HIIT Training for Fitness, Fat Loss and Health - 'All talk and no trousers'?

Feeling generally fitter, healthier and having less of barrel around the belly, is probably the most common training goal of any adult.

Yet is also the one which potentially has the worst success rate and one reason for this is time.

Ringing phones, barrages of emails, getting it in the ear from your other half and overall life stress, make you feel that 'there just isn't the time'.

The other day, I wrote on here about once seeing celebrity doc, Michael Mosley, pedal on a bike in a live studio like a lunatic.

He was promoting initial scientific evidence that around 2.5 minutes of highly intense exercise, could yield the same results in fitness and health as much longer durations.

The reason being, if something is much quicker, you're more likely to do it as its less of a time burden.

So firstly, was he correct and secondly, in the real world where my coaching company train over 200 people per week, does it work?

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There might be something in this.

This year, more scientists studied this and the results may surprise you. They compared the following types of exercise:

-?????? High intensity interval exercise (up to ~15 minutes total including rest)

-?????? High intensity interval exercise (up to ~30 minutes total including rest)

-?????? Moderate intensity continuous exercise (up to ~30 minutes total)

They discovered that the 15 minute time commitment, yielded similar results to the longer interval and continuous exercise regimes.

This was in relation to fat loss, and general markers of cardiovascular fitness and health.

So in this first part, yes, on paper for these general goals, Dr Mike was correct.

But, is it that simple?

Well there's some crucial details that you need to discover to ensure you approach this effectively and successfully.

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The Investment in Intensity

We all know you don't get something for nothing and this is very much true with this more time friendly, higher intensity training approach. The clue is in the words - high intensity and more specifically that it's higher intensity in comparison.

When facts from science get thrown into the real word, a series of Chinese whispers occur where the full facts get distorted. In this case, it's knowing you do have to exercise in intervals, at very high intensity.

While the exercise is shorter in duration, the fatigue generated occurs quicker, something most people, particularly who are more untrained, just aren't used to and in many cases, just can't reach.

But worry not, there is an answer...

I learned this earlier in my coaching career, where I discovered in such scenarios you simply add a bit more duration to the session, to accommodate the fact they can't hit those higher intensities.

This might turn 6 sets of 30 second intervals into 7 sets of 50 second intervals. Therefore, it’s still highly time efficient, but tunes and fits the training to your abilities. And that's a key point with this - it's not a one size fits all, it needs to be adapted to best fit you. If you can hit those heights, great, if you can't, no stress we can adapt while still keeping it true to the facts.

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It Often Won't Best Serve Specific Fitness Goals

Certain sporting goals, notably endurance related ones such as a 10km running event, half marathon, cycling velo or triathlon, require other specific physiology within your body to be trained.

I'd love to say the fitness improvements noted in the science above will also mean you can conquer a marathon simply by doing 15 minute conditioning sessions, but they can't. Why?

Fitness for these specific activities requires your body to improve other qualities, that high intensity interval training does not, including:

• Improved use of fat as a fuel
• Improved pacing and psychological tolerance to the event
• Improved transport of oxygen in your blood to the working muscles
• Improved muscle, tendon and joint durability to longer exercise

High intensity interval training can still be a part of such training programmes, but they can't be the stand alone tool.

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Practical Insight and Takehome

If part of your training goals are to lose body fat and generally feel fitter and healthier, but not necessarily for a very specific sport or event, then high intensity interval training, lasting no more than 15 minutes (that includes rest), is scientifically and practically the most effect tool to use alongside strength training.

Simply, if I'm coaching you and say that your conditioning is simply 15 minutes of focused exercise, broken up with rests, this is psychologically more favourable than saying 'you've gotta go on the treadmill and plod along for 40 minutes'. The time benefit makes it immensely more easier to grasp and also adhere to. We prove this in the extensive case studies we share, where people do this in small amounts each week and can lose to 2-3 stone of body fat.

However, it's key this training tool is fitted to your ability. This training isn't about an all our flogging, it’s about being smart, an aspect getting lost in the world of HIIT training. That said it does require an investment in effort and through understanding, you can perform sessions which suit you and your body, while still achieving the results the science illustrates.

Equally, remember if you are training for specific endurance based goals, that this training tool won't serve you on its own. It can be used appropriately in part, but it's powers while excellent, are not magical :)

If you haven't yet, subscribe to Dave's Performance Peek and have a great day.

Dave

Time to turn intention into action? Message me here, on LinkedIn to discover how I can support you with your performance, strength, fitness and health goals via our Coalition Coaching (if you live beyond the West Midlands, we have my bespoke online performance coaching available)