In our gym in Irvine, CA we offer high intensity interval training—HIIT to transform your body. It’s not a specific workout, but a technique you can use with any type of workout. It’s an exercise method where you vary the intensity from 100% effort where the heart rate is high, for a short time, then alternating to a recovery rate that’s less intense for the same amount of time or more. You then switch back to high intensity and repeat the cycle, continuing to bounce between the two until you complete all sets. The recovery phase increases the oxygen you burn, creating a situation known as afterburn.
How afterburn works for weight loss.
Afterburn is another name for EPOC—Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption. When you’re in the high intensity portion of the workout, you burn a huge amount of calories, far more than you would with a steady state workout. During the recovery period you also burn additional calories to recover. By switching between high and moderate intensity, it maximizes the calories burned.
You’ll increase your metabolism when you use HIIT to workout.
Not only will you get exceptional calorie burning, HIIT increases your metabolism for as long as 58 hours. The body burns extra calories when it’s repairing muscle tissue, get the body back to normal oxygen levels and removing the lactic acid that’s built up from a strenuous workout. You’ll keep a higher metabolism after the workout for up to two days, even if you’re not exercising that day.
HIIT saves time and you can use it with any type of workout.
Whether you’re walking or lifting weights, you can maximize the benefits by adjusting your intensity. Speed walk for a few minutes and then go back to a comfortable pace for the same amount of time. Repeat throughout your walk. You’ll build your endurance faster while burning more calories. Do the same with other workouts, such as lifting weights or doing calisthenics. You’ll get the results you want faster with this simple technique.
One big benefit of HIIT is that it’s easy to adjust to your fitness level. If you need to extend the recovery period, you can. There’s no rule about the amount of time at high intensity or how much at recovery. It can be longer or shorter at high intensity and the same time or longer for recovery.
If you’re building up strength to help relieve joint problems, use low impact exercises, such as swimming. You can still modify the intensity levels.
Because of the high amount of calories burned and benefits derived, a HIIT workout doesn’t require that you workout as long as you would a steady-state workout.
At Next Level Fitness we can help you design a HIIT workout that gets you to your goal faster. In fact, we make it even easier with a special of two private sessions for only $20 to help you get expert advice on a customized workout.