You probably already know that swimming may be one of the best activities to work your entire body. When it comes to swimming, the health benefits are virtually endless. There is a lot of swimming routines out there that can help you burn calories and keep you in shape, but which one is best? In all reality you can't go wrong with any swimming programs, but did you know that you can dramatically increase your fat burning potential by implementing high intensity interval training? By adding "HIIT," it turns a regular swimming into a high intensity swimming routine that burns fat like crazy!
What Does A HIIT Workout Routine Consist Of?
If you have never performed a HIIT workout, you are going to be shocked at how effective they are when it comes time to measure results. The workouts are very simple to perform: perform short bursts of high intensity movement followed by a burst of lower intensity movement. If you were doing this out on the track you would run as fast as possible for 30 seconds then slow to a job or walk for 60 seconds. You can mimic this same basic idea while swimming to get maximum results from every workout. Your calorie burn during this type of workout will far surpass the calorie burn for any other type of workout. You will even burn fat at a higher rate for hours after the workout!
HIIT + Steady State Cardio = Results
Steady state cardio is when you perform an activity at a constant speed for a much longer duration. Because it may take a couple hours to achieve the same calorie burning capabilities as a HIIT workout, it doesn't make sense to go down that route. But if you combine HIIT with steady state cardio, an amazing thing happens. HIIT will actually cause fat cells to be released into the blood stream as free fatty acids. So the moment HIIT is finished, we will introduce steady state cardio to burn up the free fatty acids. To recap, short bursts of energy releases the fatty acids in the bloodstream while steady state cardio burns them up.
What Your High Intensity Swimming Routine Will Look Like
1) Warm up briefly by swimming a couple laps
2) Freestyle swim(sprint) for 30 seconds
3) 60 seconds treading water or gently moving around. Rotate between the 30 second fast sprint and 60 seconds of treading water for 15 or 20 minutes. If you have trouble sustaining this rotation for the full length of time you can increase the rest period of treading water to 120 seconds, or 2 minutes.
Steady State Cardio
1) Swim laps at an easy to moderate pace for 15-30 minutes Note: The entire workout shouldn't be any longer than a total time of 45 minutes. This workout can be done 3-4 times a week.
A Natural Increase In HGH Levels From High Intensity Swimming
Your body needs human growth hormone, or HGH, to properly maintain muscle mass and support healthy fat burn. You have probably heard of this in relation to illegal injections used by athletes and bodybuilders, but you don't need to go there. HGH is a natural product of the human body so you can use HIIT workouts to naturally increase your own production. This is done best when you combine your high intensity swimming workouts with fasting. This is how it will work:
1) Do not eat for 3-4 hours before getting in the pool for your HIIT workout. Perform the workout with a completely empty stomach to stimulate HGH release.
2) Do not eat for a couple hours after the workout. This gives time for HGH to be released properly.
3) Fast a couple days a week to get the most benefit from increased HGH levels.
Lose the Fat Fast with High Intensity Swimming
High intensity swimming will do wonders for your body and you won't have to wait very long to see the results. Your body does not absorb the impact and strain that is experienced during a normal HIIT workout routine, so your swimming routines are less likely to lead to injury. You also remain cool and comfortable when you workout in the pool.
Author Adam Johnson understands how crucial it is for those who want to effectively torch body fat and preserve muscle. This is why he actively uses a HIIT workout to help those achieve an elite level of fitness. Make sure to check out some of the best cardio workoutsfor fat loss.
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