To HIIT or Not to HIIT: The Reality of High Intensity Interval Training
What comes to mind when you hear the phrase High Intensity Interval Training? Some of you may be having flashbacks of sweating profusely and gasping for air. Others may be having fond memories of getting in a good workout with a small group of friends. Many of you may not even have a full understanding of what HIIT actually is. Regardless of your experience, or inexperience, with High Intensity Interval Training, the goal of this blog is to educate you on this principle and help you apply it to your workout routine.
There are many great benefits associated with High Intensity Interval Training, to include increased fat loss and improved metabolic function. When implemented properly it can be an AMAZING tool to include into your training regimen. However that’s the issue, many people misuse this awesome tool causing it to be more harmful than effective. With that being said, I would like to make it clear that I am in no way bashing HIIT, but merely bringing light to its misapplication.
So lets take a deeper dive into this concept. For starters, what exactly is it? High Intensity Interval Training is a training technique in which you alternate between highly intense bouts of exercise, followed by a short recovery period. A simple example of this would be doing a set of burpees for 40 seconds followed by a resting period of 20 seconds and then completing this for 3 to 5 sets. Another example (in which the recovery period includes an active component) would be sprinting up a flight of stairs and then walking back down to the bottom before taking off to the top again. Remember these are very basic examples of HIIT, as it can get much more complex than this. However, the key to making it effective is to give an all out 100% effort during your periods of high intensity. Like anything in life, if you want maximum benefits you’re going to have to put in maximum effort. So make sure to give it everything you got!
Now that we have the basic concept down, you’re probably wondering how to apply it to your personal routine. Well, it ultimately boils down to you. If you are a beginner I wouldn’t recommend doing an entire HIIT workout right out of the gate, especially without the supervision of a trainer or coach. This is the fastest way to leave you feeling burned out or injured, but probably both. I would say that the best way for beginners to incorporate HIIT is to use it as a “finisher” at the conclusion of a strength training session. In this scenario the HIIT portion of the workout should be no longer than 5 – 10 minutes as that’s all you need to kick your butt, especially if you did your due diligence with the weights. An example of this would be doing medicine ball slams or battle ropes for 30 seconds on/30 seconds off for 3 to 5 sets. If you are an intermediate or advanced exerciser you have a little bit more wiggle room on how you can incorporate it.
Right about now you may be wondering, how is it that people misuse HIIT? Well I’m going to give you two reasons and the first lies within the last paragraph and I’ll explain below:
Reason #1: People perform HIIT exercises/workouts that are beyond their level of training experience, which by now I’m sure you can guess what this leads to: burn out and injury. HIIT is a concept that can very easily lead to overtraining if not programmed properly. From my experience overtraining is one of the Top 5 “Goal Killers”. This essentially means that if you were looking for a way to NOT accomplish your goals, overtraining is one of the best ways to do so.
Now onto reason #2, which I would argue is the bigger issue and here’s why:
Reason #2: A lot of people lack the basic level of foundational strength that enables HIIT to be an effective training tool. No matter what you do in life, whether you are an accountant, an athlete, or an astronaut you NEED a basic level of foundational strength to be fit, healthy, and resilient against pain and injuries. No question about it, strength should be your #1 priority when it comes to your training regimen. With that being said, a comprehensive strength training program should be your main focus and HIIT should be added as supplementary work. Now I get it, HIIT is fun and sexy and all the cool kids are doing it but before you get lost in what looks good, make sure you are setting yourself up for long term success and the best way to do that is to prioritize developing a solid strength base first.
I hope this blog didn’t discourage any of you from incorporating High Intensity Interval Training into your current workout routines because you absolutely should be including it; you just have to make sure to program it correctly. When you are working on implementing HIIT remember it is not the “end-all be-all”, which many people think; it is simply a small cog in the large wheel of fitness!
If you’re still unsure of how you can incorporate it into your current program, or if you don’t have a program at all, I encourage you to shoot me a message using this link, https://www.eternalhealthandfitness.com/contact so we can start working towards your goals together!