Everyone in the fitness world is banging on about HIIT (High intensity interval training) at the moment and ACE is totally on board with this craze. So what is it all about and why is it such a fat burning, fitness-building winner?
Basically HIIT sends your body into fat burning overdrive!
WARNING: here comes the science!!!
The trick to HIIT training is to push yourself as hard as you possibly can through the high intensity intervals to really get your heart racing and then slow your heart rate down during the low-intensity intervals. This method produces excess post-oxygen consumption (EPOC). This means that the fat burning isn’t over once you finish your workout – your body continues to burn fat for up to 24 hours afterwards! EPOC is influenced by the intensity and not by the duration! So you can burn loads of calories in less than 30 minutes… for once time is not the problem.
It may seem counterintuitive to think a shorter HIIT session could be more effective than a slower cardio session – a 45 minute run on the treadmill could burn 400 calories whilst a short 15 minute HIIT burns 250 calories. BUT it’s the ‘after-burn’ where the magic happens – you can be sat on your couch watching TV long after your HIIT is over with and yet the EPOC means the calories continue to burn and your fitness continues to improve.
It’s a great idea to incorporate a HIIT workout into your weekly schedule. ACE is offering 2 HIIT sessions a week – Tuesday & Saturday evenings (although it’s the basic theory behind all our classes). Check out website www.ace-london.com and our facebook group www.facebook.com/acelondonuk for full details & schedule.
Whilst we take a well deserved break over the holidays, why not try out our HIIT home workout to keep your fitness levels up!? Check out facebook for details….
