If you aren’t sure what HIIT workouts are, come into Strong Fit and we’ll show you. It’s not a specific exercise or a type of exercise, but rather a way to do them. It’s a technique where you give the exercise all the effort you have to achieve your maximum for a short period. This intense burst is then followed by a recovery period where you moderate your activity to give your body a rest. That switch from the high intensity to resting not only boosts your heart rate, it also burns fat faster.
A HIIT workout is tough and increases the need for oxygen when you do it.
One reason an HIIT style workout works so well to burn fat is that it has a phenomena called afterburn. Afterburn is formally known as EPOC—excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. It actually keeps your body burning calories long after you finish the workout in an attempt to fill the oxygen shortage created during the workout.
You’ll boost your metabolism after a HIIT workout.
That attempt to fill the oxygen shortage causes a boost in your metabolism. In fact, it can actually boost your metabolism for up to forty-eight hours following a workout. You’ll be burning fat even when you’re not working out in the gym. It’s important to understand that the EPOC effect is also one reason not to do HIIT every day. Doing it three times a week gives your body a chance to recover.
You don’t have to go to the gym to do HIIT, but it helps.
While you won’t get a complete workout that offers flexibility training and strength training, just walking can become an HIIT workout. All you have to do is walk as fast as you can for a minute or two until your heart rate increases and then slow your walk to a moderate pace until you recover and then back up to the all-out pace. For a complete workout, you need to balance your HIIT workout to include exercises that include those for strength, flexibility and balance, too.
- Studies show that HIIT training has far more benefits than moderate-intensity training that keeps you going steady-state for longer periods, like running or jogging long distances at the same pace. It far outpaces low intensity, extremely long duration workouts, such as walking long distances.
- Many HIIT programs involve working out at approximately 85% of maximum heart rate four four minutes and then dropping back to three minutes of moderate-intensity at 60-70 percent of maximum. You do this rotation three times, then the workout with a four minute high intensity interval.
- HIIT training takes less time than traditional workouts because they’re so effective. There are a number of different types of HIIT training. Circuit training can even provide an HIIT workout.
- Come into Iron Fit if you’re interested in getting the fastest results in the least amount of time. We offer HIIT training, circuit training and so many more techniques to get you fit faster. Try out our three-day pass to experience everything we have to offer.