Cardio/Abs

I've decided to take a different approach to my cardio training in order to burn more fat. I've been reading a number of books that espouse the benefits of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). HIIT claims that while the workout itself primarily burns carbohydrates instead of fat, the technique is far superior in elevating metabolism and keeps fat burning far longer. Enough sources have claimed this, so I'll give it a fair shake. Plus, running for an hour at the same speed three times per week just gets boring. The plan I'm trying comes from Building the Perfect Beast...Naturally. I tried it out tonight and will be modifying slightly, adding more cycles. I'll still be doing cardio three times per week. Two will be HIIT for five minutes of warm up, twenty minutes of two-minute cycles, and five minutes of cool-down. The third day will be 40 minutes of low-medium intensity running. In addition to this, I'll be adding abdominal work for these days. The Pilates I've been doing are targeted toward the deep "core" abdominal muscles. The gym abdominal work will target the more superficial muscles. No...the irony is not lost on my that I'm working the superficial muscles for superficial reasons.

At any rate...here is tonight's workout.

• HIIT
  • 5 minutes warm up
  • 5 cycles of 30s max / 90s recovery
  • 5 minutes cool-down
  
  
• Machine crunches: 55 x 15 x 3 : 30 x 10


• Roman chair: 45 x 12 x 3


• Straight-leg Captain's chair: 10 x 2