HIIT, or (high intensity, interval training) has become a popular form of training within the last few years. It is arguably one of the best methods of burning fat/losing weight out there at this time. Basically, you do repeated bursts of high intensity effort, followed by different periods of rest/recovery.
The intense work periods may range from 5 seconds to 8 minutes long, and are performed at 80% to 95% of a person’s estimated maximal heart rate, the maximum number of times your heart will beat in a minute without overexerting yourself.
The recovery periods can be as long as the work time, bringing your heart rate down to 40-50% of the max rate. Sessions can go anywhere from 20-60 minutes.
HIIT training is not recommended for someone who has just started to workout. You should get yourself to a reasonable degree of cardio and muscular fitness before you start incorporating HIIT into your routine. A base fitness level, is consistent aerobic training (3 to 5 times a week for 20 to 60 min per session at a somewhat hard intensity.)
I am not going to get into different routines in this article. As the title states, here are six benefits of HIIT, according to the “American College of Sports Medicine.”
Improves BOTH aerobic and anaerobic fitness
Helps to maintain healthy blood pressure levels
Improves cardiovascular health
Improves insulin sensitivity (which helps the exercising muscles more readily use glucose for fuel to make energy)
Lowers cholesterol profiles
Helps reduce abdominal fat and body weight, while maintaining muscle mass
HIIT training can easily be modified for people of all fitness levels and special conditions, such as overweight and diabetes. HIIT workouts can also be performed on all types of exercise modes, including cycling, walking, swimming, aqua training, elliptical cross-training, and in many group exercise classes.
The relationship of the work and recovery intervals are important. Many studies use a specific ratio of exercise to recovery, to improve the different energy systems of the body. For example, a ratio of 1:1 might be a 3-minute hard work (or high intensity) round followed by a 3-minute recovery (or low intensity) round.
Because HIIT workouts are more exhaustive then steady state endurance workouts, a longer recovery period is often needed. Try starting with one HIIT training workout a week, with your other workouts being steady state workouts. As you feel ready for more of a challenge, add a second one.
Once again, HIIT is not for someone just starting to get into shape. Take the time to get to know your body. Listen to what it tells you and go slow at first. If you feel you are ready to take your fitness to the next level however, then by all means, give HIIT a shot!
