High Intensity Interval Training, also known as HIIT, is a proven approach to burn more calories and fat in less time. The old practice of exercising for hours to burn more calories and lose weight no longer has to be your approach. You can actually lose weight and exercise less often.
The key to HIIT is intensity. Unlike a traditional fat-burning workout where you exercise for a long period of time at a moderate intensity, with HIIT you exercise for a short amount of time but your intensity is significant. On a scale of 1-10, a 6 would be a moderate intensity level.
You’d be able to complete a sentence while you’re exercising. With HIIT you are at a 9 and you cannot do anything other than focus on your exercise.
The Tabata strength workout is a perfect example of an HIIT workout. With the Tabata program you can do 20 seconds of one of the strength training exercises with 10 seconds of rest. You repeat that cycle for four minutes.
High intensity aerobic fitness training program
A high intensity aerobic fitness interval training is designed to give your body an intense workout in the shortest possible time. It’s a scientific method of training that has, in various forms been around for the last 60 years. It’s been used widely to train distance athletes.
For instance, you might run a fast 400-meter run and then walk a 400-meter run and repeat for any number of repetitions.
Former New Zealand world mile record holder, Peter Snell knew he could run a mile under four minutes when he could real off 10 x 400m laps, each in under 60 seconds with 200m jog in between each one.
High intensity interval training (HIIT) helps you get in better shape.
It’s been proven to help with:
- Faster weight loss
- Improved cardiovascular fitness
- Improved metabolic and psychological health
- Decreased insulin resistance
So How Do You Fit HIIT into Your Existing Workout?
It’s important to know that just about any movement or exercise can be part of an HIIT program. For example, you can jump rope (skip) at a high intensity and alternate with rest periods.
You can perform a Tabata routine involves twenty seconds of running, skipping, cycling, stepping, swimming … as possible followed by 10 seconds of rest and repeat for at least 4 minutes.
The high-intensity interval training style was developed by Japanese professor Dr. Izumi Tabata to train Olympic speed skaters in the late 1990s. Today, the training style is applied to just about any move.
Adding HIIT to your weekly workout program is easy. A Tabata session only takes 4 minutes. You can vary cardio workouts with strength training workouts. Take a look at your existing workout program and look for days to swap or add HIIT.
Keep in mind that with intense effort, more rest may be required. Generally speaking, you don’t want to do more than three days in a row of HIIT. For example, if you do an intense workout on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday then Thursday needs to be a rest day or an active rest day.
HIIT can be a part of a home workout. Bodyweight exercises and basic cardio movements can be taken up a notch. You’ll burn more fat in less time and get into the best shape of your life.
