We’re willing to bet you’ve heard of HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training, by now. It’s all over the place, and for good reason – it works and isn’t boring!
According to the fount of knowledge, Wikipedia, HIIT “is a form of interval training, a cardiovascular exercise strategy alternating short periods of intense anaerobic exercise with less-intense recovery periods”. In layman’s terms, it’s going ALL OUT followed by a shorter ‘break’ period. Rinse and repeat.
Why do we like HIIT?
Cardio, cardio, cardio
We’ve already told you why we dig cardio. Cardio exercise is one of the very best ways you can burn energy – that’s calories and kilojoules! When you’re moving your body and getting your heart rate up, it increases your need for energy. It’s the perfect way to burn off excess calories. You can find out more in our cardio blog.
It beats other forms of cardio
A 2012 study put steady state cardio (eg. running) and HIIT cardio head to head, with some interesting results. While both groups in the study had good results – weight loss, resting heart rate and maximum oxygen uptake improvements – it was the HIIT group that achieved better results.
HIIT keeps things interesting
Unlike going for a run along the same route each day, HIIT workouts can be mixed up daily. Pair up different exercises and drills, try something new anytime you like and give your brain a workout too. There’s also no need to block out an hour in your calendar every day for your workout. Since HIIT, is high intensity you can fit 20 minute blocks into your days – perfect for those who find exercise boring.
Workout anywhere
While it’s awesome to find a gym space (like an F45 studio) to get your HIIT on, in reality, you can bust out a HIIT workout anywhere with absolutely no equipment. Not sure what you’re doing? A quick look on Google will show you a wealth of different HIIT workouts you can do at home, at a hotel or anywhere else you might be.
Over to you – have you tried HIIT? Let us know on Facebook or Instagram.
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