What is HIIT training?
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a form of exercise in which a series of exercises are performed at high intensity with set work and recovery times in place. The session usually only lasts anywhere between 10-30 mins.
A general HIIT session may look something like this:
30 seconds work: 30 seconds rest (30:30) Repeat circuit 4 times (X4)
Burpees
Press ups
Squats
Crunches
Russian twists
Why perform HIIT training?
One of the main reasons why many people perform HIIT sessions is that it takes up a small amount of time compared to others forms of exercise. Due to today's lifestyle many people work long hours so don’t have as much time for exercise. This is why HIIT sessions are a great way to fit exercise around your busy lifestyle.
You may be wondering if you still get good benefits from the exercise when only performing it for this short space of time? Well the answer is yes. Numerous scientific studies have researched the physiological effects of HIIT training on the body.
A Study published in the National library of Medicine discovered that HIIT training can produce health benefits similar to twice as much continuous steady state exercise (eg running) (1).
HIIT training also burns a high number of calories in a short space of time. One study compared the calories burned during 30 minutes each of HIIT, weight training, running and biking. The researchers found that HIIT burned 25–30% more calories than the other forms of exercise (2). In this study, a HIIT repetition consisted of 20 seconds of maximal effort, followed by 40 seconds of rest. Meaning infact even though the HIIT session was 30 minutes in total really they were only exercising for a third of that time.
A number of studies published in Pubmed have shown the further positive effect HIIT has on calorie burning as it helps raise metabolic rate for a prolonged period of time even after the exercise is finished. One study published In 2015 found that HIIT training increased metabolism more after exercise than weight training or jogging (3).
Due to this increase in calorie burn over an extended period of time it is unsurprising that it leads to high levels of Fat loss over time when incorporated with a good nutrition plan. Interestingly one study found that people performing HIIT three times per week for 20 minutes per session lost 4.4 pounds, or 2 kgs, of body fat in 12 weeks without any dietary changes (4).
For some individuals HIIT training has also been shown to improve muscle mass especially in those new to exercise (5).
Another key physiological benefit of HIIT training is that it has been reported to improve oxygen consumption. One study found that five weeks of HIIT workouts performed four days per week for 20 minutes each session improved oxygen consumption by 9% (6).
Conclusion:
I like this form of exercise as it appeals to a population of people who would not necessarily want to normally get into exercise and gives them the opportunity to improve their health and fitness. Ultimately HIIT training is a great form of training especially if you are stuck for time due to work or other commitments. HIIT sessions can be done anywhere with very little or no equipment required and provides numerous physiological benefits. If you need more guidance about creating some sessions look at my page which has a number of video workouts or give me a message.
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