The premise behind HIIT training is simple. By working at a higher intensity level than your body is used to (usually between 50-70% your VO2max) you’ll work out quickly, but you’ll also leave your body exhausted. You’ll then rest only enough to recover, so you can be ready to repeat the process as many times as you want.
High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT is a type of exercise that involves alternating between bouts of high intensity exercise (such as running, heavy weight training, or fast walking) and recovery periods of lower intensity exercise.
HIIT is a great way to burn fat, build muscle and be a fit and healthy person. It’s a great addition to the fitness regimen of anyone who wants to lose weight and maintain their leanness.
Are you searching for the most efficient method to reduce weight, get in shape, and build muscle? When it comes to HIIT, be cautious. We can’t guarantee it will be simple… but it will work.
What is the definition of high-intensity interval training (HIIT)?
You alternate between high and low intensity exercise, or between high intensity training and a brief rest time, in High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).
Interval training, for example, is a brief run up the stairs followed by a stroll up the stairs. Alternatively, a set of repetitions followed by a set of bodyweight rows.
On a treadmill, an example of HIIT.
Exercising using body weight as an example of HIIT
If you’ve ever done a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout, you know that 15 minutes of alternating weight-bearing activities is considerably more difficult than jogging around the block.
What are the benefits of high-intensity interval training?
Maintaining a maximal intensity throughout training for a longer length of time is physiologically difficult. It has something to do with how our bodies use gasoline.
Let’s say I tell you to go outdoors and run as quickly as you can for 20 minutes.
Phosphocreatine, Level 1
OK! The first 10-20 seconds are fantastic! You have the ability to sprint like the wind! This is because you’re utilizing phosphocreatine, a high-intensity energy source.
Lactic acid and anaerobic glycolysis are used in the second phase.
Phosphocreatine is depleted after approximately 20 seconds, and anaerobic glycolysis takes over. More lactic acid is generated at this point, which is utilized as a fuel source.
You continue to run as fast as you can, but your pace slows and your lungs work extra hard.
You could possibly maintain this posture for 10 minutes if you were a member of the Canadian Olympic hockey team or a great skater. However, if you are out of shape, you should take it slow or perhaps quit. Due to the shift in pH in your blood, you may vomit when you first get up from the sofa.
Although the soul seems to be willing, the body is frail. MISCELLANEOUS for a 20-minute sprint.
So, why aren’t you able to work at full effort for an extended period of time?
The chemical that creates the magic is oxygen.
One of the causes is the need for and supply of oxygen during prolonged periods of intense activity.
Compromises abound in nature. We are trading efficiency for intensity in this instance.
When you exercise at a modest intensity (for example, brisk strolling), aerobic metabolism takes over.
For energy, your body utilizes oxygen to break down carbs and lipids. It’s extremely efficient, but you won’t be able to work at full pace. You increase efficiency but lose intensity with aerobic metabolism. From an evolutionary standpoint, this would be advantageous for long-distance travel in search of food or water.
When you operate at a greater intensity (for example, sprinting), the anaerobic metabolism takes over.
Your body can’t get enough oxygen to where it needs to go. It’s inefficient, but it may provide brief bursts of speed or high energy, which is useful if you’re fleeing a saber-toothed tiger or a slingshot.
So we have two systems, each with its own set of benefits and drawbacks. What if we were able to have our cake and eat it as well? (Or, in this instance, to shed the pounds acquired through cake consumption.)
HIIT stands for high-intensity interval training.
In HIIT, you alternate brief bursts of high-intensity exercise (for example, 10-20 seconds of sprinting) with lower-intensity intervals (e.g., 1 minute of walking).
- Increased intensity periods enhance metabolic demand, which is very beneficial for long-term fat reduction and general fitness.
- Low-intensity periods enable you to recuperate and use your aerobic energy system.
Training contribution of various energy systems as a function of training time
Hormones
Furthermore, the release of hormones during exercise is influenced by the intensity of the workout.
Gentle exercise, such as yoga, tai chi, or a nice stroll in the park, may help to reduce stress hormone levels.
Growth hormone, testosterone, endorphins, epinephrine (adrenaline), norepinephrine (noradrenaline), cortisol, and aldosterone all rise as you approach 85-95 percent VO2max. All of these hormones have an impact on anabolism and body composition.
What You Should Know About High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
The exercises may range from mild motions to high-intensity workouts. Stress hormone levels may be raised by high-intensity interval training and lifting heavy weights.
Almost any high-intensity physical exercise causes the body to enter a state of crisis. It deprives tissues of oxygen, raises body temperature, depletes the body’s fluid and fuel reserves, and damages tissues.
Blood oxygen deprivation, high blood carbon dioxide levels, acidosis, high body temperature, dehydration, hypoglycemia, physical trauma, and psychological stress all trigger endocrine and immunological responses similar to those seen in intense exercise.
Your body is whirling hormonally. The issue is then dealt with using heavy artillery. High-intensity exercise puts the body under so much stress that it has no choice but to adapt.
What doesn’t kill me makes my calves crusty, as Nietzsche stated 20 times. (It makes more sense in German.)
Why HIIT?
HIIT is excellent for:
- Body fat reduction (while maintaining lean body mass).
- The cardiovascular system is strengthened.
- Energy solutions for particular sports are being developed (e.g. for the preparation of the Olympic hockey team).
- improvement of performance (i.e. the ability to maintain a high intensity for a long period of time).
- Fat and carbohydrate oxidation in skeletal muscles improves.
- Developing mental toughness
- make you feel good
- These are the rapid muscular fibers that provide you strength, power, and a good-looking physique.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is highly effective. As a result, you’ll get more out of your exercise in less time. In addition, 5 minutes of HIIT is considerably gentler on the joints than 45 minutes of jogging.
How to Perform High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
HIIT may be done in a variety of methods. All you need to know is the fundamental principle: alternate brief bursts of high intensity with recovery/low intensity periods.
Tabata study for the longest 4 minutes of your life
The Tabatha research is one of the most well-known HIIT experiments. Subjects rowed at intervals in this research (see summary below): 20 seconds of high-speed rowing followed by 10 seconds of calm recovery rowing, for a total of 8 intervals or 4 minutes.
Participants exhibited a 28 percent increase in anaerobic capacity and a 14 percent rise in V02max at the conclusion of the trial, which is impressive.
The Tabata protocol – 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off – has become one of the most popular ways to do high-intensity interval training.
Circuits using weights
Resistance exercises may be a highly effective way to conduct high-intensity interval training.
Choose B for resistance training. Complex workouts with good oxygen absorption:
- Burpees
- Swings or jerks with a kettlebell
- Squat
Combination workouts are also a viable option. Consider the following scenario:
- Pull-ups, drops, pumps, leap back on the bar for another pull-up, and so on.
- Squat + Overhead Press + Cap Clean
- Dumbbell snatching + wrestling strap
You may also do a combination of resistance and aerobic workouts.
As an example,
- Switch between dumbbell swings and 100-meter sprints.
- Sprint upward, then finish with a fast series of push-ups.
- For speed, I’m carrying a large sandbag.
HIIT may be customized to suit your specific requirements.
To prevent overtraining and overuse problems, and to keep things interesting, diversify your HIIT choices.
Sport-specific HIIT workouts should be scheduled if you are a competitive athlete who needs to develop the energy systems of your sport. Consider the following scenario:
- Soccer players’ sprints
- Volleyball and basketball players’ jumps
- Boxers do intervals on a heavy bag.
- etc.
You may also change the interval lengths.
- Intervals of high intensity may last anywhere from 10 to 60 seconds.
- Low-intensity recovery intervals may range anything from 10 seconds to a minute or more.
If you’re new to HIIT, start with shorter high-intensity intervals and longer low-intensity ones.
Also, keep in mind that “high intensity” implies “high intensity” for YOU. A moderate jog or a 10-second hill walk is a better place to start if you’re a novice than attempting a sprint exercise.
When doing HIIT, don’t forget to warm up and cool down properly.
To get extra credit,
Specific workouts are related to the advantages of HIIT. You will progress in this area if you perform frog leaps and runs.
Non-competitive activities may help you get the most out of your HIIT workout. You may mix weighted rows and squats instead of performing split squats and alternating them with squats that exercise the same muscles.
Training that is very intense may raise the body’s energy requirements by a ratio of 2 to 20!
The body’s energy demands remain high for the next 1-2 hours after hard activity.
So, what does it mean to be high-intensity? Imagine being pursued by a ferocious grizzly bear the next time you run. This should be adequate.
Not only can HIIT enhance your body composition, but it will also help you live longer. Only vigorous, not moderate, exercise lowers the chance of mortality, according to the Harvard Graduate Health Study, a four-year study of almost 17,000 males.
Gymboss is a useful interval training timer.
References
To view the sources of information used in this article, go here.
I. Tabata, K. Nishimura, M. Kouzaki, Y. Hirai, F. Ogita, M. Miyachi, and K. Yamamoto. Anaerobic capacity and VO2max are affected by moderate-intensity endurance exercise and high-intensity interval training. National Institute of Fitness and Sports, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, Department of Physiology and Biomechanics
Two weeks of high-intensity aerobic interval training increases fat oxidation capacity during exercise in women, according to Talanyan JL, et al. J Appl Physiol 102:1439-1447, 2007.
CG Perry et al. High-intensity aerobic interval training improves the capacity of human skeletal muscle to digest fat and glucose. 2008;33:1112-1123 in Appl Physiol Nutr Metab.
The effect of exercise intensity on body fat and skeletal muscle metabolism, Tremblay A, et al. Metabolism, vol. 43, no. 8, pp. 814-818, 1994.
Effect of high-intensity exercise on energy expenditure, lipid oxidation, and body fat. Yoshioka M, et al. International Journal of Obesity, Relativity, and Metabolic Disorders, 25:332-339, 2001.
K.T. Borer, K.T. Borer, K.T. Borer, K.T. Borer, K.T. Borer, K.T. Borer, K.T. Borer, K.T. Borer, K.T
A. Tremblay et al. Body fat percentage and fat distribution as a function of exercise intensity. 153-157 in Am J Clin Nutr, 1990.
Similar metabolic changes during training following low-intensity sprint intervals and conventional endurance training in humans, Burgomaster KA, et al. J Physiol 586:151-160 (2008).
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High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been gaining popularity in recent years, with some fitness gurus touting its benefits as a faster way to get in shape. HIIT involves two distinct types of workouts: short bursts of intense effort followed by a period of rest, and longer, low-intensity workouts. Both are fueled by the same benefits of HIIT and can help you build muscle, boost your metabolism—and even burn more calories. But, if you’re serious about your workout, here’s what you need to know about the two different types of HIIT.. Read more about hiit benefits study and let us know what you think.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a 20 minute HIIT workout enough?
A 20 minute HIIT workout is enough to help you burn a significant amount of calories.
What is the best interval time for HIIT?
The best interval time for HIIT is typically 30 seconds.
What intensity should HIIT be?
HIIT is a form of exercise that involves high-intensity intervals. It can be done at any intensity, but the higher the intensity, the more calories you will burn and the greater your results.
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- hiit training
- high intensity interval training
- hiit workouts
- disadvantages of hiit
- benefits of interval training
