Personal trainer tips: Why HIIT?

You may have seen a lot of comments and videos online at the moment about HIIT - which stands for High Intensity Interval Training - but you might wonder what it's all about and why it's so effective? Let us explain!

The effectiveness of HIIT on your metabolism

With HIIT training, it's all about intense bursts of exercise where you hit your 10 out of 10 intensity and then follow it with short recovery periods, either after a set time, or when you simply can't push at that high intensity any more.

Not only will your workout will be short, but due to really elevating your heart rate, you'll burn much more fat, and let's be honest, we all have busy lives and want to burn the most fat in the shortest time, right?

When you push at that 10 out of 10 intensity through HIIT, this creates EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption), which is a result of you creating breathlessness from working at such an intense level. Your body then needs to catch up on replenishing oxygen stores for up to 48 hours after your workout, which means your metabolism increases and your burn more calories / fat. All that can happen after just a 20 minute HIIT session!

Compare this to a slow jaunt on a cross trainer for 45-60 minutes, where you'll burn some energy whilst you're working out, but very little after (as the heart rate hasn’t been elevated to such a great extent), it’s a no-brainer. So, keep your training smart and effective to get the best results!

You can do HIIT anywhere!

The great thing about this sort of training is you only need your body to have a great workout! Aside from a gym or PT studio, you can do a session at home, in the park, in a hotel, or maybe even on the beach on holiday! There are so many easy exercises you can do that will be varied and will get you working up a sweat and keeping that heart rate elevated, so there should be plenty to keep you interested.

Two home workouts for you!

Here are a couple of bodyweight HIIT sessions you can do in the comfort of your home, give them a try and see how you get on...

If you need any further information, you can get in touch with our expert personal trainers in Bristol by calling 0117 403 7600, or email info@efitbristol.co.uk

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