Getting Started: Beginner Guide to HIIT Workouts

HIIT, most commonly known as High-Intensity Interval Training. If you want to lose some fats, this exercise is the right one for you. It is one of the most effective forms of exercise to burn calories and body fats in the fitness world.

Before you lay down those yoga mats and turn up the volume of your speakers, you need to know more about HIIT for you to curate the routine that is best for you and how it can benefit you personally.

What is HIIT?

It is a type of training exercise wherein you give your maximum effort at a certain period before taking a quick break. For example, a HIIT routine could consist in running on the treadmill at its highest level and run as fast as you can for 30 seconds, take a quick rest, then repeat the sequence over again.

The break in between allows you to put a high level of energy in the 30-second workout. Studies have shown that HIIT can burn significantly more calories and provide greater cardiovascular benefits in a much shorter time compared to several hours of cycling in burning fat. So even the busiest person can sneak in this exercise into their schedule. 

How do I try HIIT?

What’s good about HIIT is that you can do it in the comfort of your own living room, or at the park, or even at the gym. However, it would be better to have a high-intensity training instructor to guide you if you have more specific goals. It would be better to target the ideal length and intensity of the intervals, which the instructor can help you. 

This technique can be incorporated into any workout routines. You can start by warming up your body by being nice and gentle, followed by a short period of super hard effort. It could be running, pushups, jumping jacks, or jump squats, then give yourself a rest. It’s also possible to train with this method underwater, a completely different perspective on sports and physical activities. On this website, you can learn what underwater HIIT is all about and start working out in groups or on your own.

Repeat the interval process until you get to your desired end time. Typically, the optimal time for this kind of training is twenty to thirty minutes but can vary based on your personal fitness goal. Don’t forget to cool down. A simple walk may do, to prevent future muscle pain, fainting, and dizziness.

Why is HIIT so famous?

For you to successfully get all the benefits that HIIT offers, is to know a little bit of your anaerobic threshold and its difference with aerobics. 

Aerobics refers to moderate exercise like cycling that uses mostly some of your large muscle groups. Anaerobic exercise, on the other hand, is shorter in duration, but way intense like sprinting and makes use of your twitching muscles. It helps you burn calories, build lean muscle, lose fat, improve heart health, and increase efficiency. 

With all of that said, HIIT burns fat not only during the exercise but also several hours after you have completed the routine. In short, because your body cannot bring enough oxygen to your body because of the intense training. Your body uses the energy left in you to recuperate and go back to your normal state, which means calorie burning goes on. 

HIIT promises pretty impressive health benefits, but trying too much can be downhill bad for you. According to Spraul, when it comes to HIIT, “sometimes less is more”. Start in a slow-moving phase, don’t rush, listen to your body, take all the nutrition that you need, give yourself plenty of rest and recuperate so you can keep going strong.