What is HIIT?
HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) is a high-intensity interval training method, consisting of short but extremely intense exercise periods, alternating with periods of rest or light exercise. This is an effective exercise method that helps increase fitness, improve cardiovascular health and burn calories in a short time.
HIIT exercises can be applied to many different sports such as running, cycling, jumping rope or even combining many resistance exercises. Due to its high intensity, HIIT not only helps increase strength but also improves the body’s endurance and recovery speed.
Benefits of HIIT for Fitness
HIIT brings many great benefits to health and fitness, especially the ability to improve endurance and speed:
1. Burn Many Calories in a Short Time
One of the biggest benefits of HIIT is its ability to burn a lot of calories in a short period of time. With high intensity, the body consumes more energy than regular exercises, helping you lose fat and increase strength effectively.
2. Improve Cardiovascular Endurance
HIIT is a good exercise method for the cardiovascular system. By pushing the body into periods of intense exercise, the heart must work hard to supply oxygen to the muscles, thereby improving heart function and increasing cardiovascular health.
3. Increase Strength and Speed
HIIT helps develop both strength and speed by performing interval training. Through each training cycle, your body will gradually become stronger and more flexible, helping you improve your mobility in daily activities.
4. Save Time
HIIT is the ideal choice for those who are busy but still want to exercise effectively. With just 20-30 minutes per workout session, you can achieve the same benefits as hour-long workouts.
5. Enhances Resilience
Pushing the body into intense training phases improves the rate of muscle and cardiovascular recovery after training sessions. This helps the body adapt more quickly to other high-intensity exercises.
Popular HIIT Workouts
Here are some popular and easy-to-follow HIIT exercises that you can apply to increase your fitness:
1. Sprint Intervals
- How to do it: Run hard for 30 seconds, then walk or jog slowly for 1 minute to recover. Repeat 8-10 times.
- Benefit: Improve speed and endurance, enhance cardiovascular health.
2. Burpees
- How to do it: Perform burpees continuously for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds. Repeat 8-10 times.
- Benefit: Helps increase overall body strength and burn calories effectively.
3. High Intensity Jump Rope
- How to do it: Jump rope quickly for 30 seconds, then rest 30 seconds. Repeat 10-12 times.
- Benefit: Improve leg muscle strength, increase heart rate and endurance.
4. Speed Cycling
- How to do it: Pedal as fast as you can for 30 seconds, then slow down and pedal slowly for 1 minute to recover. Repeat 6-8 times.
- Benefit: Strengthens legs, improves cardiovascular recovery.
Notes When Doing HIIT Exercises
When performing HIIT exercises, you need to keep in mind the following to ensure effectiveness and safety:
1. Warm Up Thoroughly
Before starting your HIIT workout, make sure you warm up thoroughly to warm up your muscles and reduce the risk of injury.
2. Intensity Control
Focus on maintaining high intensity during the main training phase and taking time to recover properly during the rest phase.
3. Rest Properly
HIIT is a high-intensity exercise, so you need to have reasonable rest time between exercise sessions. Make sure your body has enough time to recover before starting your next workout.
4. Adjust according to ability
HIIT requires high intensity, but you need to adjust the exercise to suit your ability. If you are just starting out, reduce the intensity and duration of exercise so your body can get used to it.