Interval training burns fat, spares (or even builds) muscle, and takes a fraction of the time of traditional cardio. These things we know.
But what you might not know is that you don’t have to feel confined to a treadmill to make it work. That’s right: You don’t have to just do lower-body focused work. You can use weights. You can even have a little fun.
These four underrated interval options help you to add some variety to your HIIT routines and speed up your body’s get-lean response. It’s important to note that you can’t target belly fat—or any other part of your body—specifically. These exercises, however, will help boost your overall fat loss, which includes your abdominal area. Train hard, have fun, repeat.
Related: Trainer: 5 HIIT Training Fixes to Burn More Fat in Less Time
Workout 1: Sprint
Higher intensities typically require longer rest intervals. And when it comes to anaerobic training, the best ratio is typically between 1:5 and 1:10. This session calls for you to go all-out on six 20-second sprints, followed by two minutes of rest for a 1:6 work-to-rest ratio. This will still feel like death, but it amounts to 120 fat-shredding seconds of total sprint time.
Make sure you precede this workout with 5-10 minutes of general warmup and dynamic activity to prime your body for the high demand of the sprints. Take 2-3 days between sessions.
Your Workout
1) Jog (2 minutes)
2) Sprint (20 seconds)
3) Walk (2 minutes)
4) Sprint (20 seconds)
5) Walk (2 minutes)
6) Sprint (20 seconds)
7) Walk (2 minutes)
8) Sprint (20 seconds)
9) Walk (2 minutes)
10) Sprint (20 seconds)
11) Walk (2 minutes)
Workout 2: Kettlebells
With a moderately weighted kettlebell—think 35-44 pounds—you can get in a very high volume of work that addresses your glutes, hamstrings, lower back, and metabolic machinery with the use of a single move.
The Russian kettlebell swing is the easiest move to learn for non-kettlebellers. It is essentially an explosive hinge that lies somewhere between a Romanian deadlift and a partial squat. There are plenty of nuances to learn, but get started by bending your knees slightly, shifting your glutes back, and keep your back flat and arms straight. Then explosively shift your hips forward, letting the momentum of your hip thrust swing the bell out to eye level. (The motion should engage the same muscles that you would if you were about to make a high vertical jump—it’s not really a shoulder exercise). Let gravity return the bell between your legs and slightly behind you. Get into a rhythm and focus on an explosive concentric action on each rep.
Your Workout
Perform kettlebell swing for 10 seconds. Rest for 20 seconds. Repeat that pattern five times. Track your total reps, and strive to perform more reps or use a heavier kettlebell each workout if you feel ready.
Workout 3: Battle Ropes
Research shows that the use of heavy ropes, commercially known as battle ropes, strengthens the muscles and the cardiorespiratory system. Even better? These primitive pieces of equipment are becoming available at more and more gyms. Two of the most common uses are alternating waves and two-handed slams.
In both cases, your aim should be to send as many waves down the line as possible in the time allotted. Keep the ropes moving for the entire interval and you’ll develop a deep burn in your shoulders, arms, midsection, upper back, and lungs.
Your Workout
Exercise 1) Alternating WavesGo for 20 seconds. Rest 10 seconds.
Exercise 2) Rope SlamGo for 20 seconds. Rest for 10 seconds. Repeat 2 exercise sequence 4 times.
Workout 4: Heavy Bag Punches
There may be nothing more cathartic than throwing punches on a helpless heavy bag. But if you can discipline yourself enough to mix in some technique—tossing in various combos that include straight punches, hooks, and uppercuts—you stand to get an even tougher workout.
On the top end, you can burn around 500 calories in a 30-minute session. If you shift gears to an interval-style session, you may not burn as many during the session, but you stand to burn plenty more after.
Going hard for short bouts also mimics the pace of real-life boxers going toe-to-toe with opponents, looking for opportunities to strike. A light-to-moderate pace calls for you to simply “touch” the bag with punches from various angles. Heavy intervals call for you to come unhinged on the bag in 10-second bouts.
Your Workout
Exercise 1) Heavy Bag PunchesLight to moderate first 50 seconds with a combination of straight punches, hooks, and uppercuts. Heavy for the next 10 seconds using your favorite punches. Repeat for 5 total rounds. 1 minute rest.
Related: Experts: These Are the 5 Fastest Ways to Lose Fat—And Keep it Off
The post These 4 Exercises Torch Belly Fat While Building Muscle appeared first on Men’s Fitness.
