Most people perform ineffective cardiovascular exercise routines. It’s no wonder so many experts recently said that cardio is NOT an effective way to lose body fat. It’s not that cardio is a bad way to lose body fat, it’s just that people are doing it strategically. If you want to hit low single-digit body fat percentages, then this cardio routine will work.

1) Don’t touch calories 4-5 hours before your cardio workout

You can eat a little or a light meal before cardio if you have a lot of weight to lose. If you are trying to get less than 8% body fat, then you cannot afford that! You have to force your body to burn fat once you start to slide down to a lower body fat percentage. One way to force your body to burn fat for fuel is to remove every small amount of “food energy” from your system. Don’t worry about losing muscle mass. Your body will produce a huge surge of HGH when you train on an empty stomach. This will save muscle while burning even more body fat after training.

2) Do an intense workout at 10-15 minute intervals

When you start your cardio workout, be sure to start with intense intervals. What it does is trigger the release of HGH, and more importantly, it releases fatty acids into the bloodstream. Intense intervals are much better at releasing fat from fat cells, then slower, more consistent cardio. Slower cardio is better for using these fatty acids for energy, so you’ll want to do this next.

3) Next, do steady state cardio for 20-30 minutes

After doing intervals on a cardio machine, get on a treadmill (or elliptical) and walk at a brisk pace for 20-30 minutes. This should be a bit quicker than a typical hike, but not too difficult either. To be honest, you can do this for more than 30 minutes if you have the time. Since you are in a fasted state and free fatty acids are burned efficiently, every minute is extremely productive.

4) Do not eat for an hour after completing the cardio

The intense intervals will release HGH to burn fat and continue to work its magic for 1-2 hours after the workout is complete. If you eat immediately after training, you will spike your insulin and stop the release of HGH. It’s best to wait an hour to maximize the effects of this cardio workout. There are so many poorly designed cardio routines, but this one kicks some butt!