That post-HIIT « crash on your mat » feeling… if you know, you know!
Let’s talk HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING!
WHAT IT IS: A workout alternating between short intense bursts of activity & fixed periods of less intense activity or complete rest (ex: sprint for 1 min., walk/jog for 2 min. & repeat interval 5x).
BENEFITS:
- studies show you can achieve more progress in 15 min. of interval training (3x/week) than someone who jogs on a treadmill for 1hr. & you burn more calories than traditional exercise or the same amount in a shorter amount of time!
- just 2 weeks of HIIT improves aerobic capacity as much as 6-8 weeks of endurance training, reduces resting heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar & insulin resistance in healthy & diabetic individuals
- you burn more calories during a HIITT workout & the effect of the intense exertion kicks the body’s repair cycle into hyperdrive so you burn more fat & calories in the 24h post-HIIT than after steady cardio!
- builds cardio endurance as it pushes you into the anaerobic zone (the feeling where you can’t breathe & you feel like your heart will pop out of your chest) & helps reduce visceral fat (disease promoting fat surrounding organs)
- effective workout with no equipment & just your body weight, ex: plyometrics (high knees, burpees, fast feet, jump squats/lunges)
- boosts fat loss, not muscle loss – with weight loss, it’s hard to not lose muscle mass along with fat; when done exclusively, steady state cardio can actually lead to muscle loss, but weight training & HITT preserve muscle & ensure most of the weight lost comes from fat stores!
- revs metabolism as it stimulates production of human growth hormone by up to 450% during the 24h after; HGH increases caloric burn, slows aging & shifts the body/s metabolism toward using fat for energy VS. carbs
- do it anywhere – at home, in a workout class, park, etc.
- so easy to change it up & make it challenging every time
- releases endorphins & gives a feeling of a natural high!
WHERE I DO IT? Cielo Studios (DUH)!) with Celine on Mon. 8AM, Tues. 8AM (boxing style), Weds. 6PM & Thurs. 9AM (Tabata) & Tania on Tues. 5PM!
