High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is hands down the most effective form of cardio for burning body fat. Research confirms that you can drop more body fat with HIIT in about half the time as regular slow and steady cardio. But that's not the only reason why I love it so much. The other reason that I'm a huge fan of HIIT is because of the fact that you can do HIIT with virtually any exercise - running, biking, dumbbells, a barbell, a heavy bag, or step-ups on a bench, just to name a few. Take this weekend for example.

Friday was another beautiful winter day here in Los Angeles. So my HIIT workout on Friday consisted of strapping a Power Sled from GoFit.net to my back and running one minute sprints (with 30 second rest  intervals) in my back yard with 90 pounds attached to the sled for a total of about 20 minutes. Yet Saturday was a completely different story.

Rain is a rarity here in LA. But this winter, we sure have had our share of it in this city. And Saturday was one of those days we got a decent downpour, much to my dismay. I was hoping to get in a nice bike ride. But no sooner than I had the thought about biking, the downpour came. I was bummed. So I figured I'd head out back to my gym and get in some step-ups HIIT style. As I walked over to put my shoes on, the Wii Fit balance board grabbed my attention. My kids love the Wii games, even the Wii Fit. So I thought, "let's see what kind of a workout you can really get on this thing."

I grabbed the Wii balance board, inserted the Wii Fit disc into the game console and started it up. The first thing it asked me to do was to create a Mii, which is a character that represents you in all of the Wii games. Then it asked me to put in my basic info like age and height. The Wii step actually weighed me and calculated my BMI (body mass index). At 6 feet and 220 pounds, my BMI is close to 30, which is considered obese! Ha! Of course, little does the Wii Fit know that I am only 5% body fat and those 220 pounds are mostly muscle. I chuckled when the Wii fit shamed me for being so out of shape. BMI aside, I was impressed with the fact that the Wii calculates your center of gravity to make sure you do not have any biomechanical imbalances. After the full body assesment I was on my way to getting in a rainy-day workout.

I found the Wii Fit basic running program and got to it. The short track takes you through a virtual park on the screen while you run in place in your living room. You simply put the Wii remote in your pocket and it estimates your running pace based on how fast the remote is moving as you run. Just like a pedometer. I have to admit that it was a lot more fun running the virtual park than running in place on a treadmill. Running at a very fast pace, I was able to complete the run in about one and a half minutes. So I rested 45 seconds between runs to follow the 2:1 ratio of exercise to rest that you should follow with HIIT. I did about 12 cycles like this for a little less than 30 minutes. And I finished with a 3-minute cool down by doing the Wii Fit step workout. Yep, HIIT can be that simple and still be very effective.

So the next time you're looking for an excuse to skip cardio, just remember that with HIIT you can get it in ANY time and ANY where with ANY equipment, or lack thereof. So stop looking for an excuse and start looking for new ways to keep lean and stay healthy with HIIT.

For more on HIIT watch Jim's videos: M&F Raw! #8 - Showtime HIIT Training, M&F Raw! #26 - Suicide Kings: Suicide Drills Meet HIIT, and M&F Raw! # 27 - Power Cardio.

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