HIIT Workouts - what is it and benefits?

What is HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training?

A HIIT workout mixes short bursts of activity with even shorter rest periods. The most popular HIIT workout is Tabata - 20 seconds of work followed by a 10 second recovery. The work is repeated for eight rounds. Due the math, that's four-minutes of intense work. But the workout is flexible. Different work-to-rest-ratios can be created. The most popular is 2-to-1.

What's great about the workout is limits are pushed during the working phase. Which means these workouts are usually shorter, somewhere between 20 to 30 minutes.

Are these workouts suitable for any fitness level? Of course! YOU are in control of your workout. You get to choose the intensity. The goal is to push yourself to YOUR max, which like all of us varies from person to person.

A HIIT workout can almost be applied to any type of activity, such as running, cycling, and strength training.

What are the benefits?

• HIIT workouts are efficient. Work to your max; burn more calories in less time.

• Afterburn. HIIT continues to burn calories AFTER your done working out. That's right when you're sitting down watching Netflix (or reading this post), you're burning calories.

• The workouts are shorter. Not everyone has time to spend hours or even an hour working out.

• No equipment, no problem. Plyometrics or jump training can spike the heart rate.

• Boost metabolism

• Regulate Blood sugar

Got 10 minutes? Here's a HIIT workout for you...