What is HIIT?There has been alot of hype surrounding HIIT in the past few years and it shows no sign of slowing down. This hype has captured the interest of health researchers at various educational institutions and sparked further investigation. In this post I will show some of the hard scientific research that shows HIIT is an effective way of burning fat. Read the rest of this entry »
This video is a part of a High Intensity Interval Training session. Anthony Bainbridge shows a good example of how to perform HIIT on the recumbent bike.
Anthony is using a 10 second high intensity and 20 second low intensity interval structure (10/20). Read the rest of this entry »
In the past we have been bombarded with information from books, magazines, television shows and fitness experts about the right way to burn fat; 65% of your maximum heart rate for more than 30 minutes, three or more times a week. It’s true that this WILL burn fat. However, this classical view of training is not the only (or even the most effective) way to burn fat through exercise. Enter High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Read the rest of this entry »
So you’ve heard about this new thing at work or in the gym called HIIT, did a google search to learn a little more and found out it’s amazing, everyone is doing it and so should you. You know how to do it, and your ready to hit (hiit?) the track. But hold on a second, what will it actually do to you?
There are 4 main physiological effects that you may be interested to know before starting HIIT. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s only been around a week since I posted up a poll (you can see it on the right side of the site) about where people prefer to do their HIIT, and unfortunately it’s clear already that running on the treadmill the most popular way to train – I say unfortunately because it’s not really the ideal environment to HIIT.
In order to HIIT effectively it is important that your high intensity intervals are explosive, short, bursts of speed and power. On a track or elliptical trainer this poses no problems, you can simply run faster or pedal harder because you are in control of all variables, on a treadmill however you are limited by the rate of the treadmills acceleration and deceleration, aswell as it’s max speed. So often I hear from people saying that have been doing HIIT on a treadmill alternating between 8mph and 2.5mph. THIS IS NOT HIIT. Not only is 8mph too slow for a high intensity interval, but the treadmill cannot go straight from 2.5mph to 8mph and back quickly (and why would they? That would be dangerous). Read the rest of this entry »
This post is the first guest post on HIIT Source, and comes from Sarah from sarahpersonaltraining.com. It’s a great HIIT article and well worth the read.
For advanced exercisers High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a training method that can improve your fitness level and burn fat. HIIT can give a boost to a stale exercise program and be the push you need to improve your results. Certain precautions should be taken with HIIT however, because it is an advanced training method. Read the rest of this entry »
As we’ve established in previous articles, there are various ways to HIIT effectively. In this article I’m going to give a few sample routines for different methods.
Sprinting
The following routine is not conventional in terms of HIIT, the intervals aren’t consistent and it’s a little short – but it’s a good one to mix up your normal routine and keep you body guessing. This routine should kick your ass, if it doesn’t (athletes) then extend it. NOTE: not good for beginners or anyone very overweight. Read the rest of this entry »
If you’ve read some of the other articles here at HIIT Source, you will know that the best way to monitor yourself during training is by keeping an eye on your heart rate and adjusting your intensity to suit the needs of your exercise program. How do you do that quickly and effectively? A heart rate monitor of course.
For cardiovascular exercise (and especially HIIT) the best type of heart rate monitor is a 2 component design; chest strap and wrist display. The chest strap is wrapped around your chest and takes a reading directly from the signals of your heart, then wirelessly transmits the reading to a wrist display (a watch). Read the rest of this entry »
In this article I will be outlining the pros and cons of various ways to monitor your HIIT intervals.
Time
This is by far the most popular way to monitor your intervals. Traditionally you will find HIIT routines around the internet which will tell you how many seconds your high intensity interval should be, and how many your rest should be.
This isn’t always a bad thing, but there isn’t just one cookie cutter HIIT routine that will suit everyone, especially beginners. Read the rest of this entry »
Warning: High Intensity Interval Training is VERY hard! If you are not a strong swimmer, I would not recommend this type of workout for you. Exhaustion could lead to drowning. Please make sure you are properly supervised while doing HIIT in the pool, by pool staff or a friend.
This is just a quick article I’ve been meaning to write because for all you people above the equator, warm weather is coming in the next few months and it’s easy to sit inside your air-conditioned living room and use the “too hot!” excuse.
Luckily, there is a way to get your High Intensity Interval Training in while still keeping cool – HIIT swimming. Read the rest of this entry »
