbells and a ‘countdown timer’ that repeats so you can set it to 30 seconds. You can use a phone app or what I use is a cheap Timex wristwatch that I got at Target. If you don’t have dumbbells, switch the first exercise to Burpies until you get some. Burpies: perform a pushup, then bring both knees to your chest and do a squat jump. But Pushup Rows are better since we already have two jumping, leg exercises.
If you absolutely have to take a rest, or two 30 second low intensity sessions back to back before you complete all six exercises, go ahead. But try not to; that's what the low intensity intervals are for. Hopefully after a few days you won't have to.
You're going to do this every morning. Even on weight-training day. Let me rephrase that; ESPECIALLY on weight training day. You'll double up your fat burning activities on these days, which can only turbo-boost your fat loss along with your muscle gains.
When you're done, have some protein and a cup of juice. Preferably grape. Why juice? Juice has simple carbs in the form of natural sugar that will help deliver the protein to your muscles. And your muscles are also hungry for carbs after a workout. Quick and easily digestible protein sources are Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, or a protein shake preferably in 2% milk. You can have eggs and ham but the ones I mentioned get absorbed faster and are more convenient. Don't neglect this, if you don't eat protein you're liable to lose muscle as well as fat, and that's not good for men OR women.
Do this for one week, with only one day off and you'll see improvement for sure. NOW, don't be a silly bear and scarf up like it was the end of the world for the rest of the day. You need to eat sensibly and keep your daily calories low.
Going down in weight: Total calories per day should be around 13 calories per pound you weigh. So, if you weigh 160, then 160 x 13 = 2,080 calories per day.
Going up in weight: (trying to bulk up with muscle) Go for around 17 calories per pound you weigh. I have a more aggressive method for putting on 10 lbs of muscle in 30 days that requires 20 calories per pound but that's primarily concentrating on bulking up without really burning fat at the moment. This Morning HIIT routine is primarily for burning fat and only maintaining muscle or trying to put on a little more muscle at the same time.
Also, have some healthy snacks in between meals to keep your metabolism pumping throughout the day. Each snack should have some protein in it like a protein shake, a hard boiled egg, or a can of tuna. Go for 1 gram of protein for every pound you weigh. If you're trying to gain a lot of muscle as well, then raise it to 1.5 grams.
You can use FitDay or I like to use Fat Secret to keep track of your calories. Drink lots of water throughout the day, and it'll do you good to have a few cups of green tea as well. Green tea has been proven to help burn fat.
The reason I pay so much attention to calories and diet is that this workout aint going to do jack diddly huckleberry squat if you’re eating more calories than you’re burning. You need to be on a caloric deficit, while keeping your protein intake high to avoid turning into jello dude (or jello chick).
You can use one of those scales with the fat measuring sensors to track your fat on day one, then again on day seven. Check yourself at night because in the morning you are dehydrated and it usually gives you a false read. But the important thing is to check yourself at the same time of day, and preferably before eating. Page 3
Come back and leave your results in the comments, then KEEP GOING! Lose more fat if you desire, or go ahead and put on some lean muscle now.
CHEERS and Good luck with your fat loss!
-BUM
“BUM” is the author of 10in30.com, a site that give free info on gaining 10 pounds of muscle in 30 days, and soon to include Lose 10 lbs of Fat in 30 Days, based on the principles in this article. He is an avid gym rat who enjoys working out and trying new equipment and techniques. Follow him on Twitter: @10in30muscle
If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing. Thank you for visiting!
