What is HIIT?
It stands for High Intensity Interval Training and it’s a workout which alternates between intense bursts of activity followed by a rest period. An example would be running on the spot as fast as you can for 40s followed by a 20s recovery period. This is repeated for 20 minutes. It’s ideal if you are limited on time as a 20 minute HIIT work out can be as effective as jogging on the treadmill for an hour.
A 2011 study showed that just 2 weeks of HIIT can improve your aerobic capacity as much as 6-8 weeks of endurance training. It’s a great form of exercise if you’re trying to lose weight as you burn more calories during the workout and in the 24 hours following a HIIT workout than you would for a steady pace run. HIIT stimulates production of your Human Growth hormone (HGH) by up to 450 percent in the 24 hours after your workout. This increases your calorie burn and slows down the ageing process too ☺
