The Benefits of HIIT Workouts

At HiDow, we know we need to exercise regularly to maintain our health, but many people still do not get enough exercise. The main reason for this, as many people will say, is between work and our responsibilities at home. We don’t always have the time to get a good workout! Luckily, you’re not alone in this, and that’s where high-intensity interval training— aka HIIT— workouts have become popular with the mainstream! HIIT workouts are perfect for anyone looking to get the most out of their workout within a limited time frame. To fully understand the benefits of HIIT workouts, first, we need to understand what they are and how they work!

1 Perfect for a Busy Schedule

High-Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT, is a style of exercising. Built around having very little downtime between each set or round of workouts. Typically, HIIT workouts will only last about half an hour but never really more than a full hour.

Yet, despite being a short workout. It can deliver results equal to or better than spending an hour or two hours at the gym. This is for a few reasons. First, HIIT‌ — as the name implies — is high-intensity. Even though your workout will only last 10, 15, or 30 minutes, you will be going HARD‌ for that period.

Just consider how much time at the gym you spend going all out in comparison to the time you spend texting, sipping water, pacing back and forth, waiting for your buddy to finish doing their reps, etc. You just cut out all of that time that you aren’t exercising.

2 Help You Burn Calories Quickly

HIIT‌ exercises have been found to burn more calories than traditional workouts due to the short, intense bursts of effort followed by equally short recovery times.

If we measure your effort as a percentage, this will look like sprinting all out at 100% for 20 seconds, followed by 30 to 40 seconds of recovery running at 50%.

This causes your body to burn more calories in a shorter period during your workout but also extends into after your workout. This is a great way to effectively burn fat even when you don’t have the time to spend hours at the gym.

3 Increased Metabolism For Hours After

Not only does HIIT‌ help you burn a ton of calories during your workout. Thanks to the excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) effect, your body burns calories long after your workout.

Since your body uses oxygen to burn calories, engaging in high-intensity workouts that get your heart pumping and your lungs working will burn more calories for this reason that workout programs recommend getting into the range of 80% effort or higher.

Once you are done, your body will continue to take in a lot of oxygen to cool down. This will help you continue to burn calories.