HIIT & Weight Loss

INTERVAL TRAINING for WEIGHT LOSS & FITNESS

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If you want to up your game, High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is an exercise strategy that will improve your performance. HIIT is fantastic for anyone wanting to lose weight, including those who have been working out and have seen little/ no results or those pressed for time and want to achieve a lot in a short space of time. If you're looking for ripped abs and toned arms, interval training can help get you there - especially if you throw in some weight training sessions. If there is such a thing as a magic bullet for weight loss, then HIIT probably comes closest to it! If your current "steady-state" aerobic exercise regime isn't working for you, it is probably worthwhile to try HIIT.

HIIT improves performance through short exercise sessions and involves alternating short, fast bursts of intensive exercise with slow, easy activity.  An HIIT session involves a warm-up interval, followed by several short, maximum-intensity efforts separated by moderate recovery intervals, and finally a cool-down interval.

Studies have shown this method to be more effective at burning fat and maintaining muscle mass than long periods of lower intensity aerobic workouts. Some studies state that HIIT burns 9x more fat than traditional cardiovascular exercise. HIIT burns a lot of calories during the workout, but where it differs from traditional cardiovascular exercise it that your metabolism stays elevated for up to 24 hours afterwards! This means that you keep burning calories after you have finished exercising.

Researchers at an Australian University found people who cycled for 40 minutes at a steady pace lost an average of two pounds. A second group cycled just 20 minutes, but alternated between 8 second sprints and 12 seconds of slower riding. They lost an average of six pounds.

However, if you can complete only a short HIIT workout, it may be that you are better off with moderately high intensity cardio that you can sustain steadily for a long time period.

The major benefits of HIIT are:

1. Burn more calories
2. Metabolism stays high AFTER workout
3. Fat burning increases
4. Shorter workouts
5. Increases power
6. Increases speed
7. Increases endurance

The key to HIIT is that it does not allow your body to get used to what you are doing, i.e. by changing your pace and pushing yourself through each interval. No matter what your fitness goals are, HIIT can be one of the best methods to help you achieve them.

The variations of HIIT are infinite. You can adjust the training parameters (e.g. ratio of exercise to rest, number of intervals) to make the workouts harder or easier. Generally longer intervals provide better results. The four parameters you can manipulate when designing your interval-training program are:

• Intensity (i.e. speed) of work interval
• Duration (i.e. distance or time) of work interval
• Duration of rest/ recovery interval
• Number of repetitions of each interval

You can also use any type of exercise for your training, including cycling, sprinting, any cardio machine (stationary bike, cross-trainer, treadmill, stair-master, elliptical trainer) hula hoping and jump rope.

When getting started with interval training remember:

• Warm up before you start.

• Assess your current fitness and set training goals within your ability.

• Start slowly. (E.g. walk 2 minutes/ run 2 minutes).

• Keep a steady, but challenging pace throughout the interval.

• Increase the number of repetitions over time.

• Bring your heart rate down to 100-110 bpm during the rest interval.

• To improve, increase intensity or duration, but not both simultaneously.

• Make any changes slowly over a period of time.

• Circuit training as a form of interval training.

• HIIT should last 12 – 20 minutes (does not include warm-up and cool down)

• If you have a heart rate monitor - great. If not, as you can see from the table below, it is easy enough to use the RPE (rating of perceived exertion) scale. It is probably easier for beginners to start by using this scale and if necessary you add the use of a heart rate monitor later.

HIIT is a difficult and challenging workout. If you have been leading a sedentary lifestyle it is best to start with a moderate activity over longer periods of time. HIIT is a great technique for those who get bored easily and are already active or those who have reached a fat loss plateau.

The best way to use this method of exercising is to mix it up with traditional cardio. As with embarking on any exercise program, it is advisable to clear it with your doctor first.

You need to design your HIIT program around your own fitness level. You need to know your target heart rate (THR)/ training zones or understand the rating of perceived exertion (RPE). The table shows an example:

For an article written relatively recently in the LA Times about HIIT click here.

"And a study published in December in the Journal of Applied Physiology and conducted by a team at Canada's University of Guelph found that just two weeks of alternate-day interval training increased moderately active 22-year-old women's fat-burning ability by 36%."  (excerpt from the article).

Sprint 8, the centerpiece of the book "Ready Set Go! Synergy Fitness," by Phil Campbell, has a growing list of believers. Gary Green, 45, a Web-based businessman from Tustin, says he halved his workout time and cycled off 25 pounds since switching to the program in August. Internet marketer Robert Burns of San Diego, 43, says he lost 25 pounds since May doing three swimming or running Sprint 8 workouts a week. "I feel younger and get faster and faster every day," he said.

"Sprint 8", is a 20-minute aerobic session that includes eight 30-second, intense 8-mph sprints.

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