HIIT training seems to be the fairly commonly-used and certainly the more popular training technique of many these days however rather than it being another fitness fad HIIT offers a wealth of benefits.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is as the name suggests working to a high intensity, however there is some confusion on how to define high intensity. Rather than giving it a specific value it is important to remember that what is high intensity for one person may not be for another. As a general rule of thumb though, for those who train fairly regularly 80-100% of your maximum heart rate when working out aerobically and within the energy-producing "zone" should be about right,
Working at this rate, or as much as 100-120% would allow the trainee to sustain an interval for approximately a minute. The harder you work in essence, the shorter an interval will be.
Again, working out what high intensity means to you could be depend on your weight, age, fitness levels and the type of exercise / fitness training you plan to do during HIIT, and that decision comes down to what your goals are. Having done this HITT will fairly quickly start to pay off!
Benefits of HIIT
- Fat loss goals are met quicker as you burn the same calories in a shorter amount of time
- HIIT is an efficient way to work out, saving you time and making sneaking in an extra workout easier
- HIIT may be arranged to meet specific goals, needs or to suit training for specific sports / events
- Goal setting and monitoring are easier with HIIT as you may increase intensity, frequency and reduce time as and when
- Some evidence suggests that HIIT training may help ward off diabetes / insulin resistance due to an increased hormone sensitivity rate.
- It is easy to set challenges, for yourself or with others for some friendly competition with HITT training
- HIIT is considered one of the more fun training sessions as you can really mix it up, using different props (i.e. ropes, light weights etc).
HIIT offers maximum benefits at every workout while helping you to work on specific goals by yourself, as part of a group and being more "fun" (although still very hard work!) it is a type of fitness routine which lends itself to helping trainees maintain their motivation,.
What isn't there to like about HIIT?