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Aug 15, 2024 · HIIT is an acronym for High-Intensity Interval Training. As the name suggests, HIIT workouts are very intense, and the rest periods are done using strict intervals. To simplify it, a hiit workout incorporates full-body, compound exercises, typically bodyweight exercises only, which are done in short, intense bursts, at nearly one hundred percent of your max effort, followed by short, sometimes ...
Jan 17, 2024 · High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been one of the most popular workouts for several years running. It ranked in the top 10 in the American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) worldwide ...
Apr 22, 2024 · The 30-20-10 HIIT workout alternates between 30 seconds of low intensity, 20 seconds of moderate intensity, and 10 seconds of high intensity. Repeat this pattern throughout your workout.
- Overview
- What is high intensity interval training?
- HIIT benefits
- How to get started with HIIT
- The bottom line
HIIT may provide the same health benefits as regular exercise in less time by helping increase calorie burn and reduce body fat, heart rate, and blood pressure. It may even help improve blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity.
While most people know that physical activity is healthy, it’s estimated that about 20% of people worldwide don’t get enough of it each day (1).
In fact, in the United States alone, that number is more like 80% (2).
Unless you have a physically demanding job, a dedicated fitness routine is likely your best bet for getting active.
However, many people feel that they don’t have enough time to exercise (3).
If this sounds like you, maybe it’s time to try high intensity interval training (HIIT).
HIIT involves short bursts of intense exercise alternated with low intensity recovery periods. Interestingly, it is perhaps the most time-efficient way to exercise (4, 5).
Typically, a HIIT workout will be 10–30 minutes in duration.
Despite how short the workout is, it can produce health benefits similar to twice as much moderate-intensity exercise (6, 7).
The actual activity being performed varies but can include sprinting, biking, jumping rope, or other bodyweight exercises.
For example, a HIIT workout using a stationary bike could consist of 30 seconds of cycling as fast as possible with high resistance, followed by several minutes of slow, easy cycling with low resistance.
This would be considered one “round” or “repetition” of HIIT, and you would typically complete 4–6 reps in one workout.
1. HIIT can burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time
You can burn calories quickly using HIIT (8, 9). One study compared the calories burned during 30 minutes each of HIIT, weight training, running, and biking. The researchers found that HIIT burned 25–30% more calories than the other forms of exercise (8). In this study, a HIIT repetition consisted of 20 seconds of maximal effort followed by 40 seconds of rest. This means the participants were actually exercising for only one-third of the time that the running and biking groups were. Although each workout session was 30 minutes long in this study, it is common for HIIT workouts to be much shorter than traditional exercise sessions. This is because HIIT allows you to burn about the same number of calories but spend less time exercising. Summary HIIT may help you burn more calories than traditional exercise or burn the same number of calories in a shorter amount of time.
2. Your metabolic rate is higher for hours after HIIT exercise
One of the ways HIIT helps you burn calories actually comes after you’re done exercising. Several studies have demonstrated HIIT’s impressive ability to increase your metabolic rate for hours after exercise (10, 11, 12). Some researchers have even found that HIIT increases your metabolism after exercise more so than jogging or weight training (10). The same study also found that HIIT could shift the body’s metabolism toward using fat for energy rather than carbs. Summary Due to the intensity of the workout, HIIT can elevate your metabolism for hours after exercise. This results in burning additional calories even after you have finished exercising.
3. HIIT can help you lose fat
Studies have shown that HIIT can help you lose fat. One review looked at 13 experiments and 424 adults with overweight or obesity. Interestingly, it found that both HIIT and traditional moderate-intensity exercise can reduce body fat and waist circumference (13). A range of other studies also indicate that HIIT can reduce body fat despite the relatively short time commitment (14, 15, 16). However, like other forms of exercise, HIIT may be most effective for fat loss in people with overweight or obesity (17, 18). Summary High intensity intervals can produce similar fat loss to traditional endurance exercise, even with a much smaller time commitment. They can also reduce waist circumference.
There are many ways to add high intensity intervals to your exercise routine, so it isn’t hard to get started.
To begin, you just need to choose your activity (running, biking, jumping rope, etc.).
High intensity interval training is a very efficient way to exercise and may help you burn more calories than you would with other forms of exercise.
Some of the calories burned as a result of high intensity intervals come from a higher metabolism, which lasts for hours after exercise.
Overall, HIIT produces many of the same health benefits as other forms of exercise in a shorter amount of time.
These benefits include decreases in body fat, heart rate, and blood pressure. HIIT may also help lower blood sugar and improve insulin sensitivity.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a training protocol alternating short periods of intense or explosive anaerobic exercise with brief recovery periods until the point of exhaustion. [ 1 ] HIIT involves exercises performed in repeated quick bursts at maximum or near maximal effort with periods of rest or low activity between bouts.
Jul 8, 2021 · Interval training paired with a few weekly walks will keep you lean and mean, and keep your ticker ticking. References. Sijie, T., Hainai, Y., Fengying, Y., & Jianxiong, W. (2012). High intensity interval exercise training in overweight young women. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness,52(3), 255-62.
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Mar 21, 2022 · Another cardiovascular benefit of HIIT: Your endurance workouts might feel a bit less taxing. When compared to long, slow training intensities, research shows high-intensity aerobic interval training "significantly increases" VO2 max — the maximum amount of oxygen your body can utilize during intense exercise.
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