Benefits of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

High intensity interval training (HIIT) is not for the faint-hearted! It is a workout that will make you work harder than you ever have before but will get you better results than you have seen before. It is a very simple workout and most people don’t believe that short bursts of HIIT can bring them the benefits that they want, but it has been proved on many occasions that it can change your fitness and health.

Time benefits

With many people leading a busy lifestyle they simply do not have the time to spend hours in the gym trying to achieve the level of fitness that they want. HIIT means that you can get the workout that you need in a much shorter period of time. In addition, you will start to see results much more quickly.

Fat benefits

It has been proved that if you take part in a HIIT workout you will burn more calories and more fat. The effect of this is ongoing for up to 24 hours after the workout has finished so for a day your body will still be working harder than it does normally. If you are trying to lose weight then you know that if you simply diet you could be losing muscle mass alongside the fat. HIIT workouts have been shown to maintain muscle mass while working out, so that most of the weight loss is from fat.

This type of workout is also known to boost the body’s production of human growth hormone by several hundred percent during the 24 hours after a workout. HGH is needed to give your metabolic rate a boost and will also help to slow down aging!

HIIT has also been shown to lower the body’s insulin resistance much further than other types of exercise, helping to keep blood sugar levels under control much better than for those who do not do much exercise.

Heart health

HIIT will take you into a zone known as the anaerobic zone. This is where you feel as though you cannot breathe and your heart is trying to leave your body! The results are worth it though. A study has shown that those who do this type of workout for 8 weeks will have increased stamina and can maintain a better pace than they could before. A study has also shown that those who have suffered from cardiovascular conditions such as high blood pressure, coronary heart disease and heart failure can benefit from double the rate of cardiorespiratory fitness than those who have tried other exercise regimes.

While the thought of starting a high intensity interval training regime may be daunting, it is easy to see that the benefits are more than worth the effort. Better heart health, metabolism and improved fitness are all something that people should aspire too and when we are able to have those things with short bursts of exercise there is no reason not to try!

What Is Metafit All About?

Metafit is a system of high intensity interval training in short workouts, lasting around 30 minutes. The aim of the workout is to improve fitness, give you better energy levels and help you to see maximum results in a relatively short period of time.

There are a number of reasons why this workout is proving to be so popular and one of these is that it is great for losing weight and weight control. The exercise is able to create a metabolic disturbance so the resting metabolic rate is increased and the body will burn more fat as a result. This is a very effective training system and results can be achieved in as little as 30 minutes giving the whole body a workout.

High intensity interval training is based on short bursts of intense exercise. There is no need to be exercising for an hour or more like this because it is the quality of the exercise that matters rather than the quantity.

In most Metafit classes the moves are not choreographed. All those who are taking part will work at their own pace and to match their own ability. Each person is not required to move in sync with the others in the class. There are basic and advanced options to all movements. Remember that maximum effort is different for different people!

The system also makes use of compound movements so that more than one joint at a time is working. The movements involved in Metafit are designed to copy movements that you do every day. When you use more joints and muscles at the same time you are burning more calories and fat, therefore you notice the results much more quickly.

Metafit is designed to give your core a good workout, exercising all the muscles there. Your abs, shoulders, lower back and glutes will all be put through their paces, eliminating the need for ineffective sit-ups.

Metafit has designed to reduce the stores of glycogen in the muscles so that the EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption) continues after the exercise has finished. The body burns fat after the exercise period is over rather than while the exercise is taking place but the resting metabolic rate is raised, so that when you are not exercising your body is still doing more to burn off excess fat. After your workout the body needs to replace the stores of glycogen in the muscles, regulate the body’s temperature and allow the respiratory and cardiovascular systems to return to a resting state.

This form of exercise can be daunting for those who have never tried it before but those who have consider it to be much more fun than longer workouts that do not produce the desired results for months. Many people start an exercise regime because they want to see results quickly and this is a style of exercise that can do just that. Why not contact our team today to find out more about high intensity interval training and how it can help you?

Interval Training Explained

Interval training is one of those things that you may have heard of but may not completely understand what it entails. However, it is very simple to understand. This is a type of physical exercise that you do in a series of low to high intensity workouts and these are separated by rest periods.

When you do interval training at a high intensity you are working either at or close to anaerobic exercise. The recovery times generally involve activity at a much lower intensity. So how does this work?

By working at different intensities the heart muscle is being worked on, so your body is getting a cardiovascular workout. You can then improve your aerobic capacity and you can build stamina to work out for longer and at a much higher level of intensity.

The term ‘interval training’ can be used to refer to any type of cardiovascular workout as it is the way that it is organised. Cycling and running, for example can both be practised as interval training and many athletes do benefit from working out this way.

High intensity interval training is designed to bring down the amount of training that is actually done because the effort used during those high intensity sections is increased. The benefits of HIIT include better cardiovascular health, a boost to the metabolism faster workouts and a wide range of exercises so that you don’t get bored!

Many people who have tried HIIT find that it is much more fun than working out for a much longer time and at a much steadier pace. A study has shown that even though it involves working much harder, getting more benefits from a shorter workout means that people enjoy it more.

However, there is a downside. You will have to work hard and for many people this means working harder than they have before. Those who do not hit the right level of intensity will not see the same benefits as others so if you want to try it you have to be prepared to work extremely hard.

Different trainers will have a different formula for HIIT training sessions. Plans are often tailored to the individual as everybody is different. One of the most common formulas used is a 2:1 ratio, so you may find that you have to do around 40 seconds of very fast running, for example, followed by up to 20 seconds of much more gentle jogging. These will be alternated for up to half an hour, although there are some high intensity interval training workouts that last for less than five minutes!

This type of workout is ideal for those who do not have hours to spend in the gym but who still want to see great results and working out with a qualified trainer is one of the best ways to see maximum results as they are always on hand to make sure you are getting the most from your workout.

If you would like to try out one of our high intensity interval workouts, get in touch and we can discuss your goals. Or you can look at the class list we are currently running and come along to see what it’s about.

Interval Training Reigate

Interval training is high intensity interval training or HIIT. It basically involves using rapid exercises over a short period of time.

Much of the time, HIIT incorporates bodyweight exercises, so no extra equipment is needed.

Body Torque provide Meta-Fit interval training classes in Reigate, Dorking and Betchworth every week.