Have you heard of HIIT (high-intensity interval training)?
It’s been around for a while, but only has gotten popular and more mainstream in the past few years.
HIIT, which is also known as High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise (HIIE) or sprint interval training, is a form of cardio exercise. It’s basically an exercise strategy that alternates periods of short and intense anaerobic exercise with less-intense recovery periods.
What does it look like?
There is no specific formula to HIIT, but the main premise is that you are alternating high intensity with low-medium intensity. Depending on your fitness level, the low-medium level of intensity can be as slow as walking or pausing to catch your breath.
A HIIT session consists of a warm up (as should any kind of exercise), followed by three to ten repetitions of high intensity exercise, separated by low-medium intensity exercise for recovery, and ending with a cool down and stretch.
You should perform the high intensity exercise at near maximum intensity. As in, go all out!
The low-medium portion should be about 0-50% intensity.
The number of repetitions and length of each depends on the exercise, but may be as little as three repetitions with just 20 seconds of intense exercise.
A typical HIIT workout is set at a 2:1 ratio of work to recovery periods, for example, 40 seconds of hard sprinting followed by 20 seconds of walking or jogging.
A HIIT session may last between ten and thirty minutes, which is an excellent way to maximize your workout time!
You can use the HIIT method with many exercises, such as squats, pushups, lunges, bicep curls, etc. Just make sure to give a full effort during the work phase.
There are many benefits to doing HIIT but you’ll have to stay tuned for my next blog post to find out what they are!! Hint: you may be convinced to ditch that hour long jog/run on the treadmill ;)
If you have done HIIT, what type of exercises have you done?
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