People generally ask me how much cardio should they do and why do I advise them not to do cardio for long hours. The main reason why I discourage doing too much cardio is that it puts unnecessary stress on the body, will lead to muscle loss and if you keep on doing the same cardio exercise day after day without changing the intensity then eventually your body will hit a plateau and you’ll stop seeing the results you want. This is where HIIT comes into play where we can keep the cardio aspect in mind and fluctuate the intensity with new exercises every day so that doesn’t have to repeat the same workout every day. Thus, we consider HIIT as the core of ParaFit.
In this post, you’ll learn…
What is HIIT
The science behind the effects of HIIT on your body
Benefits of HIIT over cardio
What is HIIT?
HIIT stands for High-Intensity Interval Training. It is a highly effective type of cardiovascular exercise where you alternate between periods of high-intensity anaerobic exercises and rest periods. Entire workout sessions may only last half an hour or less, however, individuals who consistently engage in HIIT workouts gain profound benefits. Some of these advantages include incinerating fat by igniting your metabolism, improving your cardiovascular system, boosting the efficiency of your body’s oxygen consumption, and warding off disease. All this is gained without the need for traditional cardio workouts.
HIIT saves you time.
I mean, think of all the people who have to get up early in the morning and get ready for work, rush to the office, work the whole day and then come back home after struggling for hours in the traffic.
By the end of the day, you feel so fatigued and lazy that you don’t even think of sparing an hour or two for working out. This is where HIIT becomes a savior. Just because you’re busy doesn’t mean you have an excuse to allow your fitness to suffer, because that can spell a disaster in the long term. You deserve a workout that fits your hectic life. Our program HIITLean delivers just that.
HIIT sessions last, on an average, 15-20 minutes. You can do the entire program anywhere you are. We have members who do their daily HIIT sessions at home, at the gym, in a dorm, on the road and even in hotels. Wherever you are, you can do High-Intensity Interval Training.
‘But what about cardio. You can do cardio for 20-30 minutes almost anywhere too, right?’
Sure, but here is where we get into the scientific benefits of HIIT.
HIIT ignites metabolism.
HIIT ignites metabolism faster than regular cardio. An article out of Experience Life, a health and fitness magazine, interviewed certified strength and conditioning specialist Mike Robertson. When asked about the benefits of using it for fat loss Robertson responded, “If you’re trying to lose fat, it’s pretty clear that HIIT is a more efficient tool than long distance cardio.” [1]
The article went on further:
Physiologists have yet to develop a full explanation of why this is, but one reason may be the so-called afterburn effect, in which the metabolism remains elevated for hours – and sometimes even days – after an intense workout… one 1994 study at Laval University in Quebec, Canada, found HIIT was nine times more effective for losing fat than steady-state cardio. [1]
The human body responds better to HIIT than cardio!
Clearly, one huge benefit is that primes your body to continuously burn fat even after you’re done with your workout sessions. That means you’re more likely to effectively burn fat while doing all those other important things in your life.
HIIT contributes to heart health.
HIIT guarantees the strengthening of your heart. And it has an advantage over traditional cardio by design. The high-intensity interval aspect of any workout requires that your entire body work harder, compared to traditional cardio.
Imagine jogging at a moderate pace for an hour versus sprinting in short bursts for 20 minutes. If you’ve ever done HIIT or sprinting, or anything else using intervals of high intensity, then you know that you’re gonna feel the effects of this training long after you’ve finished. HIIT forces your body and your heart to push the limits, and consistently pushing the boundaries strengthens everything, including your heart.
When you turn up the intensity of your workout, as high-intensity interval training does, you’re making your heart work harder. And since this muscle (like most) becomes stronger after putting it through tough training, this workout is very beneficial for your heart health.
HIIT beats Cardio in VO2 Max improvements.
VO2 Max is the maximum rate of oxygen your body can consume during physical exertion. Obviously, oxygen is required for us to carry out any task, but as we exert ourselves, our bodies need more oxygen to keep us going.
What many people don’t know is how efficiently our bodies consume oxygen and that can vary widely. Elite athletes’ bodies typically consume oxygen at higher rates than let’s say a couch potato. That enhanced rate of oxygen consumption, or better VO2 Max scores, can be significantly increased by using programs. In fact, scientifically speaking, it gives larger improvements in one’s VO2 Max scores than traditional cardio.
A 2015 review of 723 participants in over 28 different scientific studies revealed that while both HIIT and traditional cardio increased VO2 Max levels, HIIT participants scored higher on their VO2 Max compared to other non-HIIT participants.
Related: 6 POSSIBLE REASONS WHY YOU’RE TIRED ALL THE TIME
The review, titled “Effectiveness of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIT) and Continuous Endurance Training for VO2max Improvements: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Controlled Trials”, concluded:
Endurance training and HIT both elicit large improvements in the VO2max of healthy, young to middle-aged adults, with the gains in VO2max being greater following when compared with endurance training.
And I want to be clear, I’m not discrediting traditional cardio in the least, but if your goal is to achieve maximum benefits within the shortest period, the research is very revealing – HIIT beats cardio.
Our HIIT programs comes in 2 parts one is HIIT Lean which is for beginners who have started their journey of fitness recently or haven’t started it at all and another one is HIITLean Pro which is for intermediates and people who have been regularly working out so that it can be challenging enough for them to bust a session of the HIITLean Pro with full satisfaction.
Custom Training plan
Our custom training plan gives you access to tons of such HIIT exercises tailored according to your meal plan and fitness levels with a mix of cardio, strength training, and core exercises and other loads of services.
With all this said, I want you to join me. I want you to feel better than you’ve ever felt before and wake up with more energy, stamina, and an overwhelming sense of self-satisfaction. I want you to live longer, happier, and healthier.
Let’s get fit TOGETHER!!!
References:
[1] Heffernan, Andrew. “Steady-State Cardio Vs. High-Intensity Interval Training.” Experience Life. Experience Life, Jan.-Feb. 2014. Web. 02 May 2017. <https://experiencelife.com/article/steady-state-cardio-vs-high-intensity-interval-training/>.
[2] Milanović, Z., Sporiš, G. & Weston, M. Sports Med (2015) 45: 1469. doi:10.1007/s40279-015-0365-0 <https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs40279-015-0365-0>
Your articles are really helpful for everyone be it a pro or just a beginner.. Earlier i used to look for such informative platter from foreign health groups.. India needed such initiative. Thumbs up.
Thanks alot:)