HIIT Treadmill Workouts for Bodybuilders
HIIT Treadmill Workouts Can Protect Muscle Mass & Burn Fat
Want to lose fat and build muscle on the treadmill? With Interval Training, you can do both in a shorter timespan with HIIT style training.
I believe the most effective way to perform cardio is with high intensity. Akin to building muscle, this is where most of the progress is formed. Studies show that the long, slow burn pace adhered to by many treadmill users has been linked to degenerative illnesses like heart disease.
So if you are doing long stints on the treadmill in your off days you can actually be doing more harm than good. That's because long cardio routines increase the bodies cortisol levels. This is the bodies stress hormone. If you have too much cortisol your body reverts to a catabolic state, it strips off muscle and can actually, quite ironically cause fat stores to build up in the belly.
What's The Answer?
HIIT treadmill routines have the reverse effect. They can actually increase your muscle mass, as you need to push the throttle down on your power resources to sprint like Usain Bolt. Just look at the developed physiques a typical sprinter has, built for power, like as muscle car, at any minute primed to burst into action.
One of the nicest benefits of having an increased muscular physique is that it increases the bodies resting metabolic rate, which therefore forces your body to burn more calories to provide fuel to feed the muscle cells. Now that we know the benefits of interval training here's a routine you can follow along to next day you "hiit" the treadmill.
HIIT Treadmill Routine For Bodybuilders
First up this workout is for someone new to HIIT, especially on a treadmill.
1. Start warming up at a light pace for 3 minutes.
2. Once your warm up is completed, sprint for 30 seconds (it will help if you have a responsive treadmill). You should aim for elevating your heart rate to no more than 85% - 90% of your max heart rate. If you don't have a chest strap or can't get an accurate reading with the grip handles on the treadmill, just hold a little back in the tank.
3. Once the sprint finishes, lower the treadmill speed and resume a jogging/fast walking pace. Perform at this recovery pace for 1-2 minutes. The aim is to lower your heart rate back down to a comfortable level, higher than when resting naturally, but not at a frenetic pace.
4. Alternate between sprinting and fast walking/jogging for 10-20 minutes. Especially if this is your first time performing HIIT.
If you find you can't recover after each 30 second sprint lower it to 15 seconds. Once you get acclimatized to this workout you can increase the routine up to 30 minutes. But remember less is usually more with cardio.
Make sure to cool down with a longer recovery jog at the end of the workout. Gradually decrease the speed down to walking pace.
Remember the goal is not to be a professional runner in one day. Do not sprint for more than 15-20 seconds. Doing for longer at 90% your max heart rate and over can be detrimental to your health. Ok, on your next cardio day go and build some muscle on the treadmill!
About The Author
Susan Hegarty is a treadmill workout expert. You can read more of her routines at her blog: http://treadmillreviewers.net
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