High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
Introduction:
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) , as its name suggests, involves alternating short bursts of high-intensity exercise with recovery periods or light exercise (1).
If you lack the time or motivation for exercise, HIIT may be an interesting and attractive alternative for you.
Including HIIT in a training programme can provide numerous health-enhancing benefits, not just for athletes but also for ordinary people or patients.
Benefits of HIIT:
Increased cardiorespiratory fitness -Compared with Moderate-intensity-continuous-training(MICT) , training with HIIT at a high intensity is superior in improving cardiopulmonary fitness (2), which reduces the risk of morbidity.
Enhance Aerobic performance - Studies have shown that long term HIIT trainings will increase one's aerobic capacity and glycogen store (3). If you incorporate HIIT in your training protocols and train on a regular basis, it would certainly enhance your aerobic performance!
Boosted metabolism and fat burn -The post-exercise recovery period is associated with an elevated metabolism known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). Studies have shown that HIIT produces significantly higher EPOC compared with traditional exercises. (4)
Follow our workouts!
References:
Gillen JB, Gibala MJ. Is high-intensity interval training a time-efficient exercise strategy to improve health and fitness?Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab.2014; 39: 409–412.
Harrison et al., 2015a; Fernandez-Fernandez et al., 2017
de Araujo GG, Papoti M, dos Reis IGM, de Mello MAR and Gobatto CA (2016) Short and Long Term Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training on Hormones, Metabolites, Antioxidant System, Glycogen Concentration, and Aerobic Performance Adaptations in Rats. Front. Physiol. 7:505.
Moniz, SC, Islam, H, Hazell, TJ. Mechanistic and methodological perspectives on the impact of intense interval training on post-exercise metabolism. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2020; 30: 638– 651.
Comments