Researchers Find Training Routine That Will Turn Your Body Into a Fat Burning “Machine”

High-intensity interval training can help burn more fat

“If that stubborn body fat just won’t go away, consider adding high-intensity interval training, or HIIT, to your exercise routine,” says Professor Zeljko Pedisic.

HIIT increases fat burning more than aerobic exercise, finds a study recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

How was the study carried out?

For the study, the researchers combined the results of 18 controlled intervention trials on the effects of HIIT on the rate of fat burning during exercise.

Intervention trials included a total of 511 adult participants performing supervised HIIT, moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, or a no-exercise control group.

The duration of the exercise interventions ranged from two to 14 weeks. In almost all studies, participants participated in three HIIT sessions per week.

What are the key findings?

According to research, a few HIIT sessions a week will turn your body into a fat-burning “machine.” HIIT will cause you to start burning more fat not only during HIIT sessions, but also during other types of physical activity, such as brisk walking, swimming, and playing sports.

Fat metabolism will improve after just four weeks of HIIT and will continue to improve over time.

After 12 weeks of HIIT, each minute of physical activity can be expected to burn an additional 0.13 grams of fat. For someone who engages in 150 minutes of physical activity per week, this could result in about 22 pounds (10 kg) of additional fat burned in a decade.

According to the findings, overweight people can expect greater increases in fat burning, compared to “normal” weight people.

While people could also improve their fat metabolism by engaging in aerobic exercise (for example, jogging), this would require a much larger time commitment and the improvements would be smaller.

Why is this important?

These findings can help more than two billion people are overweight in the world to improve your fat metabolism and reduce weight.

They can also help billions of people prevent unwanted weight gain over time.

Imagine your 10-year-old self with an extra 22 pounds of body fat—HIIT can help you avoid that change in body composition.

“According to the latest Global Fitness Trends SurveyHIIT is one of the most popular types of workouts. If you’re not already doing it, maybe you should give it a try,” Professor Pedisic concludes.

Reference: “Effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and speed interval training (SIT) on fat oxidation during exercise: a systematic review and meta-analysis” by Muhammed M Atakan, Yasemin Guzel, Nipun Shrestha, Sukran N Kosar, Jozo Grgic, Todd A Astorino, Huseyin H Turnagol, and Zeljko Pedisic, July 20, 2022, British Journal of Sports Medicine.
DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2021-105181