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MORE THAN ONE WAY
TO HIIT YOUR GOAL
High-Intensity Interval Training comes in many forms, writes exercise
physiologist Tony Boutagy. By understanding your client’s objectives you
can program the most effective type for their needs.
THE QUICK READ
• HIIT can be a time-effective way to
improve health, body composition
and performance
• There are three main subtypes of
HIIT: sprint intervals, short intervals
and long intervals
• The ratios of work-to-rest vary
greatly both across the three main
types of HIIT, and within each
subtype
• HIIT often involves stationary cycling,
rowing, running or similarly simple
movements that do not distract the
exerciser from the intensity of effort
required
• Workouts should typically be
performed twice a week on a mode
that can handle high work outputs
without compromising good form.
nterval training refers to an
intermittent style of exercise in
which bouts of more intense
effort are separated by periods of
recovery within a single training session. The
High-Intensity component of interval training
can be operationally defined as training
sessions where bouts of exercise are
performed at an intensity higher than one
could sustain for a prolonged period, of say,
more than 8 minutes, interspersed with
recovery periods.
One of the primary goals of interval
training is the use of intermittent exercise
efforts to expose the body to an accumulated
intensity greater than one could sustain in a
continuous bout. For example, if your best
time for a 5K run was 20 minutes (4-min per
km pace), then an interval training session
option might involve five, 1km intervals at
3:30-min/km with 2 minutes rest, thereby
accumulating 5km at a faster time than your
best continuous 5km pace.
Application of this method for general
fitness and sports conditioning has been
recognized for around 100 years, but the last
decade has seen an explosion of research
into the physiological adaptations to interval
training in both sports settings and in
populations with cardiometabolic diseases. Originally used by German cardiologists
as part of the rehabilitation process,
interval training was quickly adopted by
their country’s coaches in the 1930s. At a
similar time in Sweden, Fartlek training was
invented by the coach Gösta Holmér, which
saw running training sessions punctuated
with different distances varying in speed. By
the mid 1930s, the Germans had formalised
a structured system of interval training for
track and field athletes. Within two decades,
interval training was popularised by the
Czech runner Emil Zátopek, who won gold
medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m races,
as well as the marathon, at the Helsinki
Olympic games in 1952.
Thus, interval training itself is not new,
being used for many decades and extensively
scientifically investigated since the 1970s,
initially from a performance setting and more
recently for its effects on cardiometabolic
health and body composition.
Origins and history Sprint intervals are essentially repeated
bouts of ‘all-out’ efforts with almost full
recovery. Typically, work durations are
between 20 seconds and up to a minute.
The rest between intervals should allow for
I
Elite athletes seeking to improve their sports
performance have used interval training,
in a variety of forms, for almost a century.
40 | NETWORK SPRING 2019
High-Intensity session types
As a working definition, HIIT can be broadly
divided into three distinct types: Sprint
Interval Training (SIT), Short Intervals; and
Long Intervals.
Sprint Interval Training (SIT)