High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

Yesterday I ran the stairs at Spotts Park. My goal was to push myself hard enough running up and down the stairs to get my HR up around 180 bpm and then walk around until my HR dropped to around 135 bpm. My HR graph from this High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) session looks very similar to the graphs of the athletes in Bill's classes. Check out my HR graph. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/68330803. Do NOT look at the calorie count—it is way off because my watch doesn’t calculate calories burned based on HR (I need to get a new HR monitor).

HIIT is a very effective form of cardiovascular exercise because it burns a large amount of calories during the training session. HIIT also burns fat in a short and intense workout. Your body responds to this form of intense training by increasing growth hormone levels which preserve and build muscle. In addition, your metabolism will be elevated for the remainder of the day, which leads to even more calories being burned.

Steady state, lower intensity cardio, is when your HR is maintained at around 130 bpm. There are benefits to both types of training, but in general lower intensity cardio workouts are less effective than HIIT because the only calories you burn are while you are exercising. After the exercising is over, your metabolism returns to normal. In addition, your body does not produce a hormonal response to lower intensity cardio. That means if you use this form of cardio to burn calories, you are less likely to preserve all the muscle that you have.

A good example of the types of athletes that participate in HIIT cardio on a regular basis are sprinters. On the other hand, athletes that use lower intensity, steady state cardio are marathon runners or long distance cyclists. There is a huge difference in the physiques of sprinters and marathon runners. Sprinters have larger muscles, definition between their muscles, and a lower body fat percentage. Marathon runners have very little muscle on their frames, less muscle definition, and a higher body fat percentage.

Anytime you are performing a cardio workout, get the most out of your workout by following a HIIT scheme. You can do this on any piece of cardio equipment that you like. Just push yourself until your HR gets up to 180bpm and then slow down until your HR drops to 135 bpm. Repeat this cycle until you reach your goal of 35 minutes.

If you are interested in participating in HIIT, join me on Thursday mornings at Spotts Park at 5:30 AM. I hope to see you guys there!

Robert.