HIIT Training and the 30 Second Workout

HIIT -- HIGH INTENSITY INTERVALS

 

Why HIIT?

HIIT is excellent for:

• losing body fat (while retaining lean body mass)
• strengthening the cardiovascular system
• developing sport-specific energy systems (e.g. training for football, volleyball, etc.)
• developing “work capacity” (i.e. the ability to tolerate a high level of intensity for a longer period)
• improving fat and carbohydrate oxidation in skeletal muscle
• developing “mental toughness”
• making you a "badass"
• challenging the fast twitch muscle fibres - the fibres that are great for strength, power and looking buff

With HIIT, you alternate short bursts of very intense exercise (such as 10-20 sec of sprinting) with periods of lower intensity (such as 1 min of walking). The higher intensity periods create a metabolic demand that is very effective for long-term fat loss and overall conditioning. The lower intensity periods let you recover and use the aerobic energy system.

The 30 Second workout is the ideal place to start with interval training. Most interval workouts start with 30 Second workouts. If you are beginner please make sure that you stretch, warm up and warm down properly for every workout.

If you are aiming at training above your lactate threshold you need to go fast enough to feel that the last few seconds feel almost impossible to keep running. Everything in your body should be burning. If you are fit and are not getting to this point in the sprint intervals, don’t save yourself for later, give it all up front, go harder and then try and survive through the rest of the workout. 

Start this with 6 intervals and gradually migrate to 12. Rest periods also come down from 90 seconds to 30 seconds. Also, remember to warm up and cool down properly.

By: Iron Mike Stone