What Is High-Intensity Interval Training?

Wiseman Health Take-Home Advice

When you add high-intensity interval training to your exercise routine, you’ll appreciate its value. While traditional aerobic exercise has its benefits, anaerobic exercise has really been forgotten. In many ways, it is superior to traditional exercise in that it dramatically  improves muscle composition, heart health, brain health, lung capacity, along with a number of benefits. Looking at the differences between sprinters and marathon runners shows the different manifestations of these two polar opposite approaches. In fact, a recent study from Denmark found that high-intensity interval training may increase certain muscle proteins that affect energy metabolism and muscle contraction, which helps explain how and why this quick-but-effective training impacts muscles and boosts a person’s metabolic rate (burning more calories) long after completing HIIT exercises. Thus, it really should be part of everybody’s routine, along with aerobic exercise, weight training, yoga, Pilates, and other forms of exercise that work different aspects of the body. The greatest advantage of HIIT, in our opinion, is time efficiency as it only takes 15–20 minutes to complete. You can really do this with any form of exercise and you can do it anywhere. For example, cycle for 1 minute as hard as you can (or 85%) then bring it down to 25 % or rest for 2 minutes. Do this routine for 15 minutes. Good luck 😉

Editor’s Note: This content was created by our Wiseman Health content and writing team, without the influence of artificial intelligence engines. Our goal is to be your trusted source for natural health and medical information. This article was originally published on January 16, 2014 and has since been updated.