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For the past five years or so, High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has been one of the most popular and controversial forms of exercise.
Various versions of HIIT consist of short bursts of strenuous exercise with scattered rest, tested and tested by countless researchers, coaches, journalists, influencers, and most others interested in fitness. Has been, discussed, and sometimes ridiculed.
Jim’s franchise and online classes specialize in HIIT. Dozens of scientific studies are investigating its advantages and disadvantages every month. HIIT is hot by almost all means.
However, many questions remain about HIIT.
Is it particularly good for our minds? air? lifespan? Waistline? Is it better for us in the long run than taking an active walk every day? And what does “intense” exercise mean?
Now that the New Year’s movement resolution is on the agenda, it’s a good time to focus on HIIT, and there are ways and reasons to try it. It is also helpful to explore the best way to do HIIT. It’s also helpful to find out if you need expensive heart rate monitors, gym membership, personal trainers, advanced math skills, sneakers, useful hills, and distant trees. It is well equipped.
What is HIIT?
With HIIT, you can ride hard, run, swim, jump, crunch, or otherwise press aerobic exercise for minutes or seconds, stop slowly, or rest for another few minutes. And repeat the sequence 3-4 times or more. Martin Gibala, a professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and a prominent HIIT researcher, said his goal was to “challenge” the cardiovascular system and muscles at each interval. is.
Attractively, HIIT training often takes less than 10 minutes in total to complete.
Of course, this exercise approach is not new. Athletes looking to improve performance have been incorporating interval sessions into a wide range of training since ancient times. But today’s HIIT is often advertised as the only exercise you have to do and is not an add-on to longer, modest sessions.
Does HIIT work?
“For most people, there is no doubt that HIIT will lead to a significant increase in VO2max,” which means that maximal oxygen uptake, a measure of aerobic fitness and endurance, is “more than exercise of a milder nature.” He is the head of the Cardiac Exercise Research Group at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Tronheim) and has been studying HIIT for over 20 years.
He adds that higher VO2max is more strongly associated with longer lifespan, suggesting that intervals are more likely to have a stronger impact on our lifespan than, for example, a gentle walk.
HIIT may also help reduce fat storage around our central area as effectively as longer and easier exercise, and it seems to be uniquely beneficial to our brain. is. Jennifer Hayes, a professor at McMaster University and author of the next book, “Move the Body, Heal the Mind,” said, “HIIT is a way for young and old people that is not possible with standard and moderate exercise. Improves memory. ” It is known that only strenuous exercise encourages muscles to eject chemical lactic acid, which travels through the blood to the brain, where it promotes the creation of new cells and blood vessels, increasing brain health and lowering our risk. It has been. For dementia.
The most attractive HIIT training can be done in a very short time. In a well-known 2006 study in Gibara’s lab, one group of college students pedaled an exercise bike three times a week for 90-120 minutes, while another group cycled for 30 seconds. After going 4-6 times, I groaned. 4 minutes recovery. Moderate exercisers, who culminated in about 12 hours of exercise overall, showed improved fitness measurements and healthy remodeled internal work of their muscle cells. However, after a total of 12 minutes of strenuous exercise, the HIIT rider grew as if it fits or fits the body and shows more molecular changes in the muscle.
Where HIIT is lacking
“It’s neither practical nor recommended to do HIIT on a daily basis,” said Jamie Barr, a professor at the University of Guelph in Ontario, who studies the physiological effects of different types of physical activity. .. Health guidelines generally do not recommend doing this type of exercise more than three times a week to avoid burnout and injury.
But in that case, we don’t exercise for at least four days a week, so problems can occur. “There are many health benefits,” he said, most of which are associated with better blood sugar and blood pressure levels that occur only on the days we exercise. If you skip a workout, even if you do HIIT the day before, your blood glucose and blood pressure may be out of control and your long-term metabolic improvement from the previous interval may be impaired.
Therefore, if you decide to do HIIT, plan to schedule other types of exercise. For example, moderate walking, cycling, swimming, jogging, or most other day of the week gymnastics.
IT instead of HIIT?
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to HIIT for many is its name. “I would like to start using the more comprehensive term’interval training'” instead of HIIT, Gibara said. “So many people are threatened because HIIT thinks it must be a gut-destroying workout that is difficult to do everything like this.” He said. In the green-yellow-red spectrum of physical effort, he said it was “yellow”.
“You should be able to have a short conversation with others,” Wislov said at regular intervals. “But if that person asks you to sing, you shouldn’t be able to sing.”
In reality, this level of effort could mean walking on hills rather than on flat ground, Wislov said. In fact, interval walking can be an ideal introduction to this type of exercise.
In a large experiment in Japan a few years ago, nearly 700 middle-aged and older adults walked at normal pace for 30 minutes, while others alternated between 3-minute up-tempo walks and 3-minute walks. .. At the end of five months, interval walkers became much healthier and stronger than other walkers. And when researchers checked in to volunteers again two years later, 70% of interval walkers voluntarily continued the interval program.
Keep it simple.Consider Fartlek
Are you interested in trying HIIT now? Like, Wislov said. “I think everyone should aim for at least one weekly HIIT session for good health,” he said.
Choose the type of HIIT that appeals to you. 1 minute on, 1 minute off, or 60 seconds push, 60 seconds break and repeat, or a 4-minute interval training commonly used in Wisloff studies, with 4 minutes of intense effort followed by 4 minutes of training. You can try it. holiday.
Other researchers are using 4-second intervals and are enjoying the 10-20-30 approach pioneered by Danish Copenhagen scientists. Exercise gently for 30 seconds, jogging or otherwise, increase your effort for 20 seconds, then sprint for 10 seconds, then return to a simple 30-minute jogging.
But lately, I’ve settled on the frequent Fartlek. In Fartlek training, where you play speed in Swedish, you choose goals such as trees and streetlights in front of you and speed up until you reach them. You don’t have to check your heart rate or track the length of each interval by time or distance, Wisloff said. Shape the movement using the natural contours of the landscape.
“This is great to do outside the gym,” he said, but with little expense or experience. You can “HIIT” your health and fitness goals by dashing towards the tree until it recedes back and selecting another landmark in front of it. – This article was originally published in The New York Times.
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