HIIT or miss: How to find the ideal balance in your workouts

There is a commonly held belief that the more intense the workout, the faster the results, but it’s not always true.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) such as spin and circuits classes are everywhere. You will find them on most gym class timetables, and influencers promote their benefits over social media. And there are many benefits for the right person, but these workouts aren’t suitable for everyone.

Exercise is a stressor. The aim when working out is to add stress into your body via resistance training or cardiovascular exercise. During the recovery phase, your body adapts to the stimulus by becoming stronger, fitter, and increasing lean muscle.

This cumulative exercise stress, generally calculated over a week, is called your training load. It is usually measured by the intensity and duration of your workouts. For example, a 45-minute high-intensity interval training (HIIT) session is high stress; a relaxing 30-minute Yoga session will be low stress.

The amount of training load you can tolerate will be dependent on factors such as your age, stress from other areas of life, sleep quality, nutrition and fitness level.

A young, fit person who regularly sleeps for 8 hours, has a relatively stress-free life and eats a well-rounded diet will be able to tolerate a higher amount of training load than someone who sleeps poorly, works long hours in a stressful job, eats a highly-processed diet and is over 40.

Suppose you consistently push yourself to the limit in your workouts without adequate recovery. In that case, it will likely lead to overtraining, the exercise equivalent of burnout, and an increased chance of injury.

Striking the right balance in your workouts is crucial to the results you see and how you perform in every area of life.

So how do you track training load?

You can track your training load with several devices, but for most non-athletes, the best approach is to train by feel.

If you are having a particularly stressful week, you’d probably be better placed reducing your workout intensity and volume or opting to go for a walk or light bike ride instead. ?If you feel energised, then train as planned.

This approach requires a good understanding of your body and may be difficult for someone just starting. The more you listen to your body, the better you will be at deciding when a rest day is required. ?

Although judging when to take a rest day can be tricky, there are a few important factors to take into consideration to achieve the right balance in your training and experience optimal results:

1.???Mix hard, medium and recovery sessions.

Scheduling a range of intensities into your workout plan is the most effective strategy to see consistent progress. They fall into 3 categories:

• High-intensity. You will leave nothing in the tank during these workouts.
• Medium intensity. ?You will work hard in this session, but not to complete max. You should feel worked out and invigorated following the session.
• Recovery session. This is a light workout. You will leave the session feeling calmer and relaxed.

For most people who simply want to look and feel better, I suggest saving your medium to hard sessions for resistance training. You will need to work hard enough to force an adaptive response, leading to increased strength and lean muscle.

Supplement these workouts with less demanding activities such as low-intensity steady state (LISS) cardiovascular training and relaxing mobility workouts such as Yoga will ensure you get the balance right.

The split between these intensities depends upon your training experience, lifestyle, stress levels and training goals.

2.???Don’t increase your training load too quickly

We all want to improve quickly, but it is important to progress your workouts gradually.

Stepping up from light jogging to HIIT sessions is not sensible. Focus on incremental improvements each session. This will ensure you see consistent and sustainable progress and reduce the chance of overtraining.

3.???Prioritise your recovery

The better your overall wellness routine, the faster you will be able to recover. Aim to eat a well-rounded diet, get between 7-9 hours of sleep and implement strategies to manage stress.

Ensure that you schedule recovery days from training and work into your week. We adapt and improve when we rest and recover.

Exercise supports a busy lifestyle, gives another focus away from the stress of daily life, and makes us better functioning human beings.?Taking a holistic approach will ensure you look your best, feel your best and perform at your best.

Find out how well your exercise, nutrition and recovery habits stand up. Take my peak condition scorecard - https://peakconditionscorecard.scoreapp.com/. We will send you a personalised 24-page report with where you are strong and the areas you need to focus your attention on.