Odds are you’ve heard of the workout craze HIIT, but unless you’ve done a HIIT workout, you may have no clue what is involved. So what exactly is HIIT?
High intensity interval training, or HIIT, is a newer, popular workout that a lot of people are incorporating into their workout routines and for good reason! Like most workouts, HIIT burns calories and helps you lose weight. But what makes HIIT different than your traditional cardio and strength training workout? HIIT involves quick bursts of intense exercises in a short amount of time with very short recovery periods in between each exercise.
What are some benefits to adding HIIT to your fitness plan?
- Quick and convenient
Between work, school and taking care of the family, there’s not a lot of time in the day to focus on long workouts. By adding HIIT to your fitness plan, you’ll save time since most HIIT workouts are 30 minutes or less! Forget 45 minutes on the treadmill followed by 30 minutes of strength training – get your entire cardio needs done quickly!
- Burns more calories and fat than steady-paced cardio
When you’re doing intense, quick bursts of exercises within a short amount of time with short rest periods, you’re going to keep your heart rate up, thus burning more calories and fat. Look at it this way: if you’re walking at the same steady pace for 45 minutes, you’ll burn less calories and fat than if you were to do HIIT for 20 minutes at a much faster pace. Bonus? You don’t stop burning calories once you complete a HIIT workout; you can continue to burn calories up to two hours post-workout!
- HIIT is customizable
HIIT isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution – that’s the beauty of it. Not everyone enjoys burpees or mountain climbers, we get it! With HIIT, you can customize your workout by incorporating exercises that fit your needs.
If you’ve been wanting to lose weight and gain muscle but don’t have the time to spend 45+ minutes on cardio, HIIT could be your best option.
At Plunkett Fitness, we believe in intense cardio intervals that take only 20 minutes! Following each group fitness session is an optional (but highly recommended) 20-minute high intensity cardio interval workout. Our quick cardio workouts allow you to still incorporate cardio while saving you time – something we could all use more of!
If you have any questions regarding HIIT, don’t hesitate to contact our friendly staff at Plunkett Fitness! We would be happy to answer any questions you may have and would be thrilled to have you join one of our group fitness sessions to get an idea of how we do our high intensity cardio interval training. We’re currently offering a FREE two-week trial to all new guests! To sign up, click here and fill out the submission form on the right side of the page. We can’t wait to see you and help you reach your fitness goals!
