Will HIIT Help Burn Fat and is it Safe?

HIIT is the latest work out to hit all the gyms and fitness magazines.

HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training is a new workout routine in which you push your body through high intensity training, with maximum exertion in short bursts, proceeded by low activity work outs and recovery periods. This exercise method is performed to push the heart rate up to around 85% of an individual’s maximum heart rate and is used to burn fat and a higher quantity of calories.

There are many benefits to HIIT, for example the duration of each workout is shorter, meaning less time is needed to be spent at the gym. It has also been proved to be very popular as it can be carried out in a variety of gym and outdoor training, such as cycling, swimming, group exercise classes and even walking.

Scientists in the US have studied the impact of HIIT on the human body post work out, which has shown interesting results, when comparing professional level athletes to recreational. Little to no effect was measured on the professional athletes which is thought to be due to their bodies, muscles and cells being accustomed to high levels of stress. It is thought that their bodies did not therefore react to compensate.

When testing the recreational athletes, they showed that cell activity was still active in the subject’s muscles 24 hours’ post work out. The muscle cells were adapting to produce more energy, quicker.

Some personal trainers have recorded up to a 6% burn in body fat. However, each individual will burn fat at a different rate, depending on diet and metabolism etc.

There are however measures to be taken when starting a HIIT Routine for the first time. Calorie count must be taken into consideration. If you are dieting, you may need to increase calories in order to fuel your body for high intensity work outs. Exercise routines which burn high quantities of energy fast will also increase appetite levels. This makes it important to ensure you have a healthy, varied diet which includes carbohydrates. Another important aspect to consider is that everyone recovers at a different rate. If your recovery is slower, pushing yourself to do more regular workouts of HIIT could cause injury.

Some advice when looking to start HIIT for the first time:

•    Ensure you have a reasonable level of fitness. It is not possible to go from carrying out no exercise to starting straight into High Intensity Interval Training. Build up your fitness levels first.
•    Make sure your diet supports your method of exercise and is capable of fuelling the quantity of calories and energy burnt.
•    As muscle stress increases with this type of workout, the recovery period also increases. It is best to start the work outs once a week and increase to twice a week, after fitness levels have improved.
•    Try not to exceed 30 minutes per work out. If you exceed your limits you could injure muscles and tendons.

Example of HIIT –

Warm Up
30 Second Blast – High Intensity Work Out
2 Minute Low Level Work Out
30 Second Blast – High Intensity Work Out
2 Minute Low Level Work Out
30 Second Blast – High Intensity Work Out
2 Minute Low Level Work Out
30 Second Blast – High Intensity Work Out
2 Minute Low Level Work Out.

Equals 10 minutes – Repeat 3 Times.