If you ask any fitness instructor for tips on how to lose weight you will likely find HIIT among the suggestions. But what is high intensity interval training and who should be performing it?
There are a few different ways to perform this particular style of exercise and today we'll teach you how to single out the method which best suits your personal goals.
If you visit any gym around the world you will find two distinctly different types of people working out. Firstly, you will meet those who are happy to spend up to an hour working out at a steady pace on an exercise bike. Secondly, you'll meet those who deem cardiovascular exercise to be too boring and therefore they ignore it and train with weights instead.
High intensity interval training provides both groups with a stepping stone between their respective styles, offering the benefits of both methods in one workout.
What type of person should be using this training method? It may surprise you to hear that both sets of people would get results. While your body is able to increase it's ability to shed unwanted fat at a quicker rate than regular cardiovascular activity, studies also show an increase in our ability to build lean muscle.
The main reason this type of training is so popular with those looking for the fat loss benefits it offers comes down to something called Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption, or E.P.O.C. for short. When you perform steady state cardiovascular activity you generally stop burning off calories at an increased rate the moment you finish your activity. With high intensity interval training, however, your body actually continues burning those calories at an increased rate for hours after you leave the gym, therefore increasing fat loss results.
There are several variations on this style of training, so below we'll explain a few of the most established styles for you and you can apply the one you find fits your goals.
* Tabata Interval Training.
* The Sport Specific Method
* Interval training specifically to reduce body fat.
Tabata's were developed in the 1990's and involve possibly the shortest, yet hardest, interval workout of all time. This was designed with elite athletes in mind so if you are new to the gym you may want to hold off on this concept for a while.
The Tabata method originated from Japan and was able to increase the VO2 Max of a group of elite athletes by a shocking 28% in just a few weeks.
It consists of performing an interval session which runs a total of just four minutes. Load up on a bike, set the timer for four minutes and spend twenty seconds at maximum intensity followed by ten seconds recovery. Keep repeating this cycle until the timer runs out and that's one session. Naturally, most people are not at a sufficient level of fitness to get the most out of this type of workout.
If you are training for a particular sporting event, the second type of interval training is perhaps more suited to your personal needs. Incorporating your sporting movements into a cardiovascular exercise then switching to an exercise which works the opposing muscle groups is a great way to boost overall performance. For instance, eight circuits consisting of 300 meters on a rowing machine followed by 30 seconds of push-ups.
Finally, there are numerous people who are looking to use this training method to lose body fat. The method which has the most scientific research to support it comes from Canada. A thirty minute session which consisted of four minutes at a moderate intensity followed by a thirty second burst of maximal intensity returned superior results to any other time split.
The physical benefits of performing high intensity interval training are clear to see. Thanks to the several variations available you can make the most of this training style whether you are trying to build lean muscle or trying to shed unwanted body fat.
Science has changed a lot of aspects of the health and fitness industry over the years and this is just one change which has been widely accepted. If you are stuck in the old routine of performing long, steady state cardio sessions and would like to learn how to lose weight with a bit more of a challenge each time you hit the gym, we highly recommend adopting HIIT into your training routine immediately.
There are a few different ways to perform this particular style of exercise and today we'll teach you how to single out the method which best suits your personal goals.
If you visit any gym around the world you will find two distinctly different types of people working out. Firstly, you will meet those who are happy to spend up to an hour working out at a steady pace on an exercise bike. Secondly, you'll meet those who deem cardiovascular exercise to be too boring and therefore they ignore it and train with weights instead.
High intensity interval training provides both groups with a stepping stone between their respective styles, offering the benefits of both methods in one workout.
What type of person should be using this training method? It may surprise you to hear that both sets of people would get results. While your body is able to increase it's ability to shed unwanted fat at a quicker rate than regular cardiovascular activity, studies also show an increase in our ability to build lean muscle.
The main reason this type of training is so popular with those looking for the fat loss benefits it offers comes down to something called Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption, or E.P.O.C. for short. When you perform steady state cardiovascular activity you generally stop burning off calories at an increased rate the moment you finish your activity. With high intensity interval training, however, your body actually continues burning those calories at an increased rate for hours after you leave the gym, therefore increasing fat loss results.
There are several variations on this style of training, so below we'll explain a few of the most established styles for you and you can apply the one you find fits your goals.
* Tabata Interval Training.
* The Sport Specific Method
* Interval training specifically to reduce body fat.
Tabata's were developed in the 1990's and involve possibly the shortest, yet hardest, interval workout of all time. This was designed with elite athletes in mind so if you are new to the gym you may want to hold off on this concept for a while.
The Tabata method originated from Japan and was able to increase the VO2 Max of a group of elite athletes by a shocking 28% in just a few weeks.
It consists of performing an interval session which runs a total of just four minutes. Load up on a bike, set the timer for four minutes and spend twenty seconds at maximum intensity followed by ten seconds recovery. Keep repeating this cycle until the timer runs out and that's one session. Naturally, most people are not at a sufficient level of fitness to get the most out of this type of workout.
If you are training for a particular sporting event, the second type of interval training is perhaps more suited to your personal needs. Incorporating your sporting movements into a cardiovascular exercise then switching to an exercise which works the opposing muscle groups is a great way to boost overall performance. For instance, eight circuits consisting of 300 meters on a rowing machine followed by 30 seconds of push-ups.
Finally, there are numerous people who are looking to use this training method to lose body fat. The method which has the most scientific research to support it comes from Canada. A thirty minute session which consisted of four minutes at a moderate intensity followed by a thirty second burst of maximal intensity returned superior results to any other time split.
The physical benefits of performing high intensity interval training are clear to see. Thanks to the several variations available you can make the most of this training style whether you are trying to build lean muscle or trying to shed unwanted body fat.
Science has changed a lot of aspects of the health and fitness industry over the years and this is just one change which has been widely accepted. If you are stuck in the old routine of performing long, steady state cardio sessions and would like to learn how to lose weight with a bit more of a challenge each time you hit the gym, we highly recommend adopting HIIT into your training routine immediately.
About the Author:
Publisher: Be sure to get your free video to effective hiit workouts. Russ Howe PTI is the UK's most popular personal trainer, teaching countless gym members how to lose weight via the worldwide web for free.
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