Let’s be honest. We’re all busy. Taking the time to exercise isn’t always a priority. However, if you have between 10-30 minutes a day, three times a week, you’ll reap the benefits of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).
Best of all, you can do your High Intensity Interval Training at your own pace at home, in a park, at the beach, or wherever you like because you don’t need any gym equipment. It’s why High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is so popular at ASHFIT and across the world. Thanks to HIIT training, millennials, mums, dads, retirees, and others are all improving their fitness, flexibility, and lives.
Perfect for those of us who are time-poor, High Intensity Interval exercises will
- Fire up your metabolism
- Slow down your aging process
- Burn more calories
- Build muscle
- Help you lose weight
- Aid in lowering blood pressure
- Improve your endurance
- And much more, resulting in a more flexible, healthier and happy you in mind, body and soul!
High Intensity Interval Training Science
Few forms of exercise have been as highly researched or publicized in recent years as High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT.
According to The American College of Sports Medicine, it was the number 1 fitness trend of 2018 but has been in the top 5 since 2014 when it first hit the top spot. According to ACSM, high-intensity interval training is a group of exercises performed at 80% – 95% of your maximum heart rate; short bursts of intensive movements lasting anywhere from 5 seconds to 8 minutes.
Intervals are alternated with typically more extended periods of rest or active rest performed at 40-50% of Max heart rate.
Generally, the shorter the interval, the higher the intensity and the heart rate, depending on your fitness level. So, for up to 24 hours after your High Intensity Interval workout (HIIT) session, you’ll still be burning more fat and calories than doing a traditional run.
Why Do HIIT Workouts?
HIIT workouts are highly adaptable to all levels of fitness. They improve your cardiovascular health, cholesterol profiles, and insulin sensitivity, which helps stabilize blood sugar levels and control diabetes.
HIIT is also, and most importantly, proven to reduce FAT- both abdominal and deep visceral- while maintaining muscle mass and even increasing muscle mass in less active individuals.
Can High Intensity Interval Exercising Slow the Aging Process?
According to a study in Cell Metabolism in 2017, HIIT effectively halts aging at the cellular level by increasing the production of proteins for the mitochondria, your cells’ energy-releasing system, which would otherwise deteriorate over time.
Without delving too deeply into the biological processes involved during a HIIT session, suffice to say every system in your body is working overtime and at maximum efficiency. The effects on your anaerobic system, while your body is trying to recover, can be up to 15% more with HIIT than continuous exercise.
Lactic acid, hydrogen ions and hormones such as adrenaline all need to be cleared after a HIIT session which increases workload following the training, which is why you can reap the added benefits of fat burning long after your HIIT workout has finished.
The increased workload after a HIIT session is one reason why high intensity workouts should only be performed about three times a week.
Replenishing glycogen stores after a HIIT workout is also crucial to help with the recovery process. This gives your body plenty of time to recover. Some high-quality carbohydrates, such as a bowl of oatmeal with bananas and strawberries, are perfect after HIIT workout meals.
Who Can Do High Intensity Interval Training?
HIIT training can be done by mums, dads, and almost anyone because you control the intensity. You can do it at home, in your local park on the beach, wherever you like, and no gym equipment is required.
If you are new to HIIT exercising, just start small. Start with three sessions a week for 10 – 15 minutes each. Make sure you warm up first and avoid going too hard too fast on the intensity level. The end goal is to increase your heart to burn the fat continuously, become more flexible and be a fitter and healthier you, not injure yourself.
Different Intensity’s for Different Fitness Levels!
As an online personal trainer and nutrition coach for 20+ years, working with women and other clients worldwide, I understand it is tempting to do the same HIIT workouts you see people on YouTube or gyms doing. But don’t.
Many of these people are professional athletes that have been doing High Intensity Interval Training for years and are at a much higher fitness level than most. Take your time, start small, don’t overexert yourself, and enjoy your recovery days. This is the best way to avoid injury and get real gains at your own pace with HIIT exercising. From there, start increasing the intensity of your High Intensity Interval Training sessions.
If you do five push-ups in your HIIT training workouts for the first few weeks, take it up a notch and start doing six or seven push-ups once you’ve got a few runs on the board. Small steps deliver BIG gains!
“Not feeling like I was in great shape, I was always nervous to try HIIT workouts, thinking they would be too hard, but really what it’s about is working to your capacity and slowly improving your fitness over time. Now I can take on anything Ash throws at me.”
Victoria Farber, Member of ASHFIT HIIT.
Conclusion
With health benefits that surpass most other forms of working out coupled with the bonus of the workouts taking half the time to complete and a steady fat burn well after your HIIT workout, this form of exercise should be high on your list of exercise routines for a healthy mind, body, and soul. Of course, any medical concerns or conditions should always be discussed with your doctor first, and if you have any questions, please contact Ash.
About ASHFIT
ASHFIT on the Gold Coast of Australia is a leader in providing online personal training programs for people all over the globe. Our programs include High-Intensity Training, Nutrition Programs, and women-specific programs for moms looking to get rid of their post-partum mid separation who want to focus on weight training.
We’re also all about giving and sharing, so if you’d like to try an online High Intensity Interval Training session, FREE, get on over our website at www.ashfit.com and start today.
Until next time, Ash and the team, ASHFIT, Gold Coast Queensland, Australia
