5 Best Benefits of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) refers to intermittent exercise that involves alternating short bursts of higher-intensity activity with lower-intensity activity for recovery or rest.

There are so many HIIT benefits. HIIT is the kind of exercise where you use all the efforts you have in you to perform quick and intense bursts of exercises. 

In HIIT, there are short and sometimes very active recovery periods. This exercise uses up a lot of energy (and a lot of oxygen) and needs even more oxygen for recovery. 

A study confirms that HIIT is effective in promoting health and fitness in less fit people. The interval in HIIT exercises is important because they help to improve general heart health. 

According to Martin Gibala, one of the world’s leading interval training experts, who’s based at McMaster University in Canada:

“The more aerobically fit you are, the better your heart can pump blood, the longer it takes you to get out of breath, and the farther and faster you’re able to bike or run or swim.”

Here are some of the top HIIT benefits:

1. Improves endurance

A study by Gibala and his cohort enrolled overweight and sedentary adults to participate in three HIIT exercise sessions per week. 

And each session lasted for a total of thirty minutes with the twenty-second interval of fast pedaling on exercise bikes. 

In the end, there was an improvement in their VO2 max (a measure of endurance that calculates the maximum volume of oxygen the body can use).

2. Burns calories faster

One of the many HIIT benefits is the rate of calorie burn. HIIT helps to burn calories faster within a short period. 

A study weighed the number of calories burnt when performing 30 minutes each of HIIT, weight training, running, and biking. 

They found that HIIT burned 25 -30 percent more calories than the other exercises. The HIIT training repetition had 20 seconds of effort followed by a 40-second rest. 

This means that the HIIT participants were training for about one-third of the time allocated to the bikers and runners.

3. Increases metabolism

Another of the many HIIT benefits is that it increases your metabolism rate after the session. 

In this study, HIIT training improved the metabolism rate after exercise and shifted it towards fat use for energy instead of carbs. 

HIIT is a powerful exercise to lose some more calories even after the session itself. This post-workout calories burn is important if you want to lose belly fat as well.

4. Reduces high blood pressure

Again, HIIT training helps to reduce high blood pressure and heart rate. 

This study proves this claim, especially in obese and overweight individuals. If you ever wanted to stop gaining weight, HIIT can help.

Another study concludes that eight weeks of HIIT on stationary bikes decreased blood pressure than traditional continuous endurance exercises in adults with high blood pressure. 

The participants trained for four days every week for thirty minutes each day whiles the HIIT group exercised three times per week for twenty minutes each day.

5. Promotes healthy insulin

Several studies including this one show the positive impact of HIIT exercises on the regulation of blood sugar and insulin levels which contribute to diabetes.

HIIT exercises are generally safe exercises but don’t need to do it every day. 

It is advisable to stick to performing it three times a week. Doing HIIT the wrong way could harm the general physique of your body, lead to joint pain, and cause more problems for you.