High-intensity interval training, often seen as HIIT, is becoming super popular as it’s a busy person’s godsend for getting in shape on a time budget. HIIT first started making waves in fitness communities after clinical research showed that you could get the same benefits of hours in the gym in as little as 15 minutes. The secret? Work intervals where you go all-out.… so what is the HIIT MISTAKE?
One-minute workout?
In the book The One-Minute Workout: Science Shows a Way to Get Fit That’s Smarter, Faster, Shorter by Christopher Shulgan, and Martin Gibala, the authors present research to show the best ways to get the benefits of HIIT and avoid common mistakes that sometimes result in injuries. The authors point out that all this HIIT-mania in the fitness industry started with one man – Japanese scientist Dr. Tabata. His research in the 1980s showed that “all-out” intervals punctuated by periods of rest tapped the fat-burning and metabolism-revving capabilities of the body better than the same amount of high-intensity exercise without the rest intervals. Want to hear more about history and science? – Check out this podcast with the author
You gotta go ALL-OUT
But what is “all-out”? In a clinical setting, this is measured with respect to the constituent’s theoretical maximum heart rate. This is determined based on the individual’s height, weight, age, resting heart rate, and even blood pressure. All-out work intervals get the heart rate around 90-95% of the individual’s maximum heart rate.
This level of physical activity should feel like a lot of work – you should NOT be able to carry a conversation during a work interval. Needless to say, people at risk for heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular conditions are better talking to their doctors and perhaps sticking with longer, lower-intensity exercise.
Do THESE Work Intervals for Max Gains
What constitutes a work interval? Anything that engages enough of your muscles to get your blood pumping. Favorite choices include sprints, jumping jacks, jump squats, jump rope, or, the infamous burpee. INTENSE work intervals should NOT last longer than 30 seconds, and often 10-20 seconds is a sweet spot. This is where a lot of HIIT workouts online go wrong. If the work intervals are 45 seconds or even a minute, being at 90-95% intensity level would not be safe for more than a few rounds.
The temptation with a lot of seasoned gym-rats is to have longer work periods and shorter rests, but in true HIIT, less is more. You simply can’t work at high capacity without sacrificing form – which could lead to injuries. Another thing to be mindful of, ovary-owners – your menstrual cycle. Don’t push too hard in your luteal phase.
Rest periods are just as important as work periods in the HIIT routines. Your heart rate should drop as close to your resting heart rate as possible. By letting your heart rate go back down, it means your cardiovascular system must recruit even more during the next work period. By “revving” your blood in this kind of way, you are distributing your energy throughout your body to burn fat deposits all over and build muscle. The cardiovascular benefits are especially noteworthy, with the metabolism heightened for as long as three days afterward to rebalance the body’s “oxygen debt”.
If you’re new to HIIT-style workouts, try to find ones with short work intervals that last about 15 minutes. This will increase your chances of reaching the 90-95% heart rate that all the benefits of HIIT rely on. Or, you can make up your own HIIT workout! Using free Tabata timer apps, you can set your work interval and your rest interval and HIIT away!
Below are some examples to get you started!
Beginner’s Circuit
- Warm-up 2-3 minutes of brisk walking or marching in place
- 20 seconds jumping jacks, 45 seconds rest
- 20 seconds jump rope, 45 seconds rest
- 30 seconds burpees, 60 seconds rest
- Repeat the circuit three times
- Cooldown 5 minutes walking
Total Body Burnout
- Warm-up 2-3 minutes of brisk walking or marching in place
- 20 seconds jumping jacks, 45 seconds rest
- 20 seconds jump rope, 45 seconds rest
- 30 seconds burpees, 60 seconds rest
- 30 seconds mountain climbers, 60 seconds rest
- 30 seconds star jumps, 60 seconds rest
- Repeat the circuit two times
- Cooldown 5 minutes walking
Simple HIIT workouts like the one above are likely to give the novice HIIT-er some delayed onset muscle soreness. It’s recommended you wait 2-3 days before your next HIIT workout. These workouts are notorious for feeling like “nothing” at the moment and then causing some major muscle soreness a few days later. This is a good thing and can be super-encouraging for people wanting to build strength.
If this sounds like way too much effort… you can still get an awesome workout by walking! Feeling more pumped? Have 15 minutes to spare? Let’s HIIT it!