The skinny on HIIT.

If you think, that cardio is extremely easy and that it is nothing more than a leisurely jog in the park, then I have some major news for you. Sure, you can burn a lot of calories just by jogging, but what if I told you, that you can burn even more calories (and burn more fat) during that time. We call it the HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training. It’s simple, but definitely not easy. On the positive side, HIIT can really help you improve your fitness and it definitely beats the monotony out of running.

Now again, HIIT stands on a simple concept, but it is anything but easy. It is a very physically demanding form of exercising and is not meant for everyone. If you have heart problems or any concerns about your health, you should first consult your doctor before doing this kind of training.

HIIT is a training method that involves short intervals of maximum intensity and long intervals of moderate (or we could call it recovery intensity). As you might have guessed it, HIIT trains both the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems. Because it rapidly increases your heart rate during the short intervals of high energy. It also increases the amount of total energy used during a training session and it creates the so called afterburn (a metabolic state after a workout in which the body burns more calories).

Let me give you a few tips if you are just starting to explore this method of training.

Like I’ve said before, HIIT is not for everyone. You should already be trained enough so that you can do at least 30 minutes (40 is preferred) of medium intensity exercise (about70 – 80% of your max heart rate).

Like always, start with a warm up and end with a cool down. After the warm up you should start with the medium intensity phase (around 70% of your max heart rate) for 4.5 minutes, followed by 30s of high intensity exercise. Repeat the cycle of medium/high intensity 3 times and. This should be enough for the first week (with the warm up and cool down it you will have done 25 minutes of cardio).

Over the course of next two weeks increase the number of cycles by one. On the fourth week you should be trained enough to increase the duration of the high intensity interval by 30 seconds. Of course you should also lower the duration of the high interval to 4 minutes. Don’t increase the number of cycles this week (you can even take one out if you think you can’t manage the whole routine).

So in short, you can increase the number of cycles, the duration of the max intensity interval or both if you wish.

Like with all things, HIIT should be balanced out with your usual cardio. So 2 cardio training session and 2 HIIT training sessions per week are the best balance (the ratio is the same if you are training 6 times per week).

Until next time, stay strong and be kind!