High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has been really popular for a few years now, and for good reason. Not only can it be done in a small window of time and needs no specific equipment, but it also has all manner of benefits to our bodies, especially fat burning and increased metabolism.
HIIT is a training method where you go all-out in quick, intense bursts of exercise with short recovery periods in between. Generally the ratio of hard work to rest is 1:2 and can increase to 1:1 as you get fitter. HIIT gets your heart rate up and burns more fat in less time, it also increases your metabolism so you’re still burning fat even after your workout.
How does HIIT help me burn fat?
A study has shown that people who did HIIT for 20 minutes, 3 times a week lost over 4lbs (2kg) of body fat in 12 weeks without changing their diet. Despite the little amount of time required, HIIT has a great effect on reducing the fat that we store around our organs too.
As well as burning more calories during a HIIT workout, our body’s repair mechanism starts to work so that we burn more fat and calories during the 24 hours after the workout too.
What happens to my metabolism?
With HIIT, we can work harder in the intervals because of the rest periods, increasing our heart rate, accelerating our metabolism and burning more calories and fat. When we give 100% exertion for 30 seconds or so, we deprive our bodies of oxygen (anaerobic exercise) and this produces lactic acid and adrenaline which helps to burn more fat around the body.
Compared to a steady jog, HIIT makes our bodies work harder in short bursts. The body doesn’t have to work as hard to recover from a steady jog so we feel the effects for longer with HIIT.
So now you know that HIIT exercise has so many benefits and it forms the basis of many Gemma Pearce Fitness workouts. We love the fact that you don’t need masses of time to complete them, you don’t need any equipment – you just need 100% commitment to go all out with 100% effort.
Try HIIT here:
at Abs Blitz or Total Body Tone face to face classes
with our HIIT Bundle of 4 exercise videos
with our Fitness Online Class Membership