HIIT – HIT or Miss? 

“The benefit of this training style is that you can get in and out of the gym very quickly, while getting the same or even better results than if you were  to spend an hour in the gym doing moderate-intensity activity.”

HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is a training methodology that comprises short, maximal bursts of activity followed by a rest interval that is often as long as the maximal burst (e.g. a 15 second maximal sprint followed by a 15-30 second rest period). The benefit of this training style is that you can get in and out of the gym very quickly, while getting the same or even better results than if you were  to spend an hour in the gym doing moderate-intensity activity. 

As you progress, you’ll become a conditioning machine and these workouts will become easier and easier as time goes on. The body is highly adaptive, and with adaption comes efficiency – meaning your body develops the proper motor patterns, cardiovascular conditiong, and muscular development to help prepare it for the next workout. As a result, the effectiveness of HIIT will decrease over time. However, this happens with every style of training! 

No matter what style of training you do, you will become better at it the more you do it. The body is too smart, too adaptive, and too resilient to let you consitently remain so sore that you can’t get out of bed the next morning. You may have noticed this if you’ve been working out for a while and being extremely sore during the first couple weeks, but soon after stopped getting sore after your workouts. 

HIIT will absolutely shock your body and deliver incredible results over a short period of time. However, the adaptation will take place just as fast. As a result, HIIT is something that you should totally add to your workout routine, but it shouldn’t become your only routine. If you’re looking to jump-start your progress or seriously rock your body’s sense of homeostasis, a 2-4 week HIIT program would be a great choice for you!