HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training.  While it’s certainly not anything new to the fitness world, it has made a resurgence into the mainstream fitness arena.

From Beachbody’s Insanity to the infamous CrossFit, there are quite a number of HIIT programs starting to pickup steam.  If you have no experience with HIIT or interval training, here’s a little breakdown.

Interval training involves moving from exercise to exercise with little or no rest in between.  However, this doesn’t mean you go full-bore the entire time.  Typically you will raise and lower the intensity of your exercises to compensate for rest periods.  An example would be sprinting for 15 seconds, then jogging for 30 seconds, sprinting for 15 seconds, jogging for 30 seconds, etc…  The lack of ‘rest’ really gets your heart pumping and your body goes into overdrive.

Traditionally the average Joe has stuck to cardio and/or weight training and left the interval training up to athletes and those who like getting their asses kicked by their workout.

That’s not to say interval training isn’t for everyone (especially HIIT).  There are a ton of great benefits to HIIT, a few being:

• Decrease in time spent at the gym or working out
• Increase in fat burning and weight loss
• Overall increase in energy levels and cardiovascular health

There are also other forms of interval training besides HIIT (such as low-intensity interval training), determined by the level of intensity exercises are performed at.  These different interval training types offer different benefits which we’ll get into.

If you’re interested in HIIT or any type of interval training, keep your eyes peeled as we’ll be releasing several articles on this topic...

***As with any exercise routine, please consult your doctor before beginning a new routine***