Intensify Your Training With HIIT

Are you at a stand-still with your weight? Not producing the power needed to break the performance plateau? Can’t seem to improve your running time or just feel stuck? Then High-Intensity Interval Training, otherwise known as HIIT, could be the answer.

Trending across the globe for another year are HIIT workouts. This calorie-torching workout has the attention of fitness enthusiasts worldwide. In fact, HIIT has been at or near the top of the ACSM’s Annual Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 7 years straight! 

What Is HIIT All About?

HIIT workouts are fast-paced! They involve high-energy compound exercises that are performed consecutively with minimal rest. An example of a round of HIIT could include 15 body squats, 15 jump squats, 10 squat thrust burpees with push-ups, jumping rope, and 2 minutes of rowing. This combination would be followed by 30 seconds of rest, then repeat.

Other power generating movements like kettlebell swings, squat presses, and sprints can be woven into the circuits. Movements are performed in intervals and allow metabolic systems to be stressed in a shorter amount of time at a higher intensity. As far as the metabolic demand, high-intensity interval training requires more power (work) from the body’s energy systems in a short amount of time (less than 30 minutes). The results are improved athletic performance, improved oxygen capacity, and increased post-oxygen consumption for hours after – all convincing reasons to buy into this long-standing trend. 

HIIT is NOT new to the fitness world and has a long history of being used by Olympic athletes worldwide. Interval training (or repetition training back in the day) dates as far back to the 1920s when Fartlek (speed training) drills were adopted by Swede Gosta Holmer. As a former Swedish Olympic athlete and national coach, he incorporated speed training (now referred to as interval training) into the workouts of long-distance runners.

I personally found success with my own clients when using Fartlek training to improve their overall lactate threshold and anaerobic/aerobic capacity. But now, high-intensity interval training has evolved into more of a phenomenon than just a training strategy for elite athletes. 

Something interesting, however, is that I have yet to find conclusive data to show that HIIT is a better training method for the average fitness goer. One study published in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine suggests that although HIIT protocols are time efficient, they are not superior to conventional exercise training in sedentary young adults.

What I find very interesting about this particular study is that the results seem to be influenced greatly by how the participants perceived the workouts. The study was designed to examine the effects of HIIT on untrained college students and many reported that the workout was not as comfortable or enjoyable as traditional steady-state (cardio) exercise. Maybe this just means that HIIT is not for the faint of heart and if you are going to train like an athlete you need to be tough like one too. Just a thought. 

Despite mixed results from the research community, HIIT can be beneficial to the average, untrained fitness goer.

4 Reasons To Add HIIT To Your Routine 

Save time

This time-friendly workout ranges anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. The time factor is very appealing to people who are looking to burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time. At any given moment in a day, people are racing from one place to the next, trying to make deadlines or shuffling kids to and from activities. It is nice to have an effective workout that doesn’t keep you in the gym for a long time. 

Burn more calories

HIIT workouts burn calories during the workout and after! Your body puts out more work in a shorter amount of time at a high rate of intensity. Quick, powerful, repetitive movements require a lot of oxygen. The increased oxygen demand translates into increased energy expenditure (calories burned) during the workout and the effects last for hours.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, the post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) after a HIIT workout generally tends to be modestly greater, adding about 6 to 15% more calories to the overall workout energy expenditure! In this case, more work in a shorter amount of time equals more calories burned. 

Improve oxygen capacity

Who doesn’t want to breathe a little easier? HIIT workouts in untrained subjects, exercising 3 days a week for 30 minutes, have been shown to induce greater changes to the maximum amount of oxygen you can utilize during intense workouts. This is great news for people looking to improve their endurance and strength training capacity. 

Have fun! 

Despite what a few controlled studies find, people have fun taking HIIT classes. This is evidenced by its wild popularity in fitness centers worldwide and high ranking status among global fitness trends. There are so many different types of exercises to choose from that you are bound to find something you enjoy! Ramp up the intensity, get a good sweat going, and reap the benefits for hours after the workout. 

How often should I do HIIT workouts?

Before you sign up for 5 HIIT classes in a row,  consider easing your body into a more intense workout. HIIT workouts are not meant to be the only means by which you exercise your body. Elite athletes use HIIT sparingly throughout their weekly regimens (80% continuous/aerobic versus 20% interval training at a high intensity). High-intensity training is intense so you have to be careful not to over-stress your muscles.

You may want to try one class per week and slowly add another. Give yourself plenty of recovery time between classes. 

Is HIIT Risky?

Interval training workouts are not inherently risky, however, when untrained individuals fail to warm up properly, hydrate sufficiently, and overdo it, the risk of injury increases. Typical injuries related to intense workouts are common in the shoulders, knees, and ankles. Even conditioned athletes will want to follow the 80/20 principle of more steady-state training versus high intensity. 

If you need to level up your workouts, then HIIT might be what you need. Grab a towel and drink water because you will sweat!  Grind it out and have fun!