This 21-minute HIIT workout includes 5 minutes of exercise and 16 minutes of rest.
Most so-called experts have got it totally wrong when it comes to HIIT.
Seriously, type “HIIT workouts” into Google and you’ll get page after page of BAD ADVICE.
A lot of HIIT advice is based on the old Tabata protocol.
Tabata training was discovered by Japanese scientist Dr Izumi Tabata.
Tabata and his team conducted research on two groups of athletes:
- Group 1 trained at moderate intensity for one hour a day, 5 days a week for 6 weeks.
- Group 2 did HIIT for 4 minutes a day, 5 days a week for 6 weeks.
The results:
- Group 1 increased their aerobic capacity, but showed little or no results for their anaerobic system.
- Group 2 showed much more increase in their aerobic capacity than Group 1, AND increased their anaerobic system by 28%.
That’s VERY impressive! 4 minutes of HIIT got better results than 1 hour of steady state cardio.
But that doesn't mean you can just take any old HIIT protocol and try to lose your man boobs with it.
Problems With HIIT Workouts You See Online
The HIIT protocol the Tabata study used, was 20 seconds of all-out intensity on a stationary bicycle followed by 10 seconds of rest, done 8 times.
The trouble though, is when you go online, you see people telling you to do their own version of the Tabata protocol.
You see people recommending calisthenics exercises like pushups, squats, burpees and jumping jacks. They might replicate the time sequence of the Tabata protocol, but this is NOT a Tabata protocol.
The Tabata protocol used a stationary bicycle to achieve 170% VO2 Max. That’s a crazy high intensity for your cardiovascular system.
If you strap on a heart rate monitor and check your maximum heart rate reached during a 20 second all-out sprint on a stationary bicycle, then compare it to your maximum heart rate reached during 20 seconds of pushups, squats, burpees, or jumping jacks, you’ll see that no matter how hard you push yourself with those calisthenics exercises, you’ll never reached as high a heart rate as you do with cycling.
You don’t need a heart rate monitor for this by the way, you can just measure your pulse rate immediately after the 20 second bout of exercise.
Like in the Tabata study, HIIT is meant to be done with cardiovascular exercises like running, swimming and cycling, not with calisthenics exercises like pushups and squats. Only with HIIT done with cardiovascular exercises, do you get the level of lactate accumulation and testosterone boosts that can really boost your fitness and get rid of your man boobs.
Sure, HIIT with calisthenics can and does work, I’m just saying that HIIT with cardiovascular exercises that really get your heart rate up, work far better.
Problems With The Tabata Protocol
Tabata’s research looked at the effect of HIIT on VO2 max and anaerobic capacity.
He DID NOT look at weight loss, post-exercise calorie expenditure (EPOC), metabolic rate, or post-exercise testosterone or growth hormone release.
Nor did Tabata compare different types of interval training. It’s not like he tested a number of work-to-rest ratios and concluded that 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest worked best.
All he did was compare one form of interval training with steady-state cardiovascular exercise over a period of six weeks.
How do we know that you won’t get better results by doing 30 second sprints with 1 minute rest intervals? Or 60 second sprints with 2 minute rest intervals?
Unfortunately, there are no studies out there comparing different HIIT protocols to one another to see which is best for fat loss.
However, what I’ve done is I’ve studied the science and put together specialized HIIT protocols that are best for both shedding fat and boosting testosterone so you lose man boobs.
I’ve tested these protocols on the field, and they work.
I explain all the science behind it in my program, Paleolithic HIIT. Meanwhile, to get started, you can try out this 21 minute HIIT protocol, that I’ve extracted from my Paleolithic HIIT program. You can download it here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/r2pplv5p5l210ck/Paleolithic-HIIT-singular-phase-2.pdf?dl=1
Remember, you can use any cardiovascular exercise for this HIIT protocol. Examples include running, cycling, swimming, and jump roping.
Note that the above protocol starts at Phase 2. Phase 1 simply involves building an endurance base with the exercise you choose to do. So if you choose to do sprint cycling, you’ll start by first training yourself to be able to do 20 minutes of steady state cycling at a moderate intensity. This will get your muscles, joints, and ligaments ready for the high intensity sprints of Phase 2.
Just the Phase 2 sprints alone will get you a ripped physique with a flat man-boob-free chest. It’s way better than the Tabata protocol for losing body fat and losing man boobs.
You'll learn about Phases 3, 4, 5 and 6 when you purchase the full Paleolithic HIIT program. In Phase 3, you start building in shorter, more intense sprint bursts to improve your performance in those 60-second sprints.
Why improve your performance?
Because studies have shown that the better you perform in your sprints, the greater the testosterone boosts you get from your workouts. The greater the testosterone boosts, the greater the tissue growth and body remodelling you’ll experience.
So here's the link again where you can download the free HIIT protocol I promised you today:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/r2pplv5p5l210ck/Paleolithic-HIIT-singular-phase-2.pdf?dl=1
And here's where you can take things to the next level by getting your hands on the full Paleolithic HIIT program:
https://chestsculpting.com/paleolithic-high-intensity-interval-training/
Hi Gary–top notch work as usual. I don’t have man boobs, but I’ve been following your advice for a long time because I respect your authority on using HIIT for rapid fat loss.
So I understand sprinting/swimming/rowing/cycling are some of the most powerful HIIT exercises, and I make sure to sprint in my intervals once a week. The other two HIIT days I can’t get to a track/don’t want to go sprint in public/can’t get to a pool/etc. so I want to do a KB swing program. I’ve tried doing KB swings with 24gk for 60 sec. on and 3-4 minutes off, and it totally kicked my ass. I was breathing incredibly hard and felt weak for hours after, lol. Do you have any recommendations for working in KB swinging / thrusters (squat + overhead KB press) into an HIIT schedule?
Thanks in advice-
Hi Richard
Great to hear you’re following my advice despite not having man boobs. These methods work just as well for people who just want to lose some body fat and/or grow muscle.
Kettlebell swings can work as a HIIT workout, as long as you choose the right weight (not too heavy, not too light) that can get your heart rate up. In my report, the Ultimate Man Boob Busting Exercise, I explain how you can take a weight that’s lighter than your 10-rep max and do barbell squats in a way that can get your heart rate up just as high as a HIIT running sprint.
You should be able to achieve the same with a kettlebell swing, but you’d have to experiment with different weights and see which gets your heart rate up highest.
I wouldn’t recommend using any other exercises like thrusters. Thrusters may involve your whole body more because you are squatting and pressing with your arms and shoulders, but while you are pressing with your arms and shoulders, your legs are resting. As a result, you don’t get the same level of lactate accumulation as you would with kettlebell swings, and hence your heart rate won’t go up as high.
Of course, it’s not all about the lactate accumulation and heart rate, you can still get into shape with these other more whole-body exercises done in a whole-body fashion, I’ve just found you get better results when you focus on maximal lactate accumulation (which studies show is directly related to how high of a testosterone boost you get post-workout) and maximal heart and breathing rates.
Gary,
As always your reply reflects your experiencing and expertise in this area. I lift weights Mon/Tuesday (Push, Pull) and Thursday/Friday (Shoulders, Legs) as it is, and have been doing sprints, KB HIIT swings, or thrusters on Sunday and Wednesday, but it is inconvenient to find places to sprint these days so if I can use KB swings and your method of HIIT squats instead, that would be quite the freedom.
Just downloaded your report. I’m going to enjoy (or not, lol) the ability to do HIIT in the comfort of my home. No more going to the track and finding it crowded, and no more people staring at me as I do sprints down the road lol… Thanks again! Always a pleasure to read your stuff. Your site’s a goldmine of practical and effective methods, and your paid content is like having your personal coach for the price of a cheap pair of shoes. You can’t beat that kind of value.
No problem Richard, glad you find my methods useful.
I sprint in my local park, and often find I have to extend my rest intervals a little longer when someone is walking near the path of my sprint… lest they think I’m chasing them, lol. I’ll change my sprint path entirely when there’s a dog nearby, in fear of being chased by the dog!
Despite all the troubles that come with sprinting outdoors, I personally wouldn’t give it up for anything. Sure, you can find other exercises that will get your heart-rate up and give you just as good a HIIT workout, but you’ll never find something that’s as energizing and potentially useful in your life as sprinting outdoors.
Quarantined program contains bodyweight exercises without equipment that can be done at home easily .which is best for loosing puffy ,man boobs? How to identify whether it’s breast tissues or fat or both??and Garry I also have something like a lump like thing in my armpit most probably as I think it maybe fat and how to loose that thing???
With breast tissue you’ll feel a firm lump beneath your nipples. Man boobs can refer to just excess chest fat, breast tissue, or both.
A lump in your armpit sounds like a lymph node. Usually these are benign and you don’t have to worry about them, but if you’ve noticed any unexpected weight loss lately, I would get it checked out by a doctor, in case it might be malignant.
is phase 3,4,5 neccecery? what if I do only the 30 sec sprint and 1 min rest repeatedly?
Hi David
If you’re doing 30 second sprints, I would suggest resting for at LEAST 2-3 minutes between sets. Otherwise subsequent sets will be more endurance based.
You would still get great results just doing 30 second sprints all the time. Do it and see how you get on. You’re likely to find though, that your performance stalls after a few weeks or maybe months. If this does happen, then try moving onto the other phases in the program, they should help you get passed that plateau to further boost your performance and your results.