Who doesn’t know about the importance of physical activity? The more active your body is, the better it is for your health. A sedentary lifestyle has been known to be an active contribution to health complications during the later years of life. Stroke, diabetes, and high blood pressure are almost guaranteed if you do not engage in regular exercise. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that you exercise for at least 150 minutes of normal physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity every week. However, many individuals are unable to get even close to this.
Today, in the modern world it’s quite difficult to get the chance for most working individuals to invest time in working out. Most of the individuals have excuses for not partaking in physical exercise even though they can. The smartphones and other technology-based gadgets have a lot to do with this. If you do not have a physically engaging job, then you will most probably be leading a sedentary lifestyle. If this is the case, you must know that the situation is quite alarming and you need to buy a workout shirt and begin working out right away. Not immediately, excuse the urgency in my tone, but you need to steadily start undertaking the measures to do so!
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Hiit – High-Intensity Interval Training
High-intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is also known as High-intensity Intermittent Exercise (HIIE). HIIT involves alternating exercises for 30 minutes often or until a person is too exhausted to continue. The practice revolves around the concept of internal training and focuses on cardiovascular exercises. HIIT comes with varying intensity levels.
Beginners may be able to engage in a HIIT regime for only 10 minutes or so in the beginning. Therefore, the range of engaging in a HIIT exercise is normally from 10 to 30 minutes. Intense exercise is usually alternated with easy exercise periods. The low-intensity exercise periods allow for the body to recover and then get ready for another burst of intensive exercise. Even though this exercise comes with a lot of resting time owing to the low-intensity exercise that aids to recover the stamina, the benefits enjoyed by athletes by engaging in this regime are profound. In fact, the benefits are almost similar to engaging in moderate-intensity exercise.
An important thing to note is that HIIT workouts require a lot of dedication and motivation from the subject engaging in the regime. Therefore, even for individuals with similar physical compositions, the results of HIIT may vary. After a warm-up period, high-intensity exercise follows that is succeeded by medium-intensity exercise periods that allow for stamina recovery. This is, then, followed by a recovery period. Please note that the high-intensity exercise team must contain extreme physical exertion from the athlete partaking in the routine. Normally, the time for intense exercise only lasts around 20 seconds. The goal is to increase the heart rate and improve one’s heart health.
Burns Calories Like A Pro
HIIT can allow you to burn calories quite fast. Many studies have been conducted in order to compare HIIT with other fitness activities. Researchers have shown that HIIT can help individuals to burn 25% – 30% more calories than physical activities such as weight training, running, and biking. The HIIT training that was a part of this study consisted of 20 seconds of intense training followed by 40 seconds of rest.
Interestingly, this shows that the participants in this study were only working out for a third of the total time the other (running and biking) athletes were. In this study, the workout session continued for an extended time of 30 minutes. However, generally, such is not the case and sessions usually range from 10 minutes to 30 minutes.
HIIT, therefore, allows you to burn more calories in a less amount of time compared to other fitness activities. Studies have also shown the use of appropriate apparel while undergoing any type of workout is beneficial. It is important to be dressed properly to maximize the gains of physical activity. Make sure to wear the right type of clothes when you participate in any type of physical activity.
Increases Post-Workout Metabolic Rate
Some of the physical activities that we engage in, come with a unique property. They aid in post-workout metabolic efficiency. This means that long after (for over 24 hours in some cases) your workout, the ability of your body to break down food is quite efficient. This means that glucose, and in turn fat, gets broken down properly and that your body is able to deal with the toxins as well. HIIT, according to some studies, is a better option for this purpose than even jogging and weight training.
The same study also shows that HIIT enables the body to use fat instead of carbohydrates for the sake of energy.
Cuts The Fats Down
Numerous studies have been conducted in order to find out the various health advantages of HIIT. More so, these have been in comparison with many of the other physical activities out there such as running or jogging, etc. One of the most amazing benefits of HIIT is that it can help you lose fat quite effectively.
One such study shows that people who only perform HIIT exercises for only 20-minute sessions for three (3) times a week can lose about 2 kgs of fat in just 12 weeks. Imagine the gains of those individuals who engage in HIIT on a routinely basis.
The same study showed that HIIT helps to cut down 17% of the visceral fat in the body. Visceral fat is the harmful fat on internal organs that promotes diseases.
Apart from this study, many other studies showcase similar results. They show that body fat can be comfortably reduced with HIIT on a regular basis. If you are obese or overweight, HIIT may be your best bet to frequently lose weight. Furthermore, high-intensity training will also make your realize the best that you can do urging you to exercise with more enthusiasm!
Helps In Development Of Muscles
HIIT aids effectively in fat loss, but also helps in increasing the muscle mass for new entrants. Moreover, muscular growth is generally observable in body areas that are involved directly in a high-intensity activity such as the legs and arms, etc. Research has shown that individuals who work out (partake in other sports, are weightlifters, etc.) before engaging in the HIIT routine, do not show higher muscle mass.
For muscle mass, the go-to regime is weight training. However, for a small amount of muscle growth, HIIT is also viable. With that said, good clothes that support physical activity will help to add on top of your exercise gains.
Enhances Oxygen Consumption
HIIT also helps to increase the ability of your muscles to use oxygen. Normally, athletes partake in long sessions that involve cycling or running for quite a long period of time. HIIT can, however, produce the same benefits in about half the time.
A study was conducted that shows that HIIT workouts for four (4) days of 20 minutes each can help to improve oxygen consumption levels by 9%.
This was quite similar to the other group involved in the study who cycled continuously for 40 minutes, four (4) days a week.
In order to find out the oxygen consumption enhancement properties of HIIT, another study was conducted. This study had staggering results and showed that HIIT on a stationary bike for about eight (8) weeks improved oxygen consumption by about 25%.
Again, it is noticeable that HIIT took half the time for the same amount of benefits. Many other studies show that HIIT aids greatly in enhancing oxygen consumption.
Improves Heart Health
HIIT has been known to improve heart health as well. In fact, it does so more effectively than the long-tested traditional endurance training exercises out there. A lot of research bears witness to this fact.
A study was conducted with two groups. The HIIT group exercised three times per week for only 20 minutes. The other group exercised for four days for 30 minutes every day. Researchers found that the HIIT group was able to enjoy more health-related benefits. Interestingly note that the time required to perform HIIT was only 60 minutes per week whereas it was 120 minutes, double the time, for the group engaging in endurance training.
Reduces Blood Sugar
HIIT can greatly help diabetic patients as well as those who have metabolic issues. A summary of many studies shows that HIIT helps to lower blood sugar levels and also improves the body’s insulin resistance abilities. Compared to traditional exercise, HIIT is more effective.
These studies indicate the HIIT is very helpful for patients with type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, some studies have been conducted that involved type 2 diabetes patients as well. The results were conducive. HIIT comes in very handy for patients suffering from diabetes and, therefore, after advice from their doctor they should engage in HIIT training sessions as often as they can.
HIIT is quite effective and there is a need to adopt it in our lives. Obese and overweight individuals can greatly reap the benefits of this wonderful training technique. With moderation, and upon approval from your doctor, you should try to follow an HIIT regime for at least three (3) days a week. Doing so will impart physical and mental benefits to you that will help to greatly improve your overall lifestyle! Happy HIIT-ing!