High-Intensity Interval Training – popularly known as HIIT has become quite popular these days. HIIT involves short intervals of intense exercising followed by even shorter periods of rest. One of the reasons behind HIIT’s rapidly increasing popularity could be that it has proven to be more effective than steady state cardio in terms of fat loss. Another reason could be the fact that HIIT saves a lot of time. Usually, a HIIT session lasts up to 30 mins. Say you spend the first 10 minutes warming yourself up, and you spend the next 20 minutes doing HIIT. Take for example- you do quick 1 min sprints- testing your athletic ability and then your rest period lasts up to 30 seconds. That way you have managed to burn more calories in the same time than you would have if you were doing steady state cardio.
In a research done by the School of Health and Exercise Sciences, it was shown that people actually prefer HIIT over regular cardio. This could be because HIIT allows one to mix things up. You don’t have to stick with only one exercise routine every day. You can do squats, jumping jacks, jump some ropes but whatever you do should follow the HIIT method- intense exercise followed by short rest periods. Since a lot of people lead busy lives these days, not everyone can spare the time to go to a gym and exercise and for those people, HIIT seems to be the perfect solution. You can do it at home, and you don’t need any equipment.
One really great benefit of HIIT is that its EPOC is equivalent to that of steady state cardio. EPOC or Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption is basically when your body keeps burning more calories even after you’re done working out- which sounds great if weight loss is your goal. HIIT also improves your VO2 max- it is the maximum amount of oxygen that you utilize when you’re doing intense exercises. Improved VO2 max means your workouts sessions could be intenser and longer. What you should keep in mind though is that you cannot benefit from doing HIIT alone. You must be following a healthy diet first. Yes, it targets fat and helps you lose more weight but you can’t expect wonderful results from HIIT if you’re hitting up McDonald’s right after your workout. So if you’re maintaining a healthy diet and following the HIIT protocol you can very well to expect to fulfill your fitness goals soon.