A struggle that we can all relate to is not knowing what to do when getting into the gym or hopping on our equipment at home. We go through the motions, do a little bit of this and a little bit of that, hoping that we see some sort of change over time. Turns out that just going through the motions doesn’t get us where we want to be.
When push comes to shove, we need to get the most out of our workouts if we want to reach our goals. Knowing what to do, and why we’re doing it will help us feel confident that our hard work will get us to our destination.
So what do we do to get the most out of our cardio sessions at home?
It really depends on how much time you have and what goals you’re working toward. For the most part, we all want to feel better, look better, and perform better.
This is where HIIT comes in.
HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. HIIT has been around for quite some time and has been shown to have effective fat-burning and performance-enhancing effects. As opposed to steady-state cardio, HIIT is performed in quick bouts, combining both low intensity and high intensity work at different ratios. Usually, HIIT is performed anywhere from 12-30 minutes. During that time, bouts of cardio are performed at a certain ratio. A common ratio is three minutes of moderately intense work followed by one minute of all-out effort. If you were using a treadmill, it could look like three minutes of fast walking, and one minute of sprinting. But, why HIIT? Why not just spend an hour walking?
Here’s what you need to know:
- HIIT saves you time
- HIIT is effective
As mentioned before, HIIT is performed for 12-30 minutes at a time. Remember when we used to climb the stairmaster for hours because we thought that was best? Yeah, you can forget all about that. What makes HIIT so great is its compact structure. We all have lives that are committed to important things that don’t involve working out. Although we care about our health very much, we also value our time, relationships, and other responsibilities. We have other things to do than walk on the treadmill for an hour.
But, how is this possible? How is it possible that we can spend half the time training, but get the same results, if not better results?
Although we spend less time doing actual work, HIIT has been shown to burn more calories over time and lead to more positive metabolic changes in our muscles. These high-intensity sessions are far more demanding on the body, so our bodies spend more energy repairing and recovering, which means more calories burned hours after the training session. These intense, explosive sessions can also lead to more lean muscle tissue (when compared to steady-state cardio). The more lean muscle tissue we have, the more calories our body burns at rest.
Simply put, it’s one of the most beneficial and effective ways you can perform your cardio workouts at home.
If you’re looking for an extremely effective way to use your at-home equipment, save time, and get great results, HIIT training is the way to go.
Do you want to learn more about HIIT Training? Look for next weeks blog post or download our FREE HIIT Training Workout Guide.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life.