Benefits of HIIT Training

If you’re struggling to get your workouts in, high intensity interval training may just be the right fit for you! It involves intense periods of work with brief periods of rest. There are many benefits to doing high intensity interval training.

Here are 6 benefits:

1. Saves time. Instead of doing 45 minutes of steady state cardio you can just do 15 minutes of HIIT. Since the workouts are more intense, you get the job done faster. This is great for those with busy schedules who struggle to fit time into their schedule for a workout.
2. Can easily mix things up and keep it fun. There are so many ways to do HIIT; sprints, kettle bell swings, box jumps, or jumping jacks. The list is endless, making this workout more exciting than just running on the treadmill for an hour.
3. People stick with it. Since the workouts are easy to fit into your schedule and fun, people are more likely to stick with HIIT workouts. Furthermore, since workouts don’t require you to go to the gym, it’s extremely convenient to do on your own.
4. Improved VO2max. VO2max is how much oxygen your body uses during workouts. The better your VO2max, the longer and harder you can work out and the healthier you are. HIIT is a great way to improve VO2max and improve your body’s efficiency when taking in oxygen.
5. No equipment needed. HIIT doesn’t require any equipment making it convenient to do right in your living room. You could even go to the park to run some sprints and that would be HIIT.
6. Helps burn fat. HIIT burns more fat than steady state cardio. Studies have shown that it improves mitochondrial use as fat for fuel. This means when you do HIIT, your body is burning fat.

There are different types of HIIT such as EMOM (every minute on the minute). In these workouts you have a set number of a workout to do such as 20 kettlebell swings. You do them as fast as you can before the minute is up and are able to rest for the remainder of the minute. After the minute is up you move on to your next exercise and repeat the process.

Another type of HIIT is tabata. This is where you work out for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds. You don’t have to follow an EMOM or tabata workout for HIIT. You can do any workout intensely for a certain amount of time with rest. You could run, bike, lift, or swim. The possibilities are endless when it comes to HIIT. With all of these benefits you’ll want to try fitting HIIT into your workout routine.