.png)
Want to burn the most amount of calories in the least amount of time while still preserving your muscle? HIIT is the best way to do this.
I believe the best way to maintain muscle while still burning calories to shred up and get rid of those pesky last layers of fat is through High Intensity Interval Training.
HIIT or High Intensity Interval training is a technique we use by driving your heart rate up very high for a short amount of time then letting it recover then driving it back up again then recover again and so on for the entire workout. It has been proven to be most effective at burning calories and maintaining your muscle mass. And yes ladies, we do want to have muscle because the more lean muscle mass you have, the higher your RMR or resting metabolic rate. Have you ever just wished you had a faster metabolism, Well this is the way to change your metabolism. Change the amount of muscle you have
One technique I like to use is what I call Sprint intervals. I do these on the treadmill. I set the pace for something very fast, something I would not be able to maintain for a distance run ( because this should be a SPRINT not a jog) . Usually 10.0 up to 12.0 mph. Do not stop or slow down the treadmill just hop on and off every 30 seconds while leaving it at the pace you set. Hold on to the side rails while you hop on then let go and sprint for 30 seconds, then hold on to hand rails and hop off and stand with one foot on each side of the treadmill for 30 seconds. Continue doing this for 30 minutes. This is an incredible calorie burn but allows the heart rate to recover every 30 seconds so we never spill over into burning muscle for an energy source.
I also like to do HIIT training where I will do a lift followed by an explosive cardio. For example, Bicep curl with dumbbells for 10 reps then do 10 burpees and continue repeating that for 4 or 5 rounds. Sometimes I will integrate more than one lift so heart rate has a bit longer to recover before the cardio again. In other words, 10 bicep curls, 10 tricep dips and 10 push ups followed by the 10 burpees for cardio.
Play around with it and see what you like best . Basically drive the heart rate up with some intense cardio then let the heart rate recover a bit either by doing a lift or by doing a short rest.