8 Amazing Fat-Burning Intervals

Burn Baby Burn

If your goal is to burn fat, interval training should be part of your workout program. Interval training is a great way to hammer out a quick workout, and it’s extremely effective for transforming your physique.By incorporating intense periods of work with short recovery segments, interval training helps you give maximum intensity while still maintaining your exercise form. The magic of high intensity interval training (or HIIT, for short) is that it keeps your body burning fat even after you leave the gym. During a HIIT workout, your body can’t shuttle enough oxygen to your muscles during periods of hard work. Therefore, your muscles accumulate a “debt” of oxygen that must be repaid post-workout in order to get back to normal. The result: Your metabolism is revved for hours after you leave the gym. Trainers refer to this phenomena as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC. The biggest way to use it to your advantage is to regularly work short, intense bouts of exercise into your workout regimen.SEE ALSO: Everything You Need to Know About HIITIntense circuits also stimulate muscle-building hormones like growth hormone and IGF-1. This puts your body in a perfect state to build lean mass. And in addition to the hormone response, interval training also develops the cardiovascular system. By elevating your heart rate during periods of hard work, you’ll increase your cardio ability and strengthen your heart. During the short rest intervals, you also increase your recovery capabilities—meaning you’ll be able to recover faster in future workout sessions.When creating interval workouts, focus on including difficult movements that challenge your entire body in a single exercise. Aim to include at least two exercises back to back before allowing your body to recover. Catch your breath in between rounds, but don’t allow yourself to recover fully before attacking the next set.SEE ALSO: How to Burn Fat in 5 StepsTo jumpstart your routine, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite interval workouts from top trainers. Pick one or two to incorporate in your weekly routine—but be sure to include at least a day of rest between workouts, as these intervals are intense.

Workout 1

Round One:

 Burpees Mountain Climbers Jumping JacksThree circuits: 10 reps first round, 15 reps second round and 20 reps third round. Non-stop no rests.Followed By:Jump rope (3 minutes)Rest 1 minute

Round Two:

 Walking Lunges with kettlebell exchange underneath leg Pushups Lunge Jumps Walk-outs (inchworms)Three circuits: 45 seconds per exercise with a 15 second break between each exercise and circuit.Followed By:Jump rope (3 minutes)Rest 1 minute

Round Three:

Traveling Kettlebell SquatsTRX PullupsBox JumpsTRX Jack KnivesThree circuits: 45 seconds per exercise with a 15 second break between each exercise and circuit.Followed By:Jump rope (3 minutes)Rest 1 minute

Round Four:

 Traveling Side Lunges Dips Speed Skaters (lateral jumps) Plank to PushupThree circuits: 45 seconds per exercise with a 15 second break between each exercise and circuit.Courtesy of Mike Duffy, owner and head trainer at Mike Duffy’s Personal Training Studio.

Workout 2

Workout

Jump RopePlyo Push-upBodyweight RowsMedicine Ball Squat to Overhead ThrowBurpeeMedicine Ball Chest PassRenegade RowsJumping LungesPlanksTreadmill Incline SprintsFollow a Tabata protocol (20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest) for each of the above exercises. Go through each exercise once before repeating the entire circuit. Rest two minutes before repeating. Aim to complete three rounds of the circuit.Courtesy of Brian Jensen, CPT of Mike Duffy’s Personal Training Studio.

Workout 3

Workout

Battling Ropes: 30 seconds, 15 second restSledgehammer to Tire: 30 seconds, 60 second rest between supersetsRepeat two to three times post-workout for conditioning purposes.Courtesy of JC Deen of JCDFitness.com

Workout 4

Workout

30 Yard Loaded Sled Push25 Kettlebell Swings 90 second rest between setsRepeat two to three times post-workout. Courtesy of JC Deen of JCDFitness.com

Workout 5

Workout

1 minute Sprint, 90 second Recovery1 minute Sprint at 3% incline , 90 second Recovery1 minute Sprint at 6% incline, 90 second Recovery1 minute Sprint at 9% incline, 90 second Recovery1 minute Sprint at 12% incline, 90 second RecoveryRepeat three to six times depending on level of conditioning.Courtesy of Justin Klein, CSCS with HUMANFITPROJECT

Workout 6

Workout

5 minute jogging warm-upIncrease speed/intensity until heart rate reaches 85% of peak heart rate.Lower intensity to a jog/brisk walk until heart rate reaches 65% of peak heart rate5 minute jogging cool-downContinue these intervals for four to six rounds to start. As conditioning increases set a time limit and attempt to achieve a certain goal of intervals by the end of this time. If you don’t have a heart rate monitor, find your pulse and count for six seconds then multiply that number by 10 to estimate your heart rate.Courtesy of Justin Klein, CSCS with HUMANFITPROJECT

Workout 7

Workout

30 seconds of Tire Flips30 seconds of Medicine Ball Slam30 seconds of Battle Rope Slams100 yards of Loaded Sled Push100 yards of Farmer’s WalkRepeat for a total of four rounds resting two minutes between each round.Courtesy of Jeremey DuVall, CPT of JeremeyDuVall.com

Workout 8

Workout

30 seconds of Kettlebell Swings30 seconds of Right Arm Kettlebell Snatch30 seconds of Right Arm Kettlebell Push Press30 seconds of Right Arm Overhead Walking Lunges with Kettlebell30 second SprintRest 90 seconds then repeat on left arm. Aim for completing two to three circuits on each arm.Courtesy of Jeremey DuVall, CPT of JeremeyDuVall.com