Today I’m going to show you how to do high-intensity interval training, also known as HIIT training for short. Interval training is a great way to burn fat, tone muscle and get in shape quickly and easily. So there’s a number of ways to do it, such as using some of the best HIIT exercises on the elliptical.
Using an Elliptical
One is using an elliptical which I’m going to show you. You can also run or sprint outside which is also excellent. It’s just that a lot of people tend to get injured doing a sprint. So I don’t really recommend that to too many people. There’s also a stationary bike and rowing. Basically, that’s okay, but it’s just not my first choice, which is the elliptical for a number of reasons which I’m going to show you right now.
Resistance Levels
And the first thing we’re going to do is when we start pedaling and then hit the quick start button. We’re going to go to the last time so the time goes up and then you want to go with the lowest cross round. This way it takes the pressure off your knees. And then the resistance we’re going to go up. It should be where it’s you can still get good motion, but it’s not so hard that it’s a struggle, it’s not too easy where you have to go too fast to keep up. So different machines have different resistance levels.
Holding on and Using Your Hands
And then initially you’re going to be probably to hold on for balance but it’s you get used to it you want your hands at your side like you’re walking in place. So we’re going to do this for a three-minute warmup. One three-minute warm-up and then on to the 3-minute point we’re going to do 30 seconds sprint all out and then 90 seconds slow then 30-second sprints. So it 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17 that’s eight 30 seconds frames and in between 90 seconds of going slow for recovery and then at the end is a three-minute warm out.
Great 20-Minute Workout
So it’s only 20 minutes, and you get a great workout in. You don’t do it every day, you would say every other day. So two or three times a week. I like to do it every other day and then on the off days of you other types of resistance functional training. But the other thing is there are all kinds of ellipticals. And what I don’t prefer is the ones with the arms because as you sprint you have enough push and pull and it really gets in the way. So you’re better off doing the one without the arms and then ideally you want to have your hands at your side. Because when you start sprinting, if you hold on like this, you’re just working your lower body instead of your upper body. It may take you a while to get the balance or motion down if you just have to hold on one beginning that’s fine.
Changing the Resistance
So we’re coming up on three minutes here. As you start going faster, you probably have to change the resistance either up or down as well. So we’re at 250 then get ready for my sprint. Okay. Here we go. And increase the resistance but not too fast. Okay. Then go dominant with the resistance a little lower now. So you will get out of breath when you do this, right? And you want to, initially, when you’ll be starting this for the first time, you don’t have to go all-out. You kind of go to your tolerance and you don’t have to do all eight of them either.
Increasing Your Level of Tolerance
Initially, just whenever you come to it with 2, 3, 4 and whatever your level of tolerance is, but eventually you want to get up to eight full-out sprints. You know to the point where thirty seconds you’re not able to continue. So we’re going to do one more here. You can also use your hands, either you can use this position or keep your hands this close, whatever you prefer. All right. So that was our 2nd 30-second sprint, now maybe 90 seconds slow to recover. And after the eighth one, I’m going to do a warm out. So in 20 minutes, you’re done, and it’s a great workout.
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