High intensity interval training (HIIT) is it worth it? This is a training technique that should last about 20 to 30 minutes. Doing it for longer brings risks, but is doable for the advanced athlete.
Typically windsprints and Tabata drills are what comes to mind with HIIT. Personally, I like these styles of training. These are fast, full body, effective techniques. These, and other styles or routines, do bring inherent risks. These risks can be dealt with as your ability increases.
Let’s first look at some of the risks of such training. Primarily, due to the force being exerted tendon and muscle injuries are possible. Warm ups are highly recommended. Stretching afterwards is also helpful in avoiding pain and injury.
Like any good thing, too much can be harmful. Cortisol, a stress hormone, builds up rapidly. This can be dealt with through nutrition. You want to have adequate antioxidants in your diet. Antioxidants will scavenge both free-radicals and cortisol. This results in less point workout pain, or delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
Joint injuries are also a risk. Focusing on form is going to mitigate this risk. Proper form, in all exercise techniques and styles, is paramount. There are videos, articles, trainer advice, coaching and more available for how to perform an exercise and routine. Please, take advantage of all resources. Also, talk to your doctor so any physical concerns can be addressed. I ease into new exercises so I can listen to my body and how it responds to the new stress. Form, as stated, is the goal, the right movement for body type and structure. As with any skill, practice makes better.
Now, why do HIIT? This type of training maximizes fat loss, builds muscle, and does this in a minimum amount of time. I like the long workouts, I get that. Sometimes those are not possible due to time constraints. 10, 15, 20 minutes of a full body high intensity cycle can fit the bill. At my last job I’d have an hour for lunch. I would spend that time in the gym. I had only an hour. Some of you may have this constraint as well.
Most workouts should take 30 minutes minimum. This is how long a body takes to start burning fat under moderate intensity. For HIIT you need a minimum of 10 to 15 minutes. The difference has to do with HIIT using larger proportions of muscle to complete. Tabata Runs are a perfect example. You run hard, 80 to 90 percent of maximum effort, do 20 seconds. Then walk/jog for 10 seconds. This pattern is done for eight cycles or four minutes. Muscle engagement in this is far more intense than a moderate jog for 30 minutes.
Look at your endurance athletes versus sprinters. Which has a more muscular build? Sprinters are far more muscular overall than distance runners. This is due to how the body is used and the relative intensity over the duration of the exercise.
Being a full body, or near full body, event makes for effective and efficient workouts. These type of workouts burn fat rapidly while conducting them. The fat burn is more than extended periods of moderate intensity workouts. Say, jogging at a moderate pace in comparison to HIIT. You will burn more calories in HIIT in 20 minutes than 30 minutes of jogging. This also improves your cardiovascular health at a quicker rate.
Equipment is a minimum. I use my porch and a door frame pull-up bar. You can essentially do these workouts at the local park as easily in your garage. A pull-up bar is not going to break the bank. I have jogged to my local park, used the equipment there for pulling and for dips, and then walked back. All I had to give was the time and dedication to do the exercises.
In the beginning you will want to start at 10 to 20 minutes. These are intense workouts and will push you to your limits. Advanced athletes can handle more time like an hour.
