Why is HIIT training good??

jadejo788
jadejo788 Posts: 12 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
What are the benefits of it? I've just done 15 x 40 seconds normal resistance and 20 seconds high resistance on my exercise bike, after a 5 minute warm up, what are the benefits of HIIT?

Replies

  • grob49
    grob49 Posts: 125 Member
    A HIIT workout stimulates your metabolism and you burn more calories in a shorter time. You also keep burning those calories after your workout is complete
  • jolive7
    jolive7 Posts: 283 Member
    https://www.biolayne.com/articles/training/guest-post-the-science-of-hiit-cardio-by-chris-eric-martinez-the-dynamic-duo/
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    One of the biggest fallacies about this topic is the assumption that this is an "either/or" choice. The structure of exercise research encourages this. A research study has to make a clear distinction between the different interventions. So, intensity studies always compare HIIT to low-level endurance cardio, and often HIIT shows better results. However, in the real world, there is no limit as to what type of exercise you can do. Doing one type of exercise training will eventually lead to staleness.

    And very few studies look at tempo training, which is probably better than either one.
  • Habiteer
    Habiteer Posts: 190 Member
    HIIT is optimal to burn fat and boosts your metabolism so that you burn more calories after your workout. It's good for optimizing time. It's difficult though, increases the risk of injury, and may deter people from doing more workouts because they were so tired from their HIIT session... I think it's better to do what you're most likely to stick with over the long term, add HIIT sessions sparingly if you can afford the energy for better results.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    edited September 2016
    i've mostly used very short intervals of sprints mixed with my regular bike commute, every other day for a few weeks at a time, to kick-start or level up on cardio conditioning. can't speak for the weight loss factor, but it has been helpful for the conditioning thing. so in the long term i guess you could say that yeah, indirectly it has helped with weight loss since being in better shape means i can ride faster, which means more calories burned every trip. but they're a means to an end in my case, not a full-on way of life. it's also pretty hard to combine serious sprinting with serious lifting while biking to work all the time, is what i've found out.

    there's a study out there somewhere which i believe is considered a classic, which was my initial impetus for trying them, and is still more or less my blueprint for using them when i do. if i weren't so lazy i'd go out there and dig it up. my results seem to mirror the ones they report, but that's a pretty anecdotal remark.

    personally, i'm a couch potato who just happens to be kind of active [for a couch potato]. ymmv depending on your condition, your values and goals.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    jadejo788 wrote: »
    ...what are the benefits of HIIT?

    There is a lot of nonsense printed, and repeated, about HIIT and you've already seen some in this thread.

    If one is doing true HIIT, then it can help to build on a solid aerobic base in preparation for competition.

    If one is doing simple intervals on exercise machines then it can help sustain interest as steady state can be pretty dull on ellipticals and bikes etc.

    As Adzak highlights most of the research compares HIIT against low intensity work, which rather skews the conclusions. The benefits are measurable in comparison with LISS, but not earth shattering.
  • jolive7
    jolive7 Posts: 283 Member
    Try this and let me know if you don't FEEL a benefit, then try it even once a week for 6 weeks and let me know if you don't SEE the benefits:
    500m run / 12 KB swings
    400m run / 14 KB swings
    300m run / 16 KB swings
    200m run / 18 KB swings
    100m run / 20 KB swings
    200m run / 18 KB swings
    300m run / 16 KB swings
    400m run / 14 KB swings
    500m run / 12 KB swings

    Time yourself and see how much you can beat that time each week. You should be sprinting, and your KB swings at about 75% of your max weight. Most people don't want to try this sort of thing because its effing hard.. but to me if you don't exercise this intensely then you aren't really "fit" you may be "moderate".. someone who spends 45 minutes incline walking on a treadmill but looks great may be aesthetic but they aren't really fit.

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