Regular exercise and proper diet is what will melt extra fat away. Choosing proper diet is very important as this is the easiest way to control daily calorie intake.
With proper exercise, on the other hand, you can achieve similar results and this is where HIIT (high-intensity interval training) comes into play.
Is HIIT effective with weight loss? Yes, for the most part.
Introduction to high-intensity interval training (HIIT)
High-intensity interval training, abbreviated as “HIIT”, is the combination of high-intensity exercise for a set period followed by short recovery exercise for a set period to trigger lactate formation.
This training is effective simply because it’s a stop-start pattern of workout exercises that enables your body to recuperate quickly and become accustomed between your high-intensity bursts. This exercise is popular given the fact that it improves strenght, agility, stamina, and coordination.
HIIT workouts often involve quick multi-directional moves, sprints or other forms of exercise that increases heart rate very quickly. The sessions can last between 4 and 30 minutes with periodic high intensity and low intensity workouts. With high intensity workouts you are required to put in maximum effort.
Now let us look at the pros and cons of HIIT exercise.
Pros of high-intensity interval training
High-intensity interval training allows your body to train faster and harder for longer periods by improving your aerobic and anaerobic capacity.
Moreover, this exercise improves the form and economy of your running while boosting your mind-body through coordination. From the athlete’s point of view, this training enhances strength, power, and speed whereas the bodybuilders use high-intensity interval training to build more muscle mass.
Additionally, this training activates telomerase an anti-aging enzyme that increases life expectancy and physical activity. It remains that HIIT can boost your endurance along with your overall health, thus helping fuel your body and brain.
This kind of exercise lowers blood glucose levels by improving adipose along with liver insulin sensitivity, hence is efficient at burning subcutaneous fat and abdominal fat. Furthermore, this workout promotes increase of muscular along with cardiovascular strength while enjoying a bit of fat loss at the same time.
In adition to all mentioned above, HIIT training has been shown to improve:
• blood pressure
• insulin sensitivity
• cholesterol levels
Cons of high-intensity interval training
There are some downfalls of high-intensity interval training.
HIIT workout is not suitable for every individual because of its intensity that requires a basic level of fitness to take part. Therefore, it can leave your muscles feeling sore because you’re working at a such a high intensity that can end up damaging your muscles.
It is not recommended to perform HIIT exercise more than 3 times per week. Each HIIT session should be followed by a 1 days rest.
An example of HIIT workout session
A very simple example of a HIIT workout session would be the following:
- Streching (5 minutes)
- Warm up (10 minutes of slow jogging)
- 1 session of all-out sprint (45 seconds). Check your heart rate zones.
- 1 session of slow jogging (30 seconds)
- Repeat steps 3. and 4. for 8 iterations
- Streching (5 minutes)
When creating your own HIIT workout follow a simple zig-zag pattern of high intensity vs low intensity interval exercises.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the end results of this training are beyond doubt amazing, and it’s intended to raise your heart rate with periods of vigorous exercise. The key is to develop a blend of high and low-intensity cardiovascular training, tailored to your body and your fitness goals. Therefore, a better approach is to periodize your workouts and train in blocks.
