The Benefits of HIIT

What's HIIT? HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. It's a cardio exercise performed at a high intensity level for a short period of time. It's a great cardiovascular exercise, but best of all it's an unbelievable fat burner. That's right, you will burn MORE calories doing LESS cardio. You don't believe me?

Let's check out the stats:

Studies have shown that a person performing HIIT training will burn 9 times more calories than somebody performing traditional cardio. It's also been shown that 2.5 hours of HIIT will produce a similar change when compared to 10.5 hours of your old jogging session.

HIIT is becoming more and more popular, and it's easy to see why: you burn more calories, get an intense workout, get results and of course, all that in a short period of time.

Let's look at a few benefits of HIIT:

-You will improve your athletic performance.

-Burn fat without losing your muscles; that's extremely important. Your muscle won't catabolize.

-HIIT has a direct impact on your RMR (resting metabolic rate). This is the measurement of calories burned when the body is at rest. Basically your body will continue to burn fat following your workout. Studies show that you will burn up to 100 calories more per day during the first 24 hours after exercise because your metabolism stays elevated.

Now all this comes with a price. You are going to workout harder than you're used to. Intensity is the key. Because HIIT has to be performed at a high intensity level and is so effective, you should only do it for 7 to 20 minutes tops, depending on your fitness level.

The guidelines for a good HIIT session:

• Always warm up for 5 to 10 minutes at a moderate pace. Cool down for 5 minutes.
• HIIT should be done 2 to 3 times a week max.
• Never do a HIIT session first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.
• HIIT is not for beginners, people out of shape and people with cardiovascular problems.
• HIIT should last 7 to 20 minutes (that does not include the warm up and cool down) .

Creating a HIIT program:

First: You can use any cardio equipment you want. Treadmill, Stationary Bike, Elliptical, Jump Rope and Stair Master.
This form of exercise interfaces between a low intensity level and a high intensity level. There are several parameters to take into consideration when performing HIIT.

1. The number of repetitions
2. The speed/intensity
3. The rest period and the duration

Progression is important. Several routines can be created. Here are 3 typical phases:

1. The 1:2 The low intensity period is double to the high intensity one.
2. The 1:1 The high intensity period is equal to the low intensity one.
3. The 2:1 The high intensity period is double to the low intensity one.

For example let's take the 1:1 phase:

-Warm up for 10mns on the treadmill at a low intensity.

-30s at low intensity (Fast Walk)

-30s at high intensity (Sprint)

-Repeat 9 times for a total of 10 minutes.

-Cool down for 5 minutes.

You should be between 85% to 90% of your MHR (Maximum heart rate) during the high intensity phase.

To calculate MHR subtract your age from 220. For example, for a 28 year old: 220 - 28 = 192. Now to determine for 90%, take 192 x 0.90 = 172.

Like I said earlier, HIIT should be performed 2-3 times a week maximum, and yes, you will burn more calories than with traditional cardio. But I didn't say that you should not do any traditional cardio anymore. Cardio is great! You should still add in some cardio and spread it out during the week; just obviously not on the same day that you have your HIIT session.