HIIT... Is the Craze Justified?
HIIT, high intensity interval training has been all the rage recently. You'd be pretty hard pressed to find a gym these days that does not provide some type of HIIT offering on their roster of classes. Despite the recent hype, interval training has been used as early as the 1920's with Finnish Olympic long distance runner Hannes Kolehmainen who utilized it as a part of his regime. So what’s all the craze about and is it justified?
What is HIIT?
High intensity interval training involves pairing short bouts of intense activity with an equally short bout of rest or low intensity activity. There are currently no best practice guidelines on the most effective intervals, however research does suggest anywhere between 15secs through to 2-3mins will give the required training effect. Programming intervals is not the only requirement though, the work period must be strenuous enough to utilize specific energy pathways in our bodies, namely our anaerobic pathways to produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is your body's fuel that is used for muscular activity, in the absence of oxygen. Interval training is normally done at 85-90% of maximum heart rate.
This environment also creates the 'Afterburn' effect which is defined as EPOC, excess post exercise oxygen consumption. It is the amount of oxygen required to restore your body to it's normal, resting level of metabolic function (called homeostasis). It also explains how your body can continue to burn more calories than at rest long after you’ve finished your workout. Similar to how a car’s engine remains warm after being turned off, once a workout is over and you’re back in your daily routine, your body’s metabolism can continue to burn more calories than when at complete rest.
So, is it right for you? Basically HIIT has been shown improve the performance of competitive athletes, improve the health of recreational gym goers as well as display similar benefits to continuous-endurance training (aerobic) in fewer workouts and durations. It is for you if:
You are time poor and do not have enough time for longer bouts of exercise
You are easily bored with continuous, repetitive movement such as that of cardio/aerobic training
You are an athlete looking to improve speed and power
You are actively trying to lose weight – due to the afterburn effect as well as increases in epinephrine and norepinephrine during HIIT
You want to build more muscular strength (and you do not do regular resistance training)
At FLYE, we utilize HIIT through Tabata style training (20secs on, 10secs off for 12-16 rounds) in order to provide you with the benefits of both aerobic and anaerobic training. That's one killa workout for ya!
Source: https://www.bistromd.com/exercise/the-difference-between-aerobic-and-anaerobic-exercises
Source: Arney Blaine, Foster Carl, Porcari John "EPOC. Is it real? Does it matter?" ACSM Health and Fitness Journal. Vol. 23 (4). Pp. 9