HIIT

If you are taking the time to get your body in shape, you want to milk that workout for all it’s worth, and High-Intensity Interval Training offers the best bang for your buck both in and out of the gym. Here’s what it means to the millions of HIIT addicts out there and how starting your own HIIT practice may affect you.  

A Quick Primer on High Intensity Interval Training 

HIIT is the general term for workouts that involve short blocks of intense exercise followed by blocks of recovery. Exercises may be primarily cardiovascular in nature, such as running or cycling; a session may also involve lifting weights, or some combination of both.  

The critical aspect is to raise your heart rate to peak level and then bring it back down in preparation for your next high intensity burst. This is what causes the higher calorie burn than other more steady-state endurance activities.  

HIIT Addicts Burn Calories for Hours after Workouts 

HIIT workouts produce what’s known as the “afterburn effect,” where your body continues to burn calories at a higher rate than it would normally for some time after your training session. Scientists refer to this effect as “excessive post-exercise oxygen consumption” or EPOC.  

Strenuous bursts of activity send your body into overdrive as it continuously attempts to restore itself to a resting metabolic state. To get there, it needs ample oxygen which it derives by burning more calories. The more oxygen you consume, the longer the afterburn effect will last.  

In other words, HIIT addicts will continue burning extra calories even when kicking their feet up hours after the workout is over.  

Less Fat, Larger Muscles 

Burning all those extra calories throughout the day helps facilitate a caloric deficit, which is critical for anyone looking to lose weight. But HIIT workouts aren’t necessarily about losing weight for everyone. Many beginners are more interested in losing fat.  

Because your body needs so much oxygen to recover from high intensity intervals, it will seek out all available energy resources. When the carb tank runs low, it will seek out available fat reserves for the energy it needs. Even before you start seeing muscle mass gains, the burning of body fat may begin to reveal more definition. 

HIIT workouts are also great muscle-builders, even for beginners. Why? High intensity intervals by their very nature are based on short, explosive movement. Think: sprinting, jumping, and quick deep squats. These movements activate the fast-twitch muscle fibers, which are responsible for muscle growth and strength.  

Better Breathing, Blood Pressure & Blood Sugar 

HIIT workouts can help improve the typical markers of health that your doctor looks at during an annual physical.  

Increased Aerobic Endurance 

Because this type of training pushes your heart and breathing rate, HIIT lovers improve their aerobic capacity over time. Greater stamina and endurance mean not simply better workouts, but everyday tasks become easier. Taking the stairs, parking farther away, and even walking to your destinations are suddenly options you might have avoided in the past.  

Lower Blood Pressure 

High blood pressure is a common health concern that many people treat with medication. But it is possible to lower the numbers with HIIT exercise. Simply put, regular exercise makes the heart stronger so that it can pump more blood with less effort. As a result, the force on the arteries decreases lowering blood pressure. 

For those whose stiff arteries are to blame for their high blood pressure, regular cardiovascular activity can actually improve the blood vessels’ ability to expand and contract thereby lowering their BP reading over time.  

Reduction in Blood Sugar 

HIIT workouts boost the metabolism and reduce blood sugar levels, meaning they can even help those at risk of Type-2 Diabetes. When adults worked HIIT routines into their daily life they also experienced improved insulin resistance so that their bodies didn’t need to overcompensate and increase blood sugar levels. Keeping those blood sugar levels lower is key to preventing diabetes. 

Brains and Brawn 

If it’s not clear by now that HIIT is a game-changer for your body, please go back and review. (It’s amazing.) If we’re good, now you’re ready to learn about the positive impact this work has on your brain health.  

It’s pretty well understood by everyone how brains release a flood of endorphins during any workout, but HIIT workouts take our brain activity to an even higher level. Once again, the secret lies in the intensity of the training session. 

A burst of intense exercise as short as 6 minutes may produce Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor. BDNF is a protein that promotes neuroplasticity and the creation of new neurons. In other words, BDNF helps you create more brain cells, which in turn not only helps with continued learning, but it also helps stave off the cognitive decline associated with aging.  

Get Fit Even as a Beginner 

HIIT workouts need to be high-intensity, not necessarily high-impact. And definitely not complicated. If you’re just getting started on your fitness journey, it doesn’t matter how heavy your weights, how many reps you can do are or how fast you can move. All that matters is that you reach your high intensity level in timed intervals you can meet. Your only standard for comparison is YOU. 

Guided HIIT workouts are an excellent option for beginners. Follow the lead of an experienced fitness trainer who can demonstrate exercises, provide modifications, and help you keep up with the fittest people in class— on your terms. Soon, you will be an expert! 

Begin Your HIIT Addiction at Body Machine Fitness 

Body Machine Fitness offers HIIT classes 7 days a week. Here, we’ve taken all the benefits of a standard HIIT class and amped it up with heart-pumping music, synced-up light shows, stellar equipment, and inspiring fitness coaches. The unique combination unlocks an experience that HIIT workouts at home or the gym simply can’t compete with.  

The BMF experience unleashes a DOSE of good feelings in a completely immersive experience. The result is a flood of: 

• Dopamine 

• Oxytocin 

• Serotonin  

• Endorphins 
  

We predict that when class is over, you will be already craving your next one. If you’re curious about starting your own HIIT fitness addiction, join us for your first FREE group fitness class in Fort Worth or Plano. 

Generally speaking, if you want to maximize the health benefits of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), aim to exercise for 30 to 60 minutes. Where you land in this range depends on who you are and the style of HIIT you’re interested in doing.  

What Duration Is Right for Me? 

Before starting a HIIT routine, a few factors can help determine how long the ideal workout is for you:  

Fitness Goals 

Asking yourself about your goals is crucial when diving into HIIT. Understanding your why will help you make decisions that are best for you and your specific fitness goals. 

If fat loss is what you’re after, a shorter more intense workout can really rev up the metabolism to break down fat. Looking to improve your cardiovascular health? A longer workout can kickstart your path to a healthier heart.  

Fitness Level  

For someone just dipping their toes into the water, a shorter work out that builds familiarity with the intensity of a HIIT workout is a real boon. As your fitness level ramps up and stamina improves, workouts can get longer.  

Intensity 

HIIT workouts are intense, it’s literally in the name. But that intensity depends on who you are too. If you’re pushing your heart rate to 85-90% of your max heart rate, it’s difficult to do that for 60 minutes or longer.  

Different Ways to HIIT It 

What constitutes a HIIT workout is pretty broad, but there are some common styles of HIIT that can also help you find a duration that’s right for you. 

Tabata Method 

A great option for beginners and veterans alike. Tabata is built around 20 second periods of max effort, with 10 seconds of rest. This is repeated 8 times for an exciting and intense 4-minute workout. 

30/30 and 45/15 

HIIT is a bit of a numbers game, and these two styles can make the most of your time. 30/30 means 30 seconds of work followed by 30 seconds of rest, while 45/15 increases the work and decreases the rest interval. 30/30 workouts are usually 20 to 30 minutes while 45/15 workouts are usually a bit shorter. 

Pyramid 

Pyramids are a great way to build a better you. The work and rest periods start out short, only 20 seconds. They build up to a max period, sometimes as high as 60 seconds of work, before descending back down to the starting point.  

Get Fit with HIIT at Body Machine Fitness  

At Body Machine Fitness, we take advantage of every style of HIIT to keep your body guessing and working hard so you don’t plateau. It might be hard to believe that just 45 minutes a day is all it takes to transform your life completely, but that’s exactly what we do at Body Machine Fitness. Take care of yourself while still leaving time to take care of the million other things life throws at you.  Sign up for a free group fitness class in Plano or Ft. Worth today!  

Over the long haul, HIIT workouts improve your heart health, build lean muscle, improve athletic performance, and even your brain health. Here’s how HIIT-ing a high-intensity interval workout a few times a week can improve your physical health and quality of life over the long term:  

HIIT Workouts Build Lean Muscle for the Long Haul  

To build muscle, you must push hard enough to put your muscles under the appropriate amount of stress for an adaptive reaction to occur. Cardio alone can’t do that—HIIT can. 

A science-informed HIIT program will never let you plateau. HIIT workouts are built around short, explosive periods of all-out work followed by short periods of rest. This makes them almost infinitely customizable. As your fitness improves, you can add weight, reps, or intensity to continue exhausting muscles and encouraging them to grow stronger–even ten years into your regimen.  

HIIT Reduces Visceral Fat for Better Heart Health  

HIIT classes target visceral fat—the pesky layer of fat that wraps around your organs and is linked to issues like diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Having less visceral fat and more muscle can prevent chronic diseases and reduce your risk of cardiometabolic disease as you age.  

After a 45-minute HIIT class, your resting metabolic rate will be higher all day long. This is called the afterburn effect, and all those extra calories burnt can translate into more efficient weight loss.  

HIIT Enhances Athletic Performance  

Science shows that HIIT leads to bigger gains in cardiorespiratory fitness, functional capacity, and lactate threshold compared to moderate intensity continuous training (MICT). Lactic acid, produced during intense exercise, causes muscle fatigue, soreness, and reduced performance.  

A couple of HIIT classes a week can increase the lactate threshold, enabling you to exercise at higher intensities for longer durations before burning out. Over time, this means HIIT training can help you do more of what you love with ease–whether that’s finishing a 10K, hiking on the weekends, or dancing the night away with your friends.  

A Workout That HIITs Your Brain Too  

Brain-derived neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is a chemical in the brain that acts like a crossing guard, helping information get from one part of the brain to the other. After your first HIIT class, you’ll experience a quick boost in BDNF, helping your mood, focus, and cognition improve.  

If you keep coming back for more—and believe us, your brain will want to—you’ll begin seeing a sustained increase in BDNF. Having a little more focus after a workout is great, but with consistent BDNF production, areas of the brain associated with memory begin to grow. That’s right, you’ll grow your biceps and brain with every class.  

Work harder, get smarter.  

Reap The Rewards of HIIT at Body Machine Fitness
Before you can take advantage of a healthier heart, more lean muscle, improved fitness and increased brain capacity, you need to get started on your HIIT journey. 

Take your first rep toward lifelong fitness today with a free group fitness class at Body Machine Fitness. Check out our schedules in Ft. Worth or Plano.  

You don’t need to spend 2+ hours in the gym every day to see the results you’re looking for. In fact, research shows that a round of HIIT can replicate the effects of common types of exercise like running or weightlifting in just a fraction of the time. Depending on how consistent you are with your training in combination with where your baseline fitness level is at, you may start seeing physical changes as soon as 6-8 weeks.

What is HIIT?

High-intensity interval Training (HIIT) is an infinitely adaptable workout program built around short, intense periods of work interspersed with shorter periods of rest. HIIT workouts range from 30 minutes to an hour, with a sweet spot of 45 minutes.

During a HIIT session, you’ll push, pull, jump, and lift your way through compound moves that improve your endurance, build muscle, and increase your resting metabolism rate— giving you a good fat burn long after class ends.

If I Start Now, When Will I See Results?

If you’ve ever done six crunches and lifted your shirt expecting to see a six-pack, you’re not alone. It’s natural to want immediate results when we start a new routine. However, as your mama probably told you, life (and fitness) has no shortcuts.

The question of how long it takes to see HIIT results is a tricky one to answer. The results of any fitness routine are impacted by more than just the reps themselves–what you eat, how you sleep, and how you handle stress can all affect how fast or slow you’ll start seeing changes.

However, if you’re eating lots of protein, getting that shut eye, and staying consistent with your workouts, you’ll set yourself up for these milestones:

1^st Workout: Endorphins and Afterburn

There’s a lot of science behind how a HIIT workout impacts the body differently  than almost any other type of workout. Namely, HIIT sessions produce the afterburn effect, meaning you’ll get the calorie-burning effects of your workout all day long.

Let’s say you hop into one of our morning by the time you’re getting ready for lunch, your body is still burning calories from the morning sweat sesh. Your brain will also get a boost with every HIIT session— exercise-induced endorphin release is dependent on the intensity of exercise, and high-intensity workouts do it best. You may feel mentally clearer and sharper, and experience a more balanced, positive mood.

2-4 Weeks: Improved Endurance

All this extra calorie burning means that, when combined with a diet that runs a caloric deficit, you can start to see inches fall off your waistline in less time. For people in the beginning stages of their fit lifestyle, these results can begin to occur in as little as two weeks. In addition, a few HIIT workouts a week can improve endurance, boost your V02 max, and build lean muscle in under a month.

2-4 Months: Visible Muscle Growth

Most inactive adults who start a HIIT program will start seeing physical results within 8 to 12 weeks. That’s because HIIT causes cells to make more proteins for their mitochondria than other types of exercise, according to a 2017 study in the journal Cell Metabolism. The study found that adults who did 12 weeks of high-intensity aerobic interval training reaped more robust improvements in their muscle protein content than their peers who were on other workout programs.

HIIT Up Body Machine Fitness and Start Seeing Results

If you’re in a time crunch and can’t afford to spend hours in the gym, then a 45-minute HIIT session at Body Machine Fitness might be the perfect solution for you. You can start working toward achieving your fitness goals today by signing up for a free class in Fort Worth or Plano . So, what are you waiting for? Your inner savage is waiting to be let out of the cage.