If you are one of those people who cannot cope with the monotony of the constant rhythm of an aerobic exercise session, you are in luck. Say goodbye to your boring cardio routines and learn about the new approach in recent years to this type of workouts: HIIT.
HIIT is a form of cardio that alternates periods of high and low intensity. These variations in exercise intensity keep you aware of time and speed, making exercise more enjoyable and less boring.
Why is HIIT training beneficial?
HIIT ( High Interval Intensity Training or High Intensity Interval Training) usually involves a very hard period of about 30 seconds followed by a rest of between twice and four times that time.
The phenomenon that occurs when we recover from this exercise is known as EPOC ( Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption or Excess Oxygen Consumption after Exercise), which implies a considerable increase in oxygen consumption to replace the oxygen deficiency that triggered during HIIT training. This is a very important fact because you will actually be burning a greater amount of calories once you have finished exercising.
What are the benefits of HIIT?
In addition to the fact that EPOC will increase the amount of calories that we are going to burn without having to exercise, we will save a lot of time, since a HIIT session takes much less time than conventional aerobic exercise . Generally, HIIT allows us to save up to half the time we would invest in exercises such as the treadmill, the elliptical or the exercise bike.
Another benefit is that HIIT increases our VO2 max much more than traditional cardiovascular exercise, that is, the amount of oxygen we are able to absorb. This means that we can last longer doing all kinds of exercises.
This type of training also allows us to improve our cardiovascular health , reduces our total cholesterol levels and reduces the risk of suffering from type 2 diabetes. In addition, high intensity interval training is related to an increase in hormones such as testosterone or growth hormone.
How should I do HIIT on a bike?
Heat for 3 to 5 minutes at a medium-low intensity that allows you to start your muscles and warms them up to avoid later problems.
Weeks 1 and 2
- 15 seconds of high intensity – 60 seconds of low intensity. Repeat this sequence 10 times.
Weeks 3 and 4
- 30 seconds of high intensity – 60 seconds of low intensity. Repeat this sequence 10 times.
Once we have completed these 4 weeks of training we should increase the intensity of the high intensity intervals or increase the intensity of the low intensity intervals.
The total time of these sessions would be between 18 and 20 minutes depending on the time we are warming up.
conclusion
High-intensity interval training has a large number of benefits in relation to the short training time involved, although we must remember that they are not easy at all. If you want to learn more about the subject you can take a look at this video:
References
- John Hartmann, High Intensity Interval Training for Beginners, for Active [Revised March 2016].
- High Intensity Interval Training, HIIT. For Skilledfitness [Reviewed February 2020]
