HIIT workouts generally combine short bursts of intense exercise with periods of rest or lower-intensity exercise. When researchers talk about HIIT, they’re referring to workouts that alternate hard-charging intervals, during which a person’s heart rate reaches at least 80 percent of its maximum capacity usually for one to five minutes, with periods of rest or less intense exercise.
- Time Efficient
- 15-20 minutes >80%Max HR leads to after-burn
- Reduces signs of aging at the cellular level
- Higher caloric burn vs steady state cardio
- Add Variety to your Training
- Highly demanding form of training and can put strain on the body if you don’t have a training base behind you.
- Can lead to over-training and increase injury risk
How do you add HIIT to your workout routine?
Since HIIT is a high intensity workout, it’s important to ease into it. Start first with a mix of cardio and weight training 4-5 times per week. Once your body is conditioned and strong, start by adding one HIIT workout to your routine a week in place of your usual cardio workout. Once you feel comfortable you can add another HIIT workout. Therefore it’s recommended we do HIIT at least 2x per week based on our fitness level.
What is Strength Training?
Strength training is one of the best ways to permanently change your body composition. It’s a type of exercise focusing on the use of resistance to build strength and lean muscle mass. Choosing the right rep range, rest period and amount of weight used is very important.
Pros
- Having more muscle mass can improve your basal metabolic rate
- Injury Prevention as you get older
- Be able to perform everyday functions (bringing groceries inside, lifting kids, walking, etc.)
- Increase Bone Density
- Replace body fat with lean muscle
- Lifting to fast or strong can cause injury
- Not resting enough between workouts can lead to tissue damage or overuse injuries.