Forget the Zone Diet! HIIT involves bringing your heart level up to an aerobic state for a given time period, then increasing it closer to maximum heart rate, bringing it back down to aerobic, then repeating. It can be performed on an elliptical trainer, steps or a good old fashion schwinn exercise bike. HIIT has been shown to burn adipose tissue more effectively than standard aerobic exercise. HIIT speeds up your metabolism and keeps it up for a longer time after your workout. HIIT training burns a greater number of total calories than just aerobic training, which results in more fat loss.

There are a number of reasons for the greater amounts of fat loss achieved by HIIT. First, there are a number of studies that show that a much greater amount of fat burning takes place in post-workout time afterr an interval-type trainging session then after a normal steady-pace workout. Additionally, the actual fat burning that takes place post-workout has been shown to be more productive then that after steady-pace exercise. i.e., a more efficient fat burning process. Other studies have shown that a HIIT routine does a better job of supressing appititeand reducing saturated fat intake.

OK, so how do you go about a HIIT routine? First and foremost, you should already be at a decent level of cardio-vascular fitness before jumping into a HIIT program. If not, start with a standard cardio routine a few times a week for 3-6 weeks before jumping into HIIT. Be sure you are familiar with monitoring your heart rate to make the most from a HIIT routine. You can do your HIIT routine using various exercise equipment or just the great outdoors. Elliptical trainer, schwinn exercise bike, treadmill, run/jog, hills and steps are all good examples.

Lets start with the heart rate: First, establish your maximum heart rate(MHR) by subtracting your age x .85 from 217 (Miller, Indiana University). For example, a 34 year old has a maximum heart rate of 188.1. This is a MHR for running, your should subtract 5 beats for cycling exercises. Don't worry about doing the math, a detailed table can be found here: Running MHR Table Cycling MHR Table

There are plenty of affordable heart rate monitors available online or at your local bike shop, fitness or sports store. You should not have to pay more than $30 for a basic model so shop around.

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High Intensity: 75-85% MHR (sprint, run, fast cycling)
Low Intensity: 65-75% MHR (jog or steady pace cyclling)

Given the snowy weather when I started, I used an indoor trainer attached to my mountain bike. Various trainers are available online or at your local bike shop starting at about $150. A good outdoor routine I've heard about is the jog/run and using a hill or steps for the high intensity intervals.

The following is an eight week indoor cycling program I used, the results are incredible. You should shoot for at least 3 sessions per week.

For cooldown, a slowed the pace down gradually working towards about 55% of maximum heart rate.

Other routines vary, so choose one you feel comfortable with and don't over do-it! If necessary, customize your own routine.