Introduction
If long-distance running feels like slow-torture to you then you should consider shifting to HIIT workout on the treadmill. High-intensity interval training is an excellent way to burn more calories in a short duration of time.
Best HIIT treadmill workouts:
- Interval sprints
- 30-sec sprints
- Tabata Sprint Training
- Hill sprints
Sprinting outdoors looks like an ideal way to HIIT workout but that’s not possible in every season. Once the winter hits, it becomes almost impossible to work out every day.
Solution? Having a treadmill at home.
A home treadmill can help you stay regular with your daily workouts without being worried about the harsh weather.
let’s have in-depth details about the best HIIT treadmill workout for you.
Before you jump on your treadmill for the HIIT workout, It’s essential to find your sweet spot for the HIIT workout. Here are some practical tips.
- As the name suggests, you need to keep your intensity high, but you need to find the right speed and incline settings to support high-intensity workout.
- Initially, find your perfect speed that you can run for a total of 1 minute, it can be between 6mpl to 12 mph. If you are running easily for one minute then you need to increase and if you can’t sustain for 1 minute then you need to bring it down.
- Recognizing your perfect 1-minute limit is very crucial for the HIIT workout, after this minute, you should feel pretty wiped-out and have a need to slow things down.
Read more: KETTLEBELL SWING VS RUNNING VS WALKING – WHAT’S BEST?
Best HIIT Treadmill Workout
We’ve shortlisted some amazing ideas for your indoor HIIT workouts that can be done on the treadmill to ensure consistent application even during winter’s dark, cold months.
Interval Sprints
HIIT training never needs to be complicated, This is one of the most common HIIT sprints performed in the fitness community.
- Step 1: This HIIT training consists of 8 rounds.
- Step 2: Warm-up for 4-5 minutes.
- Step 3: Find your sweet spot to run for 60-seconds at high intensity.
- Step 4: Rest for 90-seconds.
Repeat the whole step 3 and step 4 for 8 rounds.
30-Second Splits
A bit more intense than the interval sprints. 10 rounds are enough to spice up your metabolism for the whole day.
- Step 1: Warm-up for 4-5 minutes.
- Step 2: Find your sweet spot to run for 30-seconds at high intensity. Running speed should be a little higher in a 30-second run in comparison to the 60-second run.
- Step 3: Rest for 30-seconds.
Repeat Step-2 and Step-3 for 10 rounds. It’s just a 10 minutes workout but works really well to get in shape.
Hill Sprinting
Looking to intensify the HIIT workout session? Opt for hill sprinting. Till the end of the workout, you will be begging for mercy.
- Step 1: Warm-up for 4-5 minutes.
- Step 2: Change the Incline setting to 5%.
- Step 3: Sprint for 30 seconds and rest for 90 seconds.
Hill sprinting can be quite intense for anyone, progress to hill sprinting once body gets comfortable with sprinting at flat surface.
Start with only 4-5 rounds and you can make the progression in terms of incline, speed, and the number of rounds.
Read more: INCLINE WALKING VS RUNNING, WHAT’S BETTER FOR WEIGHT LOSS
Tabata intervals
Tabata workout is one of the most famous forms of High-intensity interval training, it includes a 20-second workout and 10-second rest. Tabata Intervals contains 8-rounds.
Although 20 seconds might sound quite easy to accomplish, it’s not! Your body will start to feel the burn after 4th rounds and will get on the verge of collapse after the 6th round.
Tabata workout was designed to test the endurance of soldiers before their recruitment but now it became an integral part of the fitness community.
- Step 1: Warm up for 4-5 minutes.
- Step 2: Find your best speed you can sustain for 20 seconds.
- Step 3: Sprint for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds.
- Step 4: Continue the process until the completion of the 8th rounds.
Tabata workout can seriously torch up your stubborn fat. It’s a versatile workout that can we followed to strengthen different body parts, you can include Tabata interval training within Pushups (20-second pushup and 10-second rest), squats(20-second squats and 10-second rest).
It’s a highly versatile 4-minute workout that can be done anytime and anywhere.
Read More: 7 CARDIO WORKOUTS TO BURN FAT FASTER THAN RUNNING
Why HIIT workout is so effective?
There are two types of muscle fibers in our body, slow-twitch, and fast-twitch.
Slow-twitch: Its a muscle fiber that is responsible for aerobic activities like long-distance running. These muscle fibers are designed to deliver sustainable endurance for a longer duration. These muscles are not capable of delivering powerful bursts.
Fast-twitch: The body uses these muscle types when it requires a powerful burst of energy. These muscle fibers define your strength capabilities. The body also requires more energy to feed fast-twitch fibers. A higher density of fast-twitch fibers means a better metabolic rate.
HIIT workouts require a strong burst of power which leads to the development of fast-twitch fibers. Resulting? Your body burns more calories while it gets stronger.
But when we can do weight training for the development of fast-twitch, why HIIT cardio?
Weight training surely involves the development of fast-twitch muscle fibers but it does not provide the “Afterburn” effects. Afterburn effects improve your metabolic rate for many hours after the workout.
When you do a regressive HIIT workout, you push your body to its limits and body experience the depletion of blood oxygen level (that’s the reason you feel powerless after HIIT workout).
After HIIT workout your body works extensively to maintain the oxygen reserves which leads to more calorie burning. HIIT workout can keep your metabolism boosted for 16-24 hours after the workout period.
HIIT Workout FAQ
1- Can I do HIIT on treadmill everyday?
HIIT workouts are the most reliable way to touch stubborn fat but it put immense pressure on your body and cardiovascular system. The best practice is to do HIIT sprints 3-4 times a week, and allow your body to heal for the rest of the day. If you are getting an urge to workout on rest days too, then LISS (low-intensity steady state) workouts are the best way to burn calories without putting lot of pressure on the body.
2- How long does it take to lose weight with HIIT?
Losing weight totally depends on the nutrition, you need to maintain the constant caloric-deficit to see the weight loss.
If you are eating clean meals then you will start to experience changes in body within 2 weeks of training and 8 weeks of consistent HIIT training can help you loose substantial amount of body weight.
3- How many times a week should I do HIIT to lose fat?
Doing HIIT workouts 3-4 times a week is enough to see positive changes. Track your calorie intake while staying consistent with the training for guaranteed fat loss.
On the rest days, you should be opting for steady state cardio like long brisk walks, swimming, slow jog, etc.
4- Is 20-30 minute HIIT enough?
Yes, 20-30 minutes of HIIT training is enough to see positive results if you are following clean diet.
HIIT helps you burn about 10-12 calories per minute, that means a 20 min session will help you burn just over 200 calories. Additionally, HIIT training increases the body’s metabolic rate for next 24 hours which help you burn more calories throughout the day.
5- Is it better to do HIIT in the morning or evening?
People have been doing HIIT training on both the time, choose the time of day that you can stick to. HIIT should not be done in a fasted state, HIIT training requires optimum nutrition and sufficient glycogen reserves to fuel the workout that’s the reason most trainers prefer evening time for HIIT. If you are doing HIIT in the morning then make sure that you had a good pre-workout meal.
Read more:
- What to look for when buying a treadmill
- 5 Best treadmill brands for home use
- Best treadmill for runners on budget
- Best Nordictrack treadmill for you
Thanks for reading. Questions welcomed in the comments as always.
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