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Written by Courteney
Posted on August 8, 2016 at 4:31 pm
High intensity interval training (HIIT) is taking off as of late as a favored exercise method. It combines low-to-moderate activity intervals with high intensity ones. HIIT also allows people to work as their own personal trainer, incorporating a variety of different exercise moves into each workout.
HIIT consists of very quick bursts of intense exercise, usually between 20 seconds to 2 minutes, followed by a short 10 second to 1-minute recovery period that is slower-paced, or sometimes even stationary. This activity pattern is often repeated for 20-45 minutes.
Yes, very. Because HIIT keeps your heartrate up while kicking your metabolic rate into overdrive, your body will be burning calories long after the workout has ended. If executed correctly, HIIT can actually burn more fat in less time than many other straight-cardio workouts.
Herein lies the true beauty of HIIT, nearly anyone can do it because it is 100% modifiable. If you have exercise induced asthma, arthritis or another mobility impairment, you can stick to more conservative exercises within your range of ability for the high intensity portions that still keep the heartrate up enough to make the exercise beneficial. Conversely, if you have no physical limitations, you can go full-on-pro-athlete during the intensity intervals!
You can basically work any moves into HIIT, which is another perk. Some of the popular intensity moves are:
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, some benefits of HIIT include:
One last benefit of HIIT is the convenience. It is a workout that can be completed in as little as 20-30 minutes, which is an amount of time that almost anyone can spare daily. It also can be done anywhere; you don’t need a pricey gym membership to get fit with HIIT! So why not give it a try today? Thanks for visiting DocChat!