What Is the Best HIIT Interval Ratio For Weight Loss?

November 4, 2018 Ashley 0 Comments

Now that we’ve devoured that half off Halloween candy….

It’s time to exercise-exorcise the chocolate goblins from our bodies.

And we all know the best sweaty way to shed pounds is with HIIT. High intensity intervals (interspersing periods of pushing yourself hard as you can followed by active rest periods, off ‘n on for anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes) is diesel fuel for metabolic function and weight loss. We’ve talked a lot about it on this site. But what we haven’t touched on is one important question… How long should these intervals actually last? And how long should the rest period last, for that matter?

(“I’ll jut assume you mean ‘until thanksgiving’…”)

Well, like anything else, you ease into it.

For the initial month or so (if you’re new to it), you’re probably gonna wanna take a longer rest period for each sprinterval you do. For the best weight loss results, the pros propose a 1:3 ratio. And while a month may sound like a long time to be stuck at the same ratio before progressing, you gotta remember, that’s just a ratio – not the actual time. You can take the time up each week. For example, on week one, you might do a 15 second sprint to 45 second recovery, take it up to a 20 or 30 second sprint to a 60 or 90 second recovery the next week, and so on. It’s still the same ratio – but your time’s getting higher every seven days. After that, you spend month two making the same progressions on a 1:2 ratio, and month three on a 1:1.

Then, when you get really badazz, you can start working in reverse – where your intensity intervals are longer than your rests (2:1, 3:1, and so on). That said, regardless of what ratio you end up at, using that full rest period Is important – both for the endurance factor (being able to last the whole workout), and for the quality factor (being able to actually perform high intensity for the full allotted time, instead’ve half arsing it like I did the last time I overestimated the right ratio for myself after returning from an injury).

(When you’re so gassed your intensity intervals look like your active rests)

In sum, begin simple.

Contrary to popular opinion, the idea’s not to go so hard that you can’t even make it to eight minutes. You want to be able to last. Otherwise, there’s no way to rev that metabolic engine up and ghost those Halloween calories. And, even though my example demos a boring machine, that’s not a requirement. Treadmills, ellipticals, and bikes are nice inasmuch as they show you both your time and your speed. (Not to mention – treadmills force you to stay at that speed until you physically press a button to bring it down.) That said, HIIT can absolutely include any kind’ve cardio where you can push hard – whether it’s spinning or swimming or hitting the heavy bag.

Just start slow and work your way up to work your weight down.