7 BENEFITS OF HIIT TRAINING (High Intensity Interval Training)

HIIT training is a workout that involves short periods of intense exercise alternated with recovery or rest periods.

The advantages of HIIT is you can get maximal health benefits in minimal time. Typically, a HIIT workout will range from 10 to 60 minutes in duration.

The activity being performed can include sprinting, biking, jump rope, weights or other body weight exercises. High-intensity intervals should involve short periods of vigorous exercise that make your heart rate speed up followed by a complete rest period. The interval periods can be anywhere from 10 - 60 seconds followed by rest periods of 15 - 30 seconds.

Here are 7 benefits of HIIT training:

1. HIIT Can Burn a Lot of Calories in a Short Amount of Time Compared to other forms of exercise (i.e. biking, running, weight training), it was found that HIIT burned 25 - 30% more calories because participants were actually only exercising for 1/3 of the time. This is because HIIT allows you to burn about the same amount of calories, but spend less time exercising. SUMMARY: HIIT may help you burn more calories than traditional exercise, or burn the same amount of calories in a shorter amount of time.

2. Your Metabolic Rate Is Higher for Hours After Exercise One of the ways HIIT helps you burn calories actually comes after you are done exercising. Several studies have shown HIIT's ability to increase your metabolic rate for hours after exercise using fat for energy rather than carbs.

SUMMARY: HIIT can elevate your metabolism for hours after exercise. This results in additional calories being burned even after you have finished exercising.

3. It Can Help You Lose Fat Studies have shown that HIIT can help you lose fat. Performing HIIT type workouts a few times a week has shown reduction in visceral fat, or the disease promoting fat around your internal organs. Body fat can be reduced despite the relatively low time commitment.

SUMMARY: HIIT workouts can produce similar fat loss to traditional endurance exercise, even with a much smaller time commitment. They can also reduce unhealthy visceral fat.

4. You Might Gain Muscle Using HIIT Weight training is still considered to be the best to increase muscle mass however HIIT can support a small amount of muscle growth especially in those less active to begin with. Most muscle growth is shown in the trunk and legs (the muscles used the most).

SUMMARY: If you are not very active, you may gain some muscle by starting HIIT but not as much as if you weight-trained however it is good for fat loss. 5. HIIT Can Improve Oxygen Consumption Endurance training is typically used to improve your oxygen consumption which is your muscles' ability to use oxygen. It used to be that long sessions of running or cycling at a steady rate would improve oxygen consumption, now it appears that HIIT training can give the same benefits in a shorter amount of time.

Traditionally, this consists of long sessions of continuous running or cycling at a steady rate. However, it appears that HIIT can produce the same benefits in a shorter amount of time.

SUMMARY: HIIT can improve oxygen consumption as much as traditional endurance training, even if you only exercise about half as long.

6. It Can Reduce Heart Rate and Blood Pressure There are definite health benefits of HIIT training. Research shows that it can reduce blood pressure and heart rate in overweight and obese people who often suffer from high blood pressure. For normal weight people, research has shown it doesn't typically change blood pressure in those individuals who have normal ranges of blood pressure.

A large amount of research indicates that it can reduce heart rate and blood pressure in overweight and obese individuals, who often have high blood pressure (20). One study found that eight weeks of HIIT on a stationary bike decreased blood pressure as much as traditional continuous endurance training in adults with high blood pressure

SUMMARY: HIIT can reduce blood pressure and heart rate, mainly in overweight or obese individuals with high blood pressure . 7. Blood Sugar Can Be Reduced by HIIT Studies have shown that blood sugar can be reduced by HIIT workouts as well as improving insulin resistance more than traditional continuous exercise. Based on this information, it is possible that HIIT is particularly beneficial for those at risk for type 2 diabetes.

SUMMARY: HIIT workouts may be especially beneficial for those needing to reduce blood sugar and insulin resistance. These improvements have been seen in both healthy and diabetic individuals.

The Bottom Line High-intensity interval training is a very efficient way to exercise, and may help you burn more calories than you would with other forms of exercise. Some of the calories burned from high-intensity intervals come from a higher metabolism, which lasts for hours after exercise. Overall, HIIT produces many of the same health benefits as other forms of exercise in a shorter amount of time. Some of these benefits include lower body fat, heart rate and blood pressure. HIIT may also help lower blood sugar and improve insulin sensitivity. The bottom line is if you are short on time and want to get active, consider trying high-intensity interval training.