insideKENT Magazine Issue 87 - June 2019

HEALTH+WELLNESS What’s HIIT All About? YOU’VE PROBABLY HEARD OF HIIT, OR HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING. A TERM THAT BEGAN TO RIPPLE THROUGH THE EXERCISE COMMUNITY IN 2014, WHAT STARTED AS A BIT OF A BUZZWORD FOR A NEW MAXIMUM EFFORT, RAPID RESULTS STYLE OF WORKING OUT HAS STEADILY INCREASED IN POPULARITY OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS AND BECOME THE GO-TO METHOD OF TRAINING FOR ANYONE THAT LIKES TO SWEAT IT OUT AND GET IT DONE. BUT WHAT EXACTLY IS HIIT AND HOW CAN YOU INCORPORATE IT INTO YOUR WORKOUTS? High intensity interval training is defined as short, intense, unsustainable bursts of physical activity, paired with intervals of quick rest. This type of intense training causes a metabolic disturbance, which can result in the body burning calories at a higher rate up to 48-72 hours later. HIIT can also increase metabolism, reduce insulin resistance, improve cardiac function, produce faster gains in endurance levels than stead-state cardio training e.g. pounding the treadmill for hours on end, and can be an effective way to build type 2 fast twitch muscle, which is the muscle group used in powerful bursts of movement like sprinting. Burning more fat effectively than typical endurance cardio, this type of training can be done 112 anywhere and doesn’t usually require any additional equipment, so is more efficient in terms of time commitment and excellent for people that prefer to work out at home. So, how intense does it get? Physical activity is performed at 80 per cent to 95 per cent of a person’s estimated maximal heart rate, which is the maximum number of times your heart will beat in a minute without overexerting yourself. Rests, or recovery, are performed at a heart rate that is half that. In between groups of exercise such as high knees, burpees, jump squats and jumping lunges, each done in intervals of three or four 20-second bursts, you can either catch your breath for 10 seconds, or use that time to do recovery exercises in between intervals like walking on the spot. The good news is that because you're pushing your body to the max, HIIT workouts tend to be 30 minutes or less. You’ll sweat like billy-o, but it’ll be over before you know it. If it's that intense, why would you want to do it? Well, the even better news is this type of training increases your metabolism massively, so that you're burning calories way beyond the length of your workout. Additionally, endurance increases, blood pumps around your body super efficiently, and – depending on the types of exercises you do during the workout – balance and strength will improve too. The short length in overall time taken to get your HIIT workout done means you can fit in a

insideKENT Magazine Issue 87 - June 2019 | Page 112