High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
HIIT is simply a way each of us can push ourselves a little harder to build an equal amount of physical strength and cardio conditioning combined with the fat burning effect most of us are after. Most trainers and athletes would look at this as applicable to walking or jogging mixed with intense bouts or sprints that last about 20 seconds. I like to simply apply this as a method of anything you do that is somewhat physical whether work related activity or low intensity exercise combined with anything done at maximum output that revs up your heart rate such as jumping jacks, sprinting, as well as movements such as pushups and squats that get a lot of muscles working and in turn gets your lungs working harder to supply oxygen and nutrients to these working muscles.
This does more than build cardio strength, muscle and endurance, it also excites the system that releases stored energy from inside our fat cells and when we feel this energy hit our system, (we get what many of us know as our 2nd wind) and it does feel good! This usually happens after we have our heart rate revved up for about 20 min and your body recognizes the need for a strong source of energy.
What qualifies as intense movement for one person may not be for another, so you want to go with an amount that is right for you, and this is something you want to gradually build up to.
This can even be done with walking. Try this: after walking for about 3 minutes at a regular pace to warm up, walk really fast for about 1 minute and then slow down for about 30 seconds, then walk really fast for 45 seconds, then 30 seconds slow pace, keep doing drop sets until you get down to a 15 second fast pace for a total of 4 sets. Eventually you will get to where you can do 4 sets of a minute each of fast pace walking. Exercising in this manner has been shown over time to line up proteins in muscle that help deliver fat more efficiently for the mitochondria (energy factory) of our cells to burn as energy.
Whether you choose pushups, jumping jacks or simply grab the side of your desk and do a set of squats, we have many little opportunities to mix in intervals of intense exercise even if it only lasts 30 seconds. This can help us boost our metabolism and give us an edge on meeting our fitness goals!
Even if you’re stuck at a desk, you can use these same intense exercises to counter the sedentary job, simply by pulling back and doing a full body movement rapidly for a minute. This also pumps more oxygen into your blood helping you to stay alert and energetic instead of sleepy and tired.
Try this: next time you’re stuck at your desk, stand up and lean into your desk doing a pushup movement and do this rapidly (for 1 minute), then immediately step back and do some rapid squats (for 1 minute).
We have little snippets of time and opportunities all around us for squeezing in exercise, through our activities of daily living, (ADL’s) we just need to do them faster and with greater intensity!
