High Intensity Interval Training is a combination of brief, extremely high-intensity bursts of cardio, followed by a short rest period. The best way to think about it is a thirty-second sprint followed by a thirty-second rest for about 10 minutes at a time. This form of training can help you burn a high amount of calories in a very short amount of time. Some research even shows that this form of training may burn more calories than weights or regular cardio.
Everyone today wants quick results with less amount of work involved in getting those results. If that is something that you are looking for, especially if you are trying to burn fat and lose weight all while holding on to the muscle that you have then HIIT cardio is definitely for you. Many people will ask us, what is the difference between circuit training and HIIT, well here is the simple answer. During circuit training, you are performing one exercise after another with no rest in between at all. You are in all-out mode and do not rest until that circuit is over. With HIIT, you get that rest along with intervals of maximum effort movements. Often performing 30 to 45 seconds all out and 45- 60 seconds rest.
So we are here today to answer one of the most popular questions out there when it comes to HIIT cardio; “can I lose weight by doing HIIT alone?” The answer to this is a very complex one, because yes you will burn fat doing this form of exercise but without a balanced diet and also combining in strength training, it is going to be hard to get the exact results that you are looking for.
At the end of the day, you will NEVER be able to out-train a bad diet no matter how hard you try, it just cannot happen. We have seen people try this over and over again, it flat out just will not happen. Your body uses the nutrients that you put into it as fuel when you are exercising. If it does not have the right nutrients in it, it can not use that to keep you going.
There are also some downsides when it comes to doing HIIT cardio. With it being such an intense form of work out, one of the biggest ones is the negative effects of over-training for a long period of time. We highly suggest breaking up your HIIT cardio days throughout the week. With such intense movements, there is a pretty high injury risk that comes along with this form of exercise. HIIT training also comes along higher recovery times, putting your body through more trauma then it is used to being put through. This is one of the most challenging cardio exercises to do and will without a doubt push your body to its limit.
Combining HIIT with strength training will turn your body into the machine that it was made to be. Building muscle all while shredding fat is the goal of most exercise regimes out there today. Those two along with a strict clean diet is the best combination for you to crush any goal that you are after (fitness-wise of course).