The Truth Behind Intervals or Finishers

metabolic workout finishers

interval finishersIt’s time to really figure out the truth behind intervals or finishers.

I would say that’s one of the most common questions I get about finishers… “Mike, should I perform intervals or finishers to lose more fat… and can I do both?”.

Sure you can. But there’ a strategy to it.

Honestly, they BOTH work great for fat loss. Research has proven over and over that intervals create a better outcome than long cardio.  And of course, you already know about the research behind finishers not only burning more fat, but improving your performance in the gym.

So how do you perform both to really chisel a lean physique?

Here’s my secret sauce – you perform burpees on a treadmill while the belt is going 10.2 mph. It’s a cool adrenaline rush, too.

Of course, I’m being silly.

And being silly also includes doing an hour of cardio with a bunch of crunches or sit-ups trying to lose that holiday flub.

So to put yourself on the fast track and lose fat FASTER, you can use the powerful combination of intervals and finishers with your strength program.

This approach has been used by a client of mine that I’ve had for about 6 years. He’s my favorite guinea pig because he’ll try anything (except the burpees on the treadmill thing).

His schedule is like this:

Sunday – Off
Monday – Intervals
Tuesday – Workout followed by a finisher
Wednesday – Intervals
Thursday – Workout followed by a finisher
Friday – Intervals
Saturday – Workout followed by a finisher

 He’s been doing 20 seconds “on”, followed by 40 seconds “off” – anywhere between 8-12 times for his interval training.

But he knows this…

Your main workout is your priority – so if you find yourself struggling through your main workouts, cut back on the interval training. You can remove a day of interval training and just stay active, or you could reduce the volume. For example, you could go from 12 rounds to 10 rounds and see if that helps with recovery between sessions.

And here is where you can combine intervals and finishers

You’ll do interval training AND a metabolic finisher for a great adrenaline rush PLUS you’ll burn more fat FASTER.

Here is another approach you can do to combine both intervals and finishers:

Sunday – Off day (eat pancakes and watch NFL playoffs)
Monday – Strength training (no finisher or intervals)
Tuesday – Interval Finisher
Wednesday – Strength training (no finisher or intervals)
Thursday – Interval Finisher
Friday – Strength training (no finisher or intervals)
Saturday – Interval Finisher

Get 4 weeks of Interval Finishers here

But let me give you a heads up – these interval finishers are not easy. If you want easy, then hop on the elliptical and watch reruns of “Three’s Company”. You can even watch that one episode where something was misunderstood and created chaos.

Ha-ha. Hilarious.

But seriously, you’ll combine powerful intervals and finishers into one delicious metabolic smoothie to burn off fat, even AFTER your workout with the afterburn.

You’ll shed off stubborn fat using finishers like:

Finisher # 12 The Sweet 16 Metabolic Chaos

Finisher # 7 The Heavy-Breathing Armer (my crazy combination of interval training and an arm finisher)

And of course a client favorite, the Interval Super 6. That zany finisher starts out with this:

Do any cardiovascular activity that you can sustain for 2 minutes, then Burpee/Spiderman Pushup Combo (6)bodyweight exercises

Trust me, that circuit continues with fat-burning chaos.

You can get all 12 fat-burning Interval Finishers here

So, yes… you CAN use intervals and finishers.

May you never, EVER get bored with your workouts,

Mikey, CTT

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