This year is going to be different. This year, you’re determined to be fit and buff by summer. But how? How can you hiit your peak in just a few months?

You don’t have time for endless cardio, and it doesn’t seem to work for you any more anyway. Hours in the gym with a personal trainer isn’t in the cards either. There’s got to be some way to get a lean body, flatten your abs, and add a little muscle without giving up on having a life. There is: It is called HIIT.

What the Heck is HIIT?

HIIT stands for High-Intensity Interval Training. This kind of workout involves cycles of short, high-intensity exercises, followed by short recovery periods. When you work out this way, your heart rate continually varies, going from a relatively low level to near your maximum, then back down again. HIIT workouts are tough, but short.

A basic workout will involve a warm-up period, several cycles of high-intensity work, and a cool down period. The whole workout will usually take less than an hour and should be repeated no more than 3 times a week to allow your muscles to recover between workouts.

Some programs incorporate a short abs workout at the end of the session (before the cool down phase) for those looking to specifically build great abs. One example of such a program is the HIIT-based The Truth About Six Pack Abs (HIITSixPackAbs) which combines whole-body exercises, specific abs exercises, and a filling, natural diet into a comprehensive fitness program.

Compare the HIIT approach to more traditional approaches that feature fun things like jogging for hours, swimming endless laps, and heavy dieting. Short intense workouts are certainly more fun and more likely to fit into your busy life.

But does HIIT work?

In recent years, several scientific studies have shown that short, high-intensity workouts are more effective for losing fat while maintaining muscle mass than high-volume, lower intensity aerobic work-outs like jogging. This is true even though your body burns fat most efficiently during those aerobic workouts.

With HIIT, your body burns more calories between workouts due to the higher metabolic rate triggered by the high-intensity workouts.

What is a HIIT Program Like?

At this point, you’re probably wondering what a HIIT program is like. Well, they vary depending on who designed the particular program, but they generally have some characteristics in common. In particular, they usually involve multi-joint movements.

That is, you do exercises like deadlifts that involve multiple muscle groups, instead of curls, which involve a single muscle group. Involving multiple muscle groups in each exercise really cranks up the intensity while allowing you to get a lot done in a short time.

Perhaps the ultimate HIIT workout is sprinting. A sprinter’s frequent short bursts of maximum effort followed by rest periods is high-intensity interval training in a pure form. And if you’ve ever looked at the physiques on sprinters, you’ve seen what this kind of training program can do for you.

More and more, short, high-intensity workouts are being recognized as the best way to get in shape, tone your body, strengthen your heart, and burn fat. If you want to be fit and lean by summer, with a flat belly, solid muscles, and a healthy heart, try a HIIT workout program.

Long, slow cardio is not the fastest way to burn fat. Research shows that short interval training workouts burn belly fat faster.

I was one of the first trainers to question long, slow cardio for fat loss back in the late 1990′s and I believe that traditional cardio is over-rated.

Interval training, or interval “cardio” if you want to call it that, is much, much better for fat loss. It burns belly fat in half the workout time.

I figured this out just before the year 2000. Back in 1998-99, I was but a lowly grad student, studying the effects of androstenedione (the supplement taken by the mighty baseball player, Mark McGwire during his record-breaking home run quest in ’98).

In my study (which was published in the Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology for any science nerds like myself out there), we had guys use the supplement and go through a couple of weight training sessions. By February of ’99 I was stuck in the lab, analyzing the blood samples using some fancy radio-active isotopes.

And when I say stuck in the lab, I mean STUCK. I’d get there at 7am, and record my last data point at 11pm. Sixteen hours of mad science. And if I wasn’t there, I was downstairs in the medical library, studying papers on testosterone and training.

Now coming from a very athletic background, this sedentary lifestyle didn’t sit well with me. But there I was, studing for a degree in Exercise Physiology and left with no time for exercise. Or so I thought.

Fortunately, I actually had a 50 minute window once per day of “down-time” while the lab’s gamma-counter analyzed blood samples.

That left me 50 minutes to get to the gym (5 minutes across campus) and get a workout in the remaining 40 or so minutes. I knew that if I applied my studies to the workout, I could get maximum results in minimum time.

As a former athlete, I knew that I had to find a way to stay fit and to avoid the fat gain that comes with working long hours in a sedentary environment. And I also had to stay true to the high-school bodybuilder I once was, so there was no way I was willing to sacrifice my muscle to one of those long-cardio, low protein fat-loss plans that were popular at the time.

Instead, I had to draw on my academic studies and my experiences working with athletes as the school’s Strength & Conditioning Coach. I knew that sprint intervals were associated with more fat loss than slow cardio, and I knew that you could also increase aerobic fitness by doing sprints (but you can’t increase sprint performance by doing aerobic training).

So clearly, intervals were (and ARE!) superior to long slow cardio for fat loss. I had seen first hand the incredible results of sprint intervals in the summer and fall, as the athletes made huge fitness improvements and shed winter fat in a short time using my interval programs. I knew that intervals had to be the next step in the evolution of cardio.

The biggest benefit of intervals? A lot of results in a short amount of time. I knew that I only had 40 minutes to train, and therefore I could only spend 15-20 minutes doing intervals.

I also understand that interval training sounds intimidating to a lot of people, so I need to clear up how an interval training workout goes.

After all, I believe everyone can do interval training for fat burning. Even beginners. For beginners who usually exercise for 30 minutes at 3.5 mph on the treadmill, their interval workout would be to go for 1 minute at 3.8mph and then recover for 2 minutes at 3.0 mph. That’s it. Repeat 6 times. If you are more advanced, you would use more intense exercise.

Interval training doesn’t have to be sprinting for your life. It just needs to start off harder than normal and progress from there.

Most folks hate cardio, so they are happy to use interval training as an effective replacement to lose stomach fat. Here is my list of preferred ways to do your intervals, ranked in order from best to worst, based on my experiences.

1. Sprinting outdoors (Hill sprinting might be the absolute best method)

2. Kettlebell exercises

3. Bodyweight interval circuits

4. Treadmill running

5. Stationary cycle (upright cycling preferred over recumbant bike)

With those 5 interval training methods, you’ll burn fat fast and never have to do cardio again!

Your Heart…..Your Most Important Organ!

Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in America. Don’t you think you might want to know how you can reduce your chances of dying of heart disease???!!!

1. First one’s a no brainer……..stop smoking!

2. Reduce your blood cholesterol – cut down saturated fat, dairy products, and increase c0nsumption of vegetables.

3. Exercise – weight train, which builds lean body mass which lowers your blood pressure.

4. Reduce your salt intake.

5. Increase your calcium intake – calcium citrate supplement and fruits and vegetables.

6. Take one 81 mg. aspirin daily. (check with your doctor first)

7. Eat fish. Eating fish (salmon is great) and reduce your chance of heart disease from 40% to 50%!

8. Supplement with vitamins C, E and Enzyme CoQ10.

9. Make sure you eat 30 grams of fiber daily. It lowers blood pressure, cholesterol. and blood sugar.

10. Men, having two drinks a day (women; one drink) is more heart healthy than having none! It helps raise your good cholesterol, HDL.

Aerobic means “with oxygen.” Aerobic exercise is low to medium intensity repetition training done over an extended time; it promotes overall cardiovascular fitness. If you are looking to burn calories, aerobic activity is the best way to do it. One can look fit but be in poor cardiovascular shape.

Being lean and muscular is one part of fitness, but cardiovascular fitness is just as important. Cardiovascular disease is one of the top killers of American men. Studies have shown that cardiovascular fitness is perhaps a greater factor than body fat for those at risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. It was found that men who were lean and unfit had double the risk of dying than men who were lean and fit.

Besides being a great way to rapidly burn calories and help shed excess body fat, cardio work’s healthiest benefits are in reducing blood pressure, lowering the risk of heart disease, and improving lung function and lessening stress. Cardiovascular fitness should be part of everyone’s regimen.

Many people waste their efforts when performing aerobics. They get on the same machine or jog the same course all the time. Their body adapts to the constant routine, like the muscles adapt to the same weight training routine. At this point progress comes to a standstill. The body becomes energy efficient at the routine and expends less and less effort to perform it. You must “shock” your body aerobically, just like you must “shock” your muscles to stimulate further growth. You should get your cardio through as many sources as possible. A variety of activities is the key. The great part about aerobics is, there are many activities you can do to achieve cardiovascular fitness. You can bicycle, walk, run, swim, climb stairs, hike, dance, play basketball, tennis, racquetball, etc. The most effective cardio is when you physically have to move your body around with you—as in the above activities. Don’t exclusively use gym cardio machines for your aerobics. It’s a lot less boring, tedious and monotonous playing tennis, basketball or swimming than walking on a treadmill for 40 minutes.

If you want to do cardio work in the gym, there are stationary bikes, treadmills, stair climbers and elliptical cross trainers—and most gyms and health clubs have plenty of them. Most of these machines are low impact, and should be used with medium to moderate intensity. They all have various degrees of difficulty, so whether you are a beginner or advanced, each machine will serve your purpose. Some machines with their multi-function keypads, can be a bit intimidating. Any employee will be glad to show you how to use one. Don’t be embarrassed to ask an employee of your gym to show you how to use a machine. It’s their job.

Most cardio machines focus on your legs because this burns the most energy. Some new machines have arm movements also, which is better than just using the legs. I don’t recommend using the stationary bikes. You are sitting on your butt, not burning many calories at all. Why do so many people use them? Because they aren’t hard to do. These are people you see in the gym for months and months, whose bodies never change. You’ve got to put in physical effort to change your body. As a rule of thumb, the machines you don’t like (the ones that are the hardest to perform) are probably the ones you need to be using.

High-intensity aerobics are activities such as kickboxing, sprinting and high-energy aerobics classes. For most of you who just want to be in good aerobic shape, I recommend low impact aerobic activity.

High-impact aerobic activity could cause potential muscle and joint injuries if not done correctly. I do not recommend running on hard surfaces; it can lead to shin and knee injuries. If you get into very good cardiovascular shape, you might want to try some high impact aerobics. Attaining cardiovascular fitness should be done like everything else in fitness … in gradual steps. Start slow and build up. The body begins to burn a greater amount of fat than carbohydrates after 20 minutes of aerobic activity. Once you are in reasonable cardiovascular shape, your aerobic sessions should last from 20 to 40 minutes, for the best possible fat loss (and more importantly, heart health).

Once again, each one of you will have your own personal goals. If you are starting from scratch, or haven’t done cardio for a while, you should start with 15-minute sessions. After your body has adjusted and you have built up some endurance, you can lengthen your sessions. You might want to try five-minute increases per week.

A general recommendation from organizations such as the American Heart Association, the American College of Sports Medicine and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is from 90 to 120 minutes per week, in 3 to 4 half-hour sessions of moderate to high intensity, non-impact, aerobic exercise. This is an excellent guide.

I do not recommend going cardio crazy. Lean is healthy; skinny is not. If you are a larger individual who has attained some cardiovascular endurance, and are still trying to burn fat, you might want to do two to four hours of aerobics per week.

Let me give an example of why good health is a combination of diet, aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise (resistance training). Have you ever seen long distance runners? Good long distance runners don’t do any kind of resistance training. They take one-fourth of the equation for optimum health out of the picture. This is why they are all frail and skinny looking. Whatever muscle mass they would have had has been eaten up by their overload of aerobic activity. They are in unbelievable cardiovascular shape (lungs and hearts), but their muscle has been cannibalized for energy. To endure their large amount of aerobic activity, their bodies shed both lean and adipose tissue. This is why you should do cardio in moderation. The right amount of cardio helps you lose that fat, but too much can strip away any lean muscle you may be trying to build. These three components have to be balanced to achieve maximum fitness.

If you are one of the many people who cannot imagine themselves sitting on a chair knitting or just reading newspapers and books for long period of hours during the retirement years, then you need to take care of your knees now. If you are active, athletic and you love the outdoors, you may already be hurting your knees without knowing it. Majority of the four million people in the US who are suffering from knee problems did not actually get their injuries from sports accidents or one-time events. Usually, knee woes develop overtime and people only discover their problems when it is already too late to cure.

If you love dancing, running, skipping, jumping, and doing strenuous exercises, you probably need to read the tips below so that you can continue having an active life when you reach your 70s or 80s:

Watch Your Weight

Individuals who are overweight and obese have higher risks of developing serious knee problems in the future. Thus, it is really advisable to maintain your ideal weight. Just being a few pounds overweight for decades can still have an impact on the health of your knees.

However, if you are already overweight or obese, you should lose weight safely. You cannot just jog for three hours everyday without consulting your doctor. Such extremely strenuous activity is proven to damage your knees.

Pay Attention To Your Form

If you are into sports or any other physical activities, you need to know how to move your feet and balance your body. From playing badminton to striking with your knees in Taekwondo, you need to know the proper stance. Doing things incorrectly can hurt not only your knees, but your back as well.

Warm Up And Cool Down

If you want to wake up in the morning hurting all over, all you need to do is to perform vigorous exercises without warming up and cooling down. Warming up is important to prevent injuries. Thus, even if you just plan to walk around with your dog, you need to warm your cold muscles by walking slowly at first before speeding up.

The best way to cool down is by stretching your muscles, particularly those located in your thighs and lower legs. You need to stretch after working out so that your tight muscles will be relaxed.

Use Good Athletic Shoes

Have you ever wondered why there are so many types of shoes for different sports and activities? The main reason behind this is not really because shoemakers just want to earn a lot of money. Actually, wearing the right pair of shoes can help reduce tension and strain on your knees and back. The spikes in soccer shoes and cushions in basketball shoes are not just for aesthetic purposes. You need them to lessen the impact on your joints and knees, and to keep you safe from injuries.

Be sure to buy shoes that fit well too – not too tight and not too loose. If you are very active, you also need to replace your shoes regularly.

Supplement With Chondroitin Sulfate And Glucosamine Sulfate

Both glucosamine and chondroitin are important in preserving and protecting your cartilage. Our bodies produce glucosamine naturally; however, as we grow older, the production of this stuff decreases.

Many people have already attested to the effectiveness of these two substances in helping prevent future joint problems. In fact, a number of athletes in the US and Europe are already taking supplements that contain these two ingredients.

A deficiency in leg strength and endurance is an area which can affect the function of individuals in everyday life. Whether it is your profession, family life, hobby or sporting endeavour it is more than likely that you will spend a significant amount of time using your legs. An efficient, worthwhile and enjoyable method of improving the fitness variables of our legs is through hill sprints. Hill sprints are also a superior weight loss tool, with the calorie expenditure being greater than the flat sprint relatives. Hill sprints can be seen as a cross between sprinting and weightlifting; this will have significant benefit to body composition, not to mention self discipline.

While by name it is a sprint, in essence the percentage effort required is relative to your current fitness level. A sprint may consist of a fast paced walk up the incline.

Hill sprints can be split into two categories: Long-gradual incline and Short-steep incline. Attention should also be paid to technique and session preparation as well as recovery.

Session preparation

As with all forms of physical activity a full body warm up is a requirement. A good warm up should consist of movement which slightly raises your heart rate and prepares your muscles for action; this can be done either on electronic exercise equipment or by a series of dynamic stretches- stretching through a continuos range of movement- for 5 to 10 minutes.

Long-gradual incline

Hill sprints over a long- gradual incline will train your legs- primarily- from an endurance perspective, with strength being secondary. Choose an area relatively even surfaced which is on a gradual incline of 20-30 meters over a length of 100-150 meters. Complete two sets of five sprints at a 70-90% effort, slowly jogging back to the starting point after each incline run, with a 60-180 second break between sets.

Short-steep incline

Hill sprints on a short-steep incline will train your legs from a strength aspect, with endurance being an added benefit. Locate an area with solid surface with three different inclines of approximately 5, 10 and 15 meters over a 30 meter length. Complete one set of three runs to each incline (total of nine sets) at a 90-100% effort, with a walk/slow jog back from each sprint, and a 200 meter walk/slow jog recovery between sets.

Technique

A focus on technique is important to get the most out of your hill sprints. Pay attention to a strong leg drive and efficient arm motion. It is also important to maintain a stable core- abdominals and lower back- to prove a solid base for the limbs to work from.

Session recovery

Due to the nature of hill sprints being both concentric (muscle shortening- up hill) and eccentric movements (muscle lengthening- down hill) you will suffer DOMS (Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness) in the 24 to 48 hour period post session. To aid your recovery complete static stretching- 30 second hold- post session, with massage and hydrotherapy also being recommended. Add hill sprints into your training regime one to three times per week, making sure of at least one day rest in between sessions. You will notice an improvement in strength and endurance which will take you a step closer to achieving your fitness and lifestyle goals.