Are you struggling to balance your increasingly hectic lifestyle with your health and fitness goals? It’s time to banish those excuses – be smart, take charge and incorporate HIIT workouts into your fitness regime.
What is HIIT?
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) describes any workout that alternates between intense bursts of activity and fixed periods of less-intense activity or even complete rest. For example, a simple HIIT session could involve a 1 minute sprint followed by a 2 minute jog. You can repeat this 3 minute set 5 times for an intense 15 minute fat burning session. This type of training gets and keeps your heart rate up and burns more calories in less time.
What are the benefits?
- Efficiency – these workouts are perfect for people who are time poor who don’t have endless hours to spend at the gym
- Fat burning – research shows that HIIT training boosts your metabolism and your body burns more fat the 24 hours following a session, compared to a steady-based workout
- Ease – you can create HIIT sessions from your normal routine – cycling, running, rowing, skipping, TRX, resistance training and plyometrics (ie. Box jumps etc.) You don’t need heaps of expensive equipment and it can be done virtually anywhere.
Regardless of age, gender and fitness level, one of the keys to safe participation of HIIT training is to adjust the intensity of your sessions to your own ability. Safety should always be the top priority, and you should focus more on finding your own optimal training intensity rather than keeping up with others. Never sacrifice technique for weight or speed.
Remember that HIIT workouts are more exhausting than steady workouts so ensure that you take time to allow your body to rest and recover. Stagger your HIIT workouts over the week and only incorporate more workouts if your body feels up to it.
Simply put, HIIT should accomplish two goals: it will help accelerate fat loss and improve aerobic and anaerobic capacity. HIIT tends produce fast, noticeable results in a short period of time, particularly if it’s new to you.
So don’t delay – get ready to mix things up, join me and start your HIIT routine now at your local Anytime!
My Favourite HIIT Workout.
30 sec hard effort. 10 seconds recovery. Repeate for 4 sets before changing exercise.
The Exercises: Rower, Ball Slams, DB Push Press, TRX Row/Push Up, Burpee, Battle Ropes, Tread Mill, Skipping, Wall Ball, Box Jump.