HIIT Training: What Is It And What Are Its Benefits?
High intensity interval training ( HIIT ) is a form of cardiovascular exercise. It is done in short periods, alternating periods of high and low intensity. Its objective is to maximize athletic performance in conditions in which the muscles are deprived of oxygen.
This type of intense training causes a metabolic alteration that helps the body burn calories at a higher rate, even up to 48-72 hours later, which favors weight loss. In addition, it has many other benefits, such as cardiovascular improvement and regulation of blood glucose levels.
What is HIIT training?
HIIT training alternates short periods of intense anaerobic exercise with less intense recovery periods. Although there is no universal HIIT session duration, these intense workouts typically last less than 30 minutes. Regarding the duration of the intervals, these vary according to the current physical condition level of the participant.
HIIT training sessions often consist of a warm-up period. In fact, the more intense the routine, the more relevant it becomes, since the body needs to adapt.
This is followed by repetitions of high intensity exercises separated by medium intensity exercises as recovery. The exercises can always be the same or circuits can be performed with several different exercises.
In fact, the most important thing is to be able to maintain the intensity in the intervals of maximum work. Finally, a cool-down and cool-down period is included to gradually lower your heart rate, before stretching.
In this type of training, periods of high intensity must be performed almost to the maximum to use the anaerobic pathways (which break down glucose without oxygen) and thus produce energy.
This provides an immediate supply of energy, but the quantity is very limited. Therefore, the time that maximum effort can be maintained is quite short.
Since during periods of high intensity you work at submaximal intensities, recovering before the next interval is essential. It is precisely forcing the body to repeatedly accommodate itself between two very different states that provides excellent cardiovascular conditioning.
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