For many years, HIIT was one of the hidden secrets of the health and fitness industry reserved for elite athletes. With so many people trying to find out how to lose weight with more challenging and original methods, however, it has now become one of the most popular choices for gym members around the world.
Today we'll teach you the various styles of this form of exercise as well as explaining the various myths which surround it.
Walk into any fitness center and you are going to notice two very different groups of people who prefer two extremely different training methods. You'll have those who are at their happiest when they are left to their own devices on a treadmill for an hour or more, then you'll have those who think that approach sounds like hell. This group like to focus much more on resistance training instead.
The high intensity interval training formula is a middle ground between both ends of the scale which tends to appeal to members of either group.
It is rare that a particular training style provides two very different groups of fitness enthusiasts with equal benefits, but this does. Interval training has been proven to increase muscular hypertrophy, which is great for those looking to increase muscle mass. However, the fat loss benefits are equally as impressive so this style has truly universal appeal.
The main reason this type of training is so popular with those looking for the fat loss benefits it offers comes down to something called Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption, or E.P.O.C. for short. When you perform steady state cardiovascular activity you generally stop burning off calories at an increased rate the moment you finish your activity. With high intensity interval training, however, your body actually continues burning those calories at an increased rate for hours after you leave the gym, therefore increasing fat loss results.
Like any other type of training, however, there are numerous ways to perform it. Knowing which one best fits your overall goal will allow you to get superior results.
* The Tabata Method
* Interval training specific for sports.
* Weight loss workouts.
The first method, known as Tabata Interval Training, was designed by Professor Tabata during the 1990's. This theory was put forward to increase the fitness level of elite athletes so most people who perform this particular style are already very experienced in the gym and consider themselves to be at an advanced level of overall fitness.
The Tabata method originated from Japan and was able to increase the VO2 Max of a group of elite athletes by a shocking 28% in just a few weeks.
Minus the necessary warm-up and cool-down periods, Tabata's involve working out for just four minutes in total. However, don't let the short time fool you into thinking that this is going to be easy. These four minutes will push you harder than any other form of interval training in existence today. The four minutes are split up into sections of 20 seconds at maximal intensity and 10 seconds of recovery, repeated eight times over.
Sport specific interval workouts can be applied to those looking to train for a particular event or improve performance for a team game. One good example of this can be performed using a rowing machine. Row 500 meters as fast as possible then perform push-ups for thirty seconds. Repeat this cycle five times and you have a great muscle building high intensity circuit class.
The fat loss method is easily the most popular variation, however. If you are looking to use this workout style to increase your fat loss then you should pay particular attention to a recent study from scientists in Canada. They found that the optimal workout length was half and hour, consisting of a time split of 4 minutes moderate work followed by 30 seconds of maximum effort.
So you can now clearly see that there are multiple benefits to performing high intensity interval training. No matter if your fitness goal is build muscle or lose body fat, there are a number of rewards waiting for those who have the determination to push themselves through this type of workout.
While HIIT is now a very popular choice among exercise enthusiasts around the world, it remains clouded in mystery thanks to the many various styles within it's category. As you can see from the three we have took you through today, it isn't rocket science. There are countless gym members out there who have been trying to figure out how to lose weight without spending endless hours on equipment they don't particularly enjoy. Thanks to this training style, now they can.
Today we'll teach you the various styles of this form of exercise as well as explaining the various myths which surround it.
Walk into any fitness center and you are going to notice two very different groups of people who prefer two extremely different training methods. You'll have those who are at their happiest when they are left to their own devices on a treadmill for an hour or more, then you'll have those who think that approach sounds like hell. This group like to focus much more on resistance training instead.
The high intensity interval training formula is a middle ground between both ends of the scale which tends to appeal to members of either group.
It is rare that a particular training style provides two very different groups of fitness enthusiasts with equal benefits, but this does. Interval training has been proven to increase muscular hypertrophy, which is great for those looking to increase muscle mass. However, the fat loss benefits are equally as impressive so this style has truly universal appeal.
The main reason this type of training is so popular with those looking for the fat loss benefits it offers comes down to something called Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption, or E.P.O.C. for short. When you perform steady state cardiovascular activity you generally stop burning off calories at an increased rate the moment you finish your activity. With high intensity interval training, however, your body actually continues burning those calories at an increased rate for hours after you leave the gym, therefore increasing fat loss results.
Like any other type of training, however, there are numerous ways to perform it. Knowing which one best fits your overall goal will allow you to get superior results.
* The Tabata Method
* Interval training specific for sports.
* Weight loss workouts.
The first method, known as Tabata Interval Training, was designed by Professor Tabata during the 1990's. This theory was put forward to increase the fitness level of elite athletes so most people who perform this particular style are already very experienced in the gym and consider themselves to be at an advanced level of overall fitness.
The Tabata method originated from Japan and was able to increase the VO2 Max of a group of elite athletes by a shocking 28% in just a few weeks.
Minus the necessary warm-up and cool-down periods, Tabata's involve working out for just four minutes in total. However, don't let the short time fool you into thinking that this is going to be easy. These four minutes will push you harder than any other form of interval training in existence today. The four minutes are split up into sections of 20 seconds at maximal intensity and 10 seconds of recovery, repeated eight times over.
Sport specific interval workouts can be applied to those looking to train for a particular event or improve performance for a team game. One good example of this can be performed using a rowing machine. Row 500 meters as fast as possible then perform push-ups for thirty seconds. Repeat this cycle five times and you have a great muscle building high intensity circuit class.
The fat loss method is easily the most popular variation, however. If you are looking to use this workout style to increase your fat loss then you should pay particular attention to a recent study from scientists in Canada. They found that the optimal workout length was half and hour, consisting of a time split of 4 minutes moderate work followed by 30 seconds of maximum effort.
So you can now clearly see that there are multiple benefits to performing high intensity interval training. No matter if your fitness goal is build muscle or lose body fat, there are a number of rewards waiting for those who have the determination to push themselves through this type of workout.
While HIIT is now a very popular choice among exercise enthusiasts around the world, it remains clouded in mystery thanks to the many various styles within it's category. As you can see from the three we have took you through today, it isn't rocket science. There are countless gym members out there who have been trying to figure out how to lose weight without spending endless hours on equipment they don't particularly enjoy. Thanks to this training style, now they can.
About the Author:
Writer: Russ Howe PTI is the UK's most followed fitness instructor. He reglarly teaches gym members how to lose weight and introduced many to hiit sessions on a daily basis.
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