What is HIT, why do you want it and how can you add it into your fitness regime?
High
Intensity Training (HIT) or high intensity interval training (HIIT) has
been around since the invention of the Nautilus machine. Runners have
always used speed work or interval training routines to build up power
and improve their times. But it’s making a big comeback these days.
HIIT is about strength training, fitness and weight loss.
In
HIT training, exercises are intense and brief. This works to stimulate
strength. I think it’s the best way to workout, much better than using
low amounts of weight but with a lot of reps, or doing long slow cardio
routines.
Basically,
high-intensity interval training can be just about anything that
alternates intense bursts of activity with short periods of mild
activity and performed in a short period of time (Maximum 20 to 25
minutes). So, you could power run for one full minute and then walk for
the next two minutes. If you repeat this five times, you have done a
15 minute set that is a really great HIT workout.
There are a lot of benefits to HIT or HIIT
· It’s
efficient. This workout is super-efficient. Even just 15 minutes of
HIT training three to four times a week is better than jogging for three
hour-long sessions. It’s the perfect workout for busy people, which is
pretty much everyone. It can be fit into the nooks and crannies of
your day. It can be used to get into shape fast.
· Builds
stamina. A study from 2011 found that 2 weeks of HIT training boosts
aerobic capacity as much as 2 months of endurance workouts would.
· It’s
great cardio. Extreme training makes the heart work really hard, and
that’s one more muscle that will get stronger. HIT workouts push you
into the anaerobic zone where it’s hard to breathe and your heart is
pounding. That’s good for us!
· You
can lose weight while building muscle. This workout burns calories and
fat throughout the workout and then sends the body into a kind of
repair hyper-drive for the next 24 hours; burning calories long after
the workout!.
· HIT
increases metabolism. Human Growth Hormone or HGH is thought to rise
by several hundreds of percent and stay there for the 24 hours after
your workout. Is that not what we are all looking for!
· No
special equipment is needed. Actually, nothing at all is needed. You
can do this kind of training anywhere, no matter the amount of space or
equipment available. You might have to get a bit creative, but hey,
that’s part of the challenge. Now there’s never an excuse for missing a
workout.
· It’s challenging. Who wants to keep with the same old boring workouts?
Incorporating
high intensity interval training into a fitness regime is not hard at
all. You get to pick and choose, and change your activities up. No two
workouts need to ever be the same again, if you don’t want them to be.
Try bursts of fast running, hard cycling, jumping rope, rowing, jumping
lunges, use weights, etc. Just get moving hard, then move slowly, then
repeat the whole cycle.
It is best the make sure that you work out your total body
in a HIT session. Of course full body movements are the best, such as
burpees or squat shoulder presses. But it is OK to incorporate this
into your running, or cycling program. Or mix one upper body with one
lower body movement. Rest and recover are an important part of HIT. You
will need it to get your heart right back up there again. It’s okay to
catch your breath in-between intense bursts, but don’t let yourself get
to full recovery before starting the next set.
If you are new HIT, take longer rest pause periods; and gradually reduced these as you improve. Be patient.
It is very important to warm up
properly before you commence your HIT workout. This warm up must
include thoroughly loosening up all your muscles as well as gradually
getting your heart rate up. The real HIT portion of your workout should
be between 15 and 25 minutes, maximum! And that includes all the pause
and breath periods between intervals. Also cool down for 6 to 8
minutes after the HIT portion. This is important as it will flush out
the high level of lactic acid built up in your muscles. Then stretch!
Like with any other workout, make sure you have a day of rest before you do it again.
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