Intermittant Fasting, HIIT and Tabata Defined

Since everyone who reads this may not know what certain terms I use mean, I thought that I would give some definitions of some of the things that I have talked about.

Intermittent fasting (IF) is a pattern of eating that alternates between periods of fasting (usually meaning consumption of water only) and non-fasting.

Andrew introduced me to this program called Fat Loss Now in late February after some in-depth research. The program consisted of a 10-day plan and came with its own workouts as well.
Here is an example of the 10 day plan:

Sunday: Cheat Day (Eat anything but no alcohol) *Best Day Ever* + workout
Monday: Full Fast Day (Nothing to eat other than a post workout shake and drink only water or green tea) + workout
Tuesday: 16/8 day (eat at 1pm, 4pm and 9pm) + workout
Wednesday: Full Fast Day (no shake either as you are only doing a cardio workout) + cardio only
Thursday: 16/8 day (same as above) + workout
Friday: Warrior Diet (fruit and low carb protein shake in the morning and a nutritious meal at 9pm) + workout
Saturday: Cheat Day (same as above) + workout
Sunday: Fast Day (same as above) + workout
Monday: 16/8 Day (Same as above) + workout

We did this a couple of times and then Andrew began to create his own version which we followed for a few weeks as well. Even though we have since stopped doing these programs, I do still incorporate a fast day into my plan every once in awhile. You may wonder why? Remember everyone is different and what works for me, may not work for you. However, I find that it makes me more aware of my body, makes me more focused and to my surprise even gives me more energy.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT), also called High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise (HIIE) or sprint interval training, is an enhanced form of interval training, an exercise strategy alternating periods of short intense anaerobic exercise with less-intense recovery periods. HIIT is a form of cardiovascular exercise. Usual HIIT sessions may vary from 9–20 minutes. These short, intense workouts provide improved athletic capacity and condition, improved glucose metabolism, and improved fat burning.

I was first introduced to this method of training when I found a website known as Body Rock TV and this is currently what I do in the morning for cardio as well as what is required another two times per week. My morning routine is at home and as discussed in a previous blog, I develop a program and generally do intervals of 30sec work with 10sec rest. The other HIIT sessions usually are on cardio machines at the gym or running outdoors and incorporate one minute fast pace (run for example) with one minute (walk for example) at a slower pace.

Tabata is yet another method of exercise that consists of intervals completed usually in a 4 minute span of time: 8 rounds of 20 seconds of all out max effort followed by 10 seconds of rest.

I had been reading about this and tried it out before I met Andrew and it is intense. Andrew uses this from time to time in his training. For instance, in my last session, we incorporated this in the mix and alternated between mini crunches, leg raises and burpees all for 20 sec work and 10 sec rest for 8 minutes.