IntroYou probably never thought you’d see the words “getting more for less” in an article from me about fitness, but it’s actually true. HIIT is something to begin looking into when you’re ready to step up your fat burning to the next level. Now that I have your attention, consider yourself warned; ‘less’ doesn’t mean ‘easier’!
Why the silly name?
HIIT (pronounced ‘heat’) is actually an acronym for High Intensity Interval Training. Instead of the steady-state cardio you probably do now (see “Getting an effective cardio workout” for a quick review), HIIT alternates low-intensity “recovery periods” with high-intensity “work periods.” This kind of training quickly gained the ‘heat’ moniker after scientists and fitness enthusiasts both realized the most important thing about HIIT: it burns more fat than traditional cardio!
The body at work
When you’re doing a repetitive task over and over, don’t you try to find a way to make that task easier? Walking long distances is hard and time consuming, so humans invented wheels to save energy. Sharing complicated ideas over long distances is tough, so humans invented the Internet to save energy. Your body (and probably your brain) sees steady-state cardio as a boring, repetitive task, so it does whatever it can to minimize the difficulty of that task, including increasing your fitness level and slowing down your fat burning mechanism over time. This is the reason that you have to do so much more cardio than you did when you began just to maintain. But what if I told you that there was a way to keep your body guessing and unable to truly adapt to the training that you do?
Why HIIT is different
As opposed to steady-state cardio, HIIT keeps the body from ever dropping into a comfortable state. As you know, the body is pretty smart. It adjusts to the food you feed it, the water you give it and the sleep you get. It’s the same for the amount, duration and type of exercise you give it. If you do the same thing every time you go to the gym (never change exercises, never increase weights, etc), eventually what you’re doing won’t even be effective for maintaining your current fitness level, much less improving it.
By alternating low-intensity periods and high-intensity periods, HIIT keeps your body in a constant state of adaptation. Since it can never adapt to the cardio you’re doing, you can get a more effective workout in less time than you can with steady-state cardio! As an added bonus, because your body is not ‘comfortable’ with the training, your metabolism runs at a faster rate for a longer time post-HIIT than it does post-steady-state cardio. These factors put together mean you can do the same amount of work with 20 minutes of HIIT as you can with 30 minutes of steady-state cardio, or the same amount of work with 30 minutes of HIIT as you can with 45 minutes of steady-state cardio!
Not for the faint of heartNow that you’ve read about it, why aren’t more people doing it? Because it’s hard. Not just a little bit tougher than steady-state cardio, it’s flat out HARD. Steady-state cardio will keep you breathing a bit harder than normal and keep your heart rate at 50-60% of its maximum. HIIT high-intensity intervals will have you huffing, puffing and ready to fall over while pushing your heart rate up to 90-95% of its maximum. This is not a workout for beginners or people who aren’t confident in their cardiovascular fitness, but it IS a workout that can help you take your physical fitness to new heights.
How to structure a HIIT workout
Since it’s the simplest way to do HIIT, we’ll use running as our example. Start your workout by running at a moderate pace for 5-6 minutes to make sure your muscles are warm and your internal systems are primed for activity. After that first 5 minutes, full-out sprint as fast as you can for 30 seconds. This is your first “interval” and your first “work period.” Drop back to a moderate running pace for 60 seconds (this is your second “interval” and the “recovery period” your body needs to prepare itself to go again). Repeat this sequence five times in total. Close your workout with a 5-6 minute moderate run to cool down your body. You just got an amazing cardio workout and saved yourself time in the process.
With a little experimentation, you can do the same thing with the elliptical trainer, on a treadmill or on my personal favorite, the stair climber (you’ll be dripping with sweat when you’re done).
Summary
HIIT isn’t for everybody, but if you’re looking for a new challenge and aren’t afraid of pushing your body to the limit, the rewards are quite satisfying.
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