HIIT Training, or high-intensity interval training, has taken the fitness world by storm. Ask most fitness trainers what the biggest fitness trend of 2014 was and they’ll enthusiastically tell you HIIT. Why has high-intensity interval training struck such a responsive chord with trainers and fitness buffs? It’s a real time saver for one. Research shows HIIT training offers similar or superior benefits to steady-state cardio in half the time.
The Health and Fitness Benefits of HIIT
High-intensity interval training improves aerobic capacity, just as steady-state cardio does and possibly more, but it also fine-tunes your anaerobic energy system. It’s also a belly fat scorcher. Several studies show high-intensity exercise is superior to steady-state aerobic exercise for melting away stubborn visceral abdominal fat, the type of fat that’s strongly linked with health problems like cardiovascular disease and type 2-diabetes. Plus, HIIT training keeps your body in a fat burning mode for hours after a workout is over due to the prolonged “after-burn effect.” Plus, it does all of this with a minimum of muscle loss, unlike long periods of cardio that can put your hard-earned muscle tissue in jeopardy.
You have to love the time-saving benefits of HIIT training and the fact that it’s a workout that can be adapted to almost any form of exercise you do by alternating periods of high-intensity exercise with periods of recovery. With the many benefits of high-intensity interval training, some people think they get “more of a good thing,” when they tackle high-intensity interval training every day. Eating vegetables at every meal is a healthy habit – the more the better, right? So why can’t the same be said for high-intensity training?
Why Daily HIIT Workouts Aren’t a Good Thing
If you’re doing high-intensity training right, daily HIIT training will quickly lead to fatigue, soreness and other signs of “over-reaching.” During active intervals of HIIT training, you’re pushing your body to near maximum effort. Such efforts are exhausting to your body and necessitate a greater degree of recovery time compared to an equal amount of steady-state cardio. Your body doesn’t recover swiftly from exercise of such high intensity.
During the recovery period after a high-intensity workout, your metabolic rate stays revved up for hours, and some experts say days. That’s because your body has to work hard to return your body to equilibrium. During this time, muscles resynthesize phosphocreatine, the fuel source they use at the start of intense exercise. Plus, your body temperature has to come down, your heart and breathing rate has to drop and stress hormone levels have to fall. In addition, you have to breathe harder to repay the oxygen debt you incurred. That’s a lot of extra work your body has to do. Imagine if you asked it to do that every day.
The reality is you don’t NEED to do HIIT training every day, assuming you’re really ramping up the intensity during the active intervals. One of the things that make high-intensity interval training so appealing is the fact you don’t have to do it every day or for long periods of time. It’s the most time expedient way to work out. Plus, you can do a HIIT workout without equipment using bodyweight movements – comes in handy when you’re traveling!
How often should you do a high-intensity interval training routine? Two to three times a week works best for most people. Doing a daily high-intensity interval workout won’t give your muscles adequate time to recover or your body time to completely return to homeostasis. If you feel you can do a HIIT routine every day, ask yourself if you’re really working hard enough when you’re engaged in an interval routine.
A common mistake people make with high-intensity interval training is not working out at a high enough intensity during the active intervals. True HIIT training isn’t moderate-intensity cardio separated by rest intervals. If you do it this way, you won’t get the same degree of post-exercise after-burn or improvements in your anaerobic energy system. Think of it as interval “bursts” or “blasts” of activity.
Think about it. You wouldn’t work the same body parts two days in a row with heavy resistance training – the same applies to HIIT training. Your muscles and your entire body need to recover. Plus, you don’t want to burn out psychologically either.
Vary the Exercises You Do During Your HIIT Routine
You can adapt HIIT training to a variety of different exercises. You’ll reduce your risk for overuse injuries by varying the type of exercises you do during your HIIT training sessions. Plus, adding variety to a routine helps you stay motivated. Love HIIT training for the versatility it offers. Don’t forget to do a five-minute warm-up to warm up cold muscles before starting a high-intensity interval training routine. An effective warm-up will help you avoid injury.
The Bottom Line
High-intensity interval training offers tons of benefits and advantages, but it’s not an everyday workout. Stick to doing it two or three times a week and spend other days doing resistance training or recovery forms of exercise like yoga. The beauty of HIIT training is you don’t HAVE to do it every day.
References:
Med Sci Sports Exerc 2007;39:665-71.
Poloquin Group. “Is Aerobic or Anaerobic Training Best for Getting Rid of Belly Fat?”
On Fitness. March/April 2015. “HIIT Every Day Not Okay: Here’s Why”
Medcape Family Medicine. “Effect of Exercise Training Intensity on Abdominal Visceral Fat and Body Composition”
Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease. November 2013Volume 23, Issue 11, Pages 1037-1042.
Related Articles By Cathe:
High-Intensity Interval Training: How Intense Does It Have to Be?
Can High-Intensity Interval Training Revitalize Aging Cells?
Can Music Make High-Intensity Interval Training More Effective?
How High-Intensity Interval Training Slows Aging at the Cellular Level
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HiiT and Interval Workout DVDs
Thanks for this post. I needed someone to confirm my intuition, that it would not be a good idea to do hiit again today after yesterday session. I would do joga instead. Cheers!
Great idea you have shared, really thankful for this article 🙂
i do hit everyday, 20 sec work, 25 sec rest, 8 cycles
with warm up n cooldown, im sweating and quite beat after, im 44 years, dont take any supps, i dont feel fatigued, sometimes i feel lazy but after warmup im game, my only question which wasnt covered here is immune system. is your body at greater risk of infections doing hiit everyday
I think HIIT is ok everyday as long as it is low impact. I have never felt like I needed to take a nap after HIIT as I do with 1 HR to 1.5 hr classes of other formats. Im torching appropriate amount of calories a day, and still have energy left over to do life.
I love that this article on the internet actually has the references listed at the bottom showing that some assertions made in the article aren’t just opinion, but medical fact. You rarely see that!
But I wish each of the 5 references were linked with a superscript number to each statement(s) made in the article so we know which statement(s) is supported by which article.
I guess every one is different. For me want to loose my belly fat and I am running 45 min continous with 7.5 miles pace. I have been running for almost 4 years. The reason I didnot lost my belly is I skip in between. Anyhow I started doing HIIT. I run for 30 min continous now and do almost 3 sets of spriniting at 12 mile/hr 30 sec running and 30sec resting. I feel energized all day. No fatigued and no pain. May be everyone is different. But wth HIIT my abs are getting defined now. I guess I need to go for 3 weeks more to get rid of my last layer of lower belly.
Ibrahim have you get rid of last layer of lower belly now doing HIIT as you mention.
[…] just wanted to touch on overkill. A HIIT workout plan shouldn’t involve daily workouts. In fact, daily HIIT sessions can cause fatigue and soreness. After all, HIIT workouts are all about pushing your body harder […]