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A HIIT workout routine is the best for getting rid of unwanted fat around your midsection. Many trainers and body builders believe that it comprises the best cardio for weight loss. Yes, weight loss can be done by combining diet, steady state cardio and strength training, but HIIT will up your fat burning ability to the next level.

HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. The basic principle of HIIT is working your body hard and fast for a short burst, then giving it a bit of a rest with an active recovery period. For example, you could run as fast as you can for 30 seconds, then jog or walk briskly for 60 seconds. You would repeat this workout routine numerous times for the best effect.

A HIIT workout offers myriad benefits. You will be able to strongly target all the muscles in your legs. Unless you want bulging leg muscles, you shouldn’t need to do strength training for your legs if you perform a HIIT workout a few times a week. And, of course, HIIT cranks up the fat burning potential of your body! Doing the intense intervals causes fatty acids to be released into the bloodstream. Additionally, HIIT results in increased HGH levels. HGH is responsible for preserving muscle mass and burning fat. And if that wasn’t enough to convince you, HIIT also puts the body into EPOC mode, which is a state where the body continues to burn calories at an accelerated rate even after the workout is over.

HIIT is not perfect in every way. For example, it is not meant to be done every day. Doing this kind of intense interval training daily mixed with strength conditioning can cause overtraining. If your muscles are tired, you are probably better served doing a slow paced steady state cardio routine on that particular day.

There are a few components of HIIT that you can vary. You can adjust the time of your sprints. Shorter intervals of 15-30 seconds allow you to exert more effort during the sprints. This increased exertion will help release more HGH into your system. And a shorter sprint interval releases more fatty acids into your bloodstream.

Longer intervals of greater than 30 seconds require more perceived effort. These result in a greater number of calories burned. And exerting yourself for a longer period depletes the level of glycogen (carbohydrates) in your system, encouraging your body to burn more fat after you have finished your workout.

The recovery length also impacts the effects of HIIT. This is the lower exertion part, walking or jogging, of your workout that gives your muscles a moment to recoup. The length of recovery is relative to the sprint interval. If your sprint interval is 30 seconds and your recovery interval is also 30 seconds, you have a 1:1 ratio. Sprinting for 15 seconds and recovering for 45 provides a ratio of 3:1.

The more time you give your body to recover compared to your sprint intervals (a ratio of 2 or 3:1) the more effort you will be able to give in the next sprint. Increasing your effort will produce higher HGH levels. Additionally, longer recovery reduces the risk of overtraining.

Lactic acid can build up in tired muscles as the carbohydrate glycogen is depleted. This results in a longer after-burn effect. However, this can lead to a greater risk of overtraining.

The HIIT workout that provides the best cardio for weight loss makes use of both high and low intensity activity to provide a high HGH release, increased calorie burning and the release of fatty acids. Your workout should start with the short sprint to long recover ratio part of the HIIT routine. For these intervals, you sprint 15 seconds and recover (jog) for 45 seconds. This releases fatty acids and increases HGH levels. I do a 2 minute warm up, then perform this HIIT set 8 times, for a total of 10 minutes.

The second part of my workout is 25 minutes of steady state cardio (an exercise bike or light paced jogging). This allows your muscles to remain active, and still have a recovery period. The steady cardio will burn the fatty acids that have been released into the bloodstream by the HIIT.

The final phase is performing long interval HIIT with short recovery periods. This will fully deplete your body of glycogen allowing for a greater after-burn effect and fat burning once your workout is complete. I combine 1 minute of sprinting intervals with 1 minute of jogging or walking. You won’t want to exert yourself so much for the sprint intervals here as your muscles will already be tired. Limit this last phase of your workout to 10 minutes also.

Performing all the phases will result in a 45 minute HIIT workout that is the best cardio for weight loss. Following this routine a few times a week will burn off belly fat quickly, no matter what your weight loss goal may be.

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