Is it a good idea to do HIIT twice a week and steady cardio on the other days of the week in order to increase fat loss? Or is HIIT enough? My goal is to lose 1-2 lbs of fat per week.

If your primary goal is to shred fat - relatively more ' quickly ' ...." in order to increase fat loss " - you may also want to consider bumping up your HIIT workout frequency up a bit from 2X a week - if for nothing else, just in the short term.

There is a reputable trainer - Alywn Cosgrove ( co-author of ' New Rules of Lifting ' ) - who recommends a 16 week HIIT protocol to help you shred fat based on 1 minute work and 2 minute recovery intervals ( see NROL - page 87 ....if you don't have NROL, let me know and I can paste in some further details here for you )

Alywn's calls for HIIT 3X a week during the beginning weeks 1- 4 of his protocol, culminating in HIIT 5X a week during the final weeks 13 - 16.

Just something worth considering.

Yes, please paste it. Thanks!

I think I'll consider that. My goal is to shed 10-15 lbs to bring my body fat around 10-12% and then concentrate on building lean muscles. I think I'll stop lifting weights for a couple of weeks and concentrate exclusively on HIIT.

I'd bet that HIIT routine would show amazing results.

I don't think I'd eliminate weights all-together, though. True, if you do a cardio routine as intense as mentioned, as well as keeping yourself in a relative calorie deficit, you won't gain much in terms of lean mass, but, you will definately get weak if you don't keep with the weights in some fashion.

Here you go.....some further details of Alywn's HIIT protocol to optimize fat loss.....


General Info / Tips from Alywn :

- use the HIIT protocol on any cardiovascular machine
- don't use the same cardio machine two workouts in a row
- can also be done doing push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, squats etc.
- the HIIT protocol can be done after weight training workouts on the same day or on separate days
- done properly, this HIIT will result in a 1-2lb fat loss per week.

Basic Approach:

- warm up for five minutes
- One Round: Do 1 minute as hard as you can ( on a scale of 1-10....shoot for a level 9 or 10 ). Then recover at a moderate pace (a level 6-7 intensity) for 2 minutes. So, ' One Round ' is 3 minutes long.
- Cool down for five minutes.

The HIIT Protocol:

Weeks 1 to 4:

- Perform 3 rounds, 3X per week.
- The total cardio time of 19 mins per workout including warm up and cool down.

Weeks 5 to 8:

- Perform 4 rounds, 4X per week.
- The total cardio time of 22 mins per workout including warm up and cool down.

Weeks 9 to 12:

- Perform 5 rounds, 4X per week.
- The total cardio time of 25 mins per workout including warm up and cool down.

Weeks 13 to 16:

- Perform 6 rounds, 5X per week.
- The total cardio time of 28 mins per workout including warm up and cool down.

.......good luck !

Thanks so much Wrangell! I appreciate that! Right now I'm doing 5 rounds, 2X per week for 25 mins per workout including warm up and cool down. If I want to do this HIIT protocol, where do you suggest I start? Or should I just throw in a couple of HIIT sessions with less rounds, in addition to the twice weekly ones that I already do?

To be honest, doing HIIT on a recumbent bike made my legs more muscular than ever before. Even doing squats never gave me the kind of pump that HIIT does. It's amazing.

No worries...glad it may be of some help to you.

If it were me......I might try for 5 rounds, 3X per week for another 2-3 weeks and then maybe 5 rounds, 4X per week for the next 4 weeks, finishing with 6 rounds, 5X per week for the remaining 4 weeks ( as per Alwyn's protocol )

I have a follow up question to this. I am fairly new at weightlifting (I use machines rather than free weights). How frequently should someone lift weights while engaged in HIIT protocol?

Regardless of whether you do HIIT or not, for most beginners, doing some form of ' full body workout ' resistance training 3X a week ( on non-consecutive days ) is a good pace to start IMO.

Started the HIIT 30 days ago. I do it 4 days per week, and normally run 2 days per week. My gains...the good kind...have been better and greater now that I have brought the HIIT into me workout. I can feel it, but I can also see it. I actually do have some muscle under that little belly of mine...and I don't have to suck in to see it any more

Sounds good. I'll post results, etc., on my journal. Thank you for the information you provide on this board.

No problem.

Best of luck !

Hi mate im interested in this book, where can I get it electronically? Would I be able to purchase of you? I'm specifically interested in the HIIT aspects of this book, what kind of information does it provide? Thanks