This is a post I shared in one of my online exercise support groups - straight talk from me, your friendly neighbourhood instructor/trainer/coach:).
It’s #workoutwednesday so obviously I’m going to talk about my FAVE calorie burning workout - HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)/Tabatas and why it should be your fave workout too😍🔥!!
No pressure.
But seriously, if you love them I’ll be your best friend forever.
Hmmm that may not be that great of a prize, Christina Husson Bahahahaha 😂!
HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, is a training technique in which you give all-out, 100% effort through quick, intense bursts of exercise, followed by short, sometimes active, recovery periods.
Tabata is a HIIT workout that consists of 8 sets called a cycle of 20 seconds work to 10 seconds rest. fast-paced exercises each performed for 20 seconds interspersed with a brief rest of 10 seconds.
I love these workouts because they are quick paced and short (but definitely not sweet) at 20-30 minutes; although I’ve done 45 minutes a few times and wanted to die.
Literal death.
But perhaps the biggest, best reason I love doing HIIT/tabata workouts is what we call, “Afterburn”.
Yep, you heard right, you can keep burning calories, hours after your workout.
Mind ... Blown.
The fancy term for this phenomenon, is EPOC which stands for Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption.
It’s the recovery from a bout of exercise associated with an elevation in metabolism.
Translation: extra calories burned after training aka the “Afterburn Effect”.
HIIT/tabata workouts have double the EPOC than steady state cardio activities.
No I’m not saying your 2 hour walk is useless. On the contrary it is just effective but just takes longer to achieve similar results as HIIT/tabata.
If you are limited on time or need to change your program when you start to plateau, HIIT/tabata workouts are just the thing.
In addition to being a time saver and a game changer, HIIT/tabata workouts release adrenaline/noradrenaline in large amounts which results in blunting hunger. With a suppressed appetite, less calories are consumed resulting in greater fat loss.
Sign me up!!
Again I’m not trying to discount steady state activities like walking.
HIIT is quicker, proves to be more effective for fat loss, creates metabolic changes, and helps with muscle retention but not everybody can do HIIT. Can you say “Death by Burpees?”
Steady state activities tend to be safer, but takes twice as long to accomplish similar things and it still has its place for fat loss in moderate amounts, from a pure calorie burning standpoint.
Huh?
Just means walking burns calories but it’s just not intense enough to change your metabolism. But that’s where nutrition comes in and I promise I’m going to touch on that in another post today:)
So on this #workoutwednesay see if you can try one of these workouts and let us/the group know what you thought!
Happy Wednesday Everyone!
Interested in a fitness/wellness consultation or have some questions about nutrition and your current fitness program? Join any of my groups online (Facebook) and/or pick up my book, How to be Fit for Life - Eight Proven Steps to Reaching Your Fitness Goals, Getting Results, and Living the Fitness Life for more help with your fitness journey. And please feel free to contact me and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have:).