“Using a HIIT workout to complement your pure strength workouts will help overall muscle strength and endurance,” says Lyons. Your metabolic rate also tends to be higher after a HIIT session, which means you will continue to burn calories post workout, Lyons adds. If you’re looking to torch calories, HIIT workouts can burn a lot of cals in a short amount of time because you're hitting your max effort. The goal is to push at your max capacity and rev your heart rate during those work intervals and use your breaks to rest and get ready to go all-out again.Īnd whether you're in the gym, at home, have weights handy, or want to sweat equipment-free, HIIT workouts will serve you major rewards. There are all sorts of ways to do HIIT, but the basic principle is this: Instead of going at a steady, moderate pace for the duration of your sweat sesh, you alternate between periods of intense work and recovery, says Tatiana Lampa, CPT, an ACSM-certified personal trainer and founder of Training with T App. Tatiana Lampa, CPT, is an ACSM-certified personal trainer, former instructor at Fit House in New York City, and founder of Training With T. Meet the experts: Alex Lyons, CPT, is a NASM-certified personal trainer and coach on House Of Athlete Plus, a holistic health and fitness platform, who has taught boxing, bootcamp, and HIIT classes. “If you feel like you have hit a wall in your fitness, adding HIIT offers variety and huge rewards when it comes to cardio training, because instead of parking on a treadmill or elliptical, 20 minutes of intense HIIT work can get you to the burn you crave quicker, and you’ll be moving in all planes of motion.” “HIIT workouts pack a quick punch and are an easy way to get heart rate elevated while continuing to focus on your exercise form,” says Alex Lyons, CPT, a NASM-certified personal trainer and coach on House Of Athlete Plus.
After all, HIIT workouts are an efficient way to combat a sedentary lifestyle, reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, and improve your overall health, recent research has found. They’re effective, accessible, and optimize your time.
There’s a reason HIIT workouts stand the test of time.