HIIT Training

Have you ever noticed the people at the gym putting in their time on the elliptical, treadmill, or bike for 60 minutes looking bored and staying the same? Or worse, is that you? It can make you think that cardio is a waste of time! Especially when you hear that strength training increases your metabolism and burns fat (this is true and you do need to strength train). So, do we even need to do cardio to stay lean and healthy? The answer is YES! Cardiovascular training is both necessary and effective, if done correctly. To be effective, you need to be efficient. Who wants to waste their time at the gym? If you want to read a magazine, wait until after your workout and read it with a nice cup of coffee as a reward for your hard workout. Instead of doing a lame 60 minutes of cardio, it is much more efficient to do an intense 20-30 minutes. Welcome to HIIT and Tabata!

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a form of interval training that alternates short bursts of maximum intensity with longer levels of lower to moderate intensity. Since it pushes you briefly out of your aerobic zone, it also trains your anaerobic energy systems. You hit your anaerobic energy systems during the max intervals, and then use the recovery intervals to replenish your glycogen stores. HIIT burns much more calories than long duration steady cardio, both during the actual exercise, and also after since it takes your body longer to recover from each session. This is referred to as Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) and represents the additional calories your body will burn as needed to return to its pre-exercise state. HIIT also has been shown to maintain muscles while muscle loss may occur with long duration steady cardio. Often, in a quest to get lean, exercisers lose hard earned muscle by doing too much long duration steady cardio. Remember, the goal is to lose fat rather than weight. HIIT cardio will preserve your muscles while scorching body fat. As Charlie Sheen would say, “Winning!!!’

There are many ways to do HIIT. Basically, you alternate short sprints with slightly longer recoveries. Spinning is a form of HIIT and below is an example of a treadmill interval workout. You can make up your own HIIT workout with any form of cardio and make it fun.

Time (minute)	Speed	Incline
0:00-5:00	4.0	2.5
5:00-6:00	6.0	1.0
6:00-6:30	7.0	1.0
6:30-8:00	5.0	1.0
8:00-8:30	8.0	1.0
8:30-10:00	4.0	1.0
10:00-11:00	6.5	1.0
11:00-13:00	5.0	1.0
13:00-13:30	8.5	1.0
13:30-16:00	4.0	1.0
16:00-16:30	8.0	1.0
16:30-18:00	4.0	1.0
18:00-18:30	7.5	1.0
18:30-20:00	5.0	1.0
20:00-20:30	8.0	1.0
20:30-22:00	5.0	1.0
22:00-23:00	6.5	1.0
23:00-24:00	5.0	1.0
24:00:25:00	7.0	1.0
25:00-30:00	4.0	2.0

Tabata Training is a form of HIIT. It is the most intense, yet the shortest duration. You really need to just remember 20/10/8.

Tabata intervals follow this structure:

1)    Push hard for 20 seconds

2)    Rest for 10 seconds.

3)    Repeat this eight times.

The entire session lasts only 4 minutes; you go completely all out for 20 seconds and then completely stop for 10 seconds. An example of a sprint tabata on a treadmill is to go as fast as 9.0 or 10.0 for 20 seconds and then just hop off the belt to the side of the treadmill for 10 seconds, hopping back on to full speed and repeat this eight times. Tabatas are so versatile that you may even do these with kettle bells, squats, burpees, and pushups, just to name a few. You must use your large muscle groups for tabatas though. It would not have the same effect with a triceps kickback. I also suggest using a timer or doing these with a personal trainer so you can go all out without worrying about time.

There is still a time and place for Long Duration Steady cardio.  If you are new to exercise, it is important to first build up an aerobic base and that is done by working at a light to moderate pace, increasing your time gradually. HIIT is for an advanced fitness level. A beginner will also see results initially with steady-state cardio. But, there is the ‘Law of Diminishing Returns,’ so once you get to a stronger fitness level, you will need to kick it up using HIIT. It is fun and you will enjoy the challenge and love the results. Even for the super-fit, long duration cardio is great for mental clarity. I sometimes enjoy a long run just to clear my head, but for fitness I do HIIT cardio and strength training.

Enjoy a happy and healthy holiday week.

XOX