Lets start with what is HIIT?
High Intensity Interval Training: It when you incorporate burst of intensity with periods of recovery in a specific time frame.
For example, you might do an intense 30 second burst, where you push hard to raise your heart rate and then recover for 90 seconds, only to jump back into that 30 second burst, then again recover for 90 seconds.
As your heart rate builds a stronger recovery, you could do 30 second burst and a 60 second recovery, or a 30 second burst with a 30 second recovery, 20 second burst and a 45 second recovery. You get the idea; shorter bursts, longer recovery.
What are the different ways you practice HIIT?
Walk vs a brisk walk or up hill walk
jog vs a walk, or jog vs a run
run vs walk
circuit training with machines or free weights vs cardio burst in between
spin on bike, increase resistance and speed vs recover by decreasing resistance and speed
body weight exercises – push ups vs mountain climbers or squats vs burpees
some yoga classes offer a slight HIIT flow as well
Why do HIIT?
HIIT is a super effective and efficient way to get results because you get a lot accomplished in a short period of time. It’s all about the heart rate. Studies show that just doing 10 minutes a day of focused HIIT will improve your heart rate. Here are 3 reasons to do HIIT
1) It burns fat during the workout AND after
2) It builds a stronger heart rate because of the demand that you place on your heart to rise and recover so quickly, overtime your heart gets good at recovering, therefore giving you a stronger heart rate
3) It gives you a killer after burn, which means you burn more calories throughout the day, again due to the heart recovering after such intensity.
And just because it’s holiday time, I’ll give you a bonus tip!
Bonus: If you include strength training as part of your HIIT, you’re building muscle and burning more fat! Muscle burns fat while your body is at rest. In other words, the more muscle you have,the higher your metabolism. Woohoo!!
If you’ve never done HIIT before, start with 5 – 10 minutes at a time.
The most important thing to reap the benefits of HIIT is consistency. So be sure to make it sustainable for you.