For many years, fitness experts thought that the only way to lose body fat and improve cardiovascular fitness was by doing long, steady aerobic workouts. While there’s no doubt that long, steady aerobic exercise is effective, many fitness experts are now also recommending high intensity interval training (HIIT).
HIIT consists of alternating high intensity “work intervals” with low to moderate intensity “recovery intervals” over a 15-20 minute time period. For example, you sprint 40 yards and then walk 40 yards, and then continue to alternate these work and recovery intervals. Or you run for one minute and then jog for three minutes, and then continue to alternate these work and recovery intervals. You can also perform HIIT on almost any piece of aerobic exercise equipment by adjusting the speed, incline or resistance level up and down during your workout. There are many different ways to structure a HIIT workout.
Here are the primary benefits of high intensity interval training:
HIIT burns a lot of calories during the workout and it also causes your metabolic rate to be elevated for up to 24 hours after the workout is over. A higher metabolic rate causes your body to burn more calories, even when you’re at rest. And the more calories you burn, the more body fat you’ll lose. The increase in metabolic rate from HIIT is much higher than the increase from traditional aerobic exercise.
HIIT is just as effective at improving cardiovascular fitness as traditional aerobic exercise, but it requires less time.
HIIT helps prevent burnout, repetitive injury and aerobic adaptation. Many people do the same aerobic exercise routine month after month, which can lead to burnout, repetitive injury or aerobic adaptation. Aerobic adaptation is where your body adapts to a particular aerobic exercise routine, and it can cause fat loss to come to a stop. HIIT is a great way to add variety to your aerobic exercise routine and help prevent burnout, repetitive injury and aerobic adaptation.
HIIT will improve athletic performance and help prevent injury. Whether you’re a weekend warrior or a serious athlete, HIIT will improve your speed, power and explosiveness, which will improve your athletic performance and help prevent injury.
As you can see, high intensity interval training has several impressive benefits, but it’s not for everyone. Even though a HIIT workout doesn’t last that long, HIIT is demanding. It’s not appropriate for those who have never exercised before, or those who are just starting to exercise after a long layoff, or those with cardiovascular problems. You need to have good cardiovascular fitness before attempting HIIT.
Jim Plummer is a longtime health and fitness enthusiast. His website, http://www.functional-fitness-facts.com, contains information, advice and resources that will help you get more fit and healthy. Visit his website and get your free fat loss report.
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