Let’s HIIT It

I’ve always been drawn to clearly structured, fast-paced workouts. Lucky for me, these kinds of workouts have been trendy throughout the years and so there are plenty to choose from. One of the most recent of these trends are HIIT workouts; High Intensity Interval Training. There are a variety of health benefits, as well as social benefits that HIIT can provide, but many of these benefits can also be found through interval training and circuit training.

Okay, so what is HIIT? HIIT is repeated, extremely hard bouts of work broken up with moments of recovery. This form of training can boost levels of VO2 which increases in the body the amount of oxygen available for cardiovascular activity. Workouts will get easier while your body gets stronger in a well rounded manner. HIIT helps to maximize calorie burn in a minimal amount of time, it’s a great bang for your buck! It can help your body burn calories hours after your workout is over, and has been proven to do this better than weight training and jogging. It improves blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, muscle gain, and decreases blood pressure, overall body fat, heart rate and blood sugar. With the added bonus of always having modifications for movements that may be more difficult for some people, this is really an excellent overall workout.

Interval training can be a little less intense than its high intensity offspring. If you are already a runner, adding bursts of temporary accelerated speed can boast great benefits to your cardiovascular system. Similarly if you are a walker, you could add a quickened pace or light jog for a few houses or blocks during your walk. Even just adding a few minutes of increased speed to your regular routine can boost calorie burn and shorten the time it takes to complete your route. Interval training allows for a super efficient and effective workout without the need for equipment, though it is not limited to non-equipment workouts. Interval training can be done on stationary bikes, treadmills, with added weight, in group fitness classes, the principle is extremely universal. It’s alternating intense movement and less intense movement to increase your body’s overall endurance.

Circuit training tends to focus on strength, with a goal of building muscle and increasing cardiovascular health. Circuit training moves you through a series of weight exercise stations, where you spend approximately 90 seconds at each stop. Weight training has been proven to strengthen bones, aid sleep, improve posture, brighten mood, boost confidence, enhance balance, among a laundry list of other things. If building muscle mass is important to you, this is a great option for a quick effective workout genre. Cardio can of course be incorporated and will add more gains to your health, but you will see great results from the weight training alone.

Workout gear, running shoes and a yoga mat

Photo by Alexandra Tran on Unsplash

These three workout styles are very similar in nature, however knowing all three can increase your choices and your chances of finding the perfect exercise routine tailored to your lifestyle. You can run, squat, bench press, dance, spin, walk and more while incorporating bursts of different movements! All three offer a quick and efficient cardiovascular workout that can help improve your overall heart health, physical and mental well-being. If working out is your stress manager, or your half hour alone, or your day starter, or just part of your life, give these a try and see even more return on your investment.

by Catie Zimmerman

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