High Intensity Interval Training - London Personal Trainer advises the pros and cons
HIIT is a series of low to moderate intensity exercises followed by high intensity exercises and performed for up to 20 minutes with a rest (usually 10-20 seconds) between the exercises and a minute rest between sets.
HIIT has become popular because it burns fat faster than jogging continuously for 30 minutes for example. “In research, HIIT has been shown to burn adipose tissue more effectively than low-intensity exercise - up to 50% more efficiently." It has also been shown to speed up your metabolism which helps you burn more calories throughout the day (www.musclemedia.com).
The reason fat loss is more effective with HIIT is because the body continues to get a bit of a ‘shock’ (going into anaerobic activity) as opposed to being in a continuous state of aerobic activity (eg: such as cycling continuously without varying speed or intensity). “HIIT stimulates the body in a way that cannot be paralleled by other methods of cardio. Constant change which allows for higher intensity is the key to HIIT” (https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/what-is-the-best-hiit-workout.html).
HIIT can be applied to all forms of exercise including and not limited to running, squatting, lunging, arm exercises, abdominal exercises etc.
Are there any downsides to HIIT? Because it is a high intensity form of training, HIIT is not recommended for the absolute beginner to exercise. There must be a build up to fitness levels first. Contact our London Personal Trainers to get started if you would like to start HIIT but haven’t done any activity for over three months.
Often a warm up is neglected on videos demonstrating HIIT and they go straight into the first exercise. This is not recommended no matter your fitness level. It is always important to warm up your heart, lungs and all other muscles and joints in your body before performing any activity for a period of time.
Feeling inspired to get started? We have found the following seven minute HIIT workout quite effective for new starter (do note there is no warm up so please prepare your body first):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6etLKswjq8&t=39s
Let us know how you get on and best of luck!
