Today we are talking about the benefits of HIIT Cardio. What is HIIT? HIIT stands for High-Intensity Interval Training. The goal with this type of training is that for a short period of time (10-30seconds), you’re going to work and push as hard as you can. And then you’re going to follow that up with a period of resting for as long as you need to steady your breathing. From there rinse and repeat this cycle for 10 – 20 min for optimal results.
Essentially the faster you can recover, the stronger your heart is!
There are lots of benefits to HIIT training and of them is its overall efficiency…more muscle for your hustle. 😉 In other words, you burn more calories in less time w/ HIIT Cardio versus running or cycling for example, where your heart rate is staying elevated at a consistent level in the aerobic zone the entire time. The short bursts of intensity get our bodies training from the anaerobic zone multiplying our fat calorie burn and metabolic rate.
Now the question becomes when and how much HIIT cardio should you do? You’ll want to keep your HIIT workouts short, no more than 20-30 minutes long, and limit them to 2-3x/week.
Personally, I love adding HIIT training to my short, strength sessions giving me the best of both worlds (10 min of HIIT & 20 min of Strength).
Admittedly though, I had always been of the mindset that cardio should come post strength session and not before. However, as I’ve been studying for my Metabolic Female certification, I’ve been learning a lot of nutrition & fitness specifically designed to target fat loss in women and Dr. Jade Teta who is an expert in this field and teaches this course recommends that women, in particular, should begin their strength sessions with 10 min of HIIT.
So I started using myself and several clients as guinea pigs for this format and am loving the results! I have increased my overall calorie burn of a 30-minute workout by at least 100 calories and noticed that I am feeling more energized rather than DEAD by the end of my workout. And just to be sure I wasn’t just drinking the cool-aid, I did more research to find that in fact, there had been several recent studies measuring the effects of HIIT Cardio pre and post weight lifting and the results were conclusive, HIIT cardio done before a weightlifting session challenged the body more both during and after the workout – again maximizing our calorie burn and metabolic rate. Interesting stuff, right?
Anyway, I hope you found this episode to be helpful. I am super grateful for your listening ears and look forward to chatting with you again soon.
Much love,
Nina
