HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, is an exercise methodology that’s getting a lot of press at the moment. It’s appearing across your favorite social feeds, in the news, at all sorts of gyms, living rooms and fitness studios around the world. Simply put, HIIT can be defined as short, sharp bursts of work, paired with brief rest periods.
It’s top of mind for good reason, too. Compared to other forms of training, HIIT is incredibly time efficient, burns a ton of calories, boosts metabolism, and improves insulin resistance. While you might be forgiven for thinking that HIIT is something new and shiny in terms of working out, it’s actually been around for a while. HIIT has been one of the cornerstones of F45’s training system for the last 7 years, and in that time, we’ve seen, documented and built on the massive benefits it’s delivered for our members and franchisees.
Of course, exercise selection, the order of programming, quality of movement and recovery still remain vital to any good training system. Depending on your goals, there might be a better way to get there than via a pure HIIT approach, which is why we vary our training and ensure our members develop well-rounded health and fitness. After all, your training should help you to perform better in all aspects of your life.
We at F45 Training love fitness, though, and we enjoy talking and thinking about training almost as much as getting out onto the studio floor and putting knowledge into practice. Here are some of the benefits of HIIT and reasons why you should consider making it part of your training:
Keep those gains.
Long-duration, steady-state cardio training can cost valuable muscle—and sometimes affect resting metabolism, hamper your ability to burn fat, and reduce strength. However, HIIT increments are generally too short to affect muscle mass and, depending on the exercises programmed, diet, and recovery, it can even help you build more lean muscle.
Get your metabolism working overtime.
A higher metabolic rate means more calories burned, even when you’re resting. HIIT creates a metabolic boost that can last for up to 24 hours after training, meaning you continue burning even after you’re done working out. Over the mid- to long-term, this means more fat incinerated. But it doesn’t stop there—a fast metabolism will help shift toxins out of your system faster, ensure that you have more energy, and improve your circulation.
Everyone has time.
“I don’t have time to train.” It’s an excuse we hear all the time, and while it’s certainly true that modern life has left most of us time-poor, one of the big benefits of HIIT is that it doesn’t take long to do. It’s also one of the reasons that F45 Training’s workouts are a short, sharp 45 minutes each. It not only means that you’ll have extra time to dedicate to other priorities, but more frequent, shorter workouts are also easier to recover from than exhausting marathon sessions.
Give your heart some love.
Processed foods, sitting for hours every day and tons of stress really aren’t good for our hearts. With global rates of heart disease and high blood pressure on the rise, it’s an aspect of health and well-being that should be on more people’s radars. The good news is that HIIT, when performed correctly, supports good heart health, especially for older individuals.
Burn baby, burn.
While there are all sorts of reasons for exercising, many people start training to shed a few extra pounds, and doing it successfully can often be as simple as energy in versus energy out. But what we eat and how we move can greatly influence the amount of calories we burn. If you’re looking to shed some fat, you should prioritize exercise that burns calories, promotes muscle mass, and elevates your metabolism—sound familiar?
HIIT it, don’t quit it.
Clearly, HIIT has countless benefits. If you’re passionate about fitness and want to take your love for training to the next level, why not look into owning your own F45 Training franchise location? Not only does F45 provide members with a premium fitness experience through our pioneering training systems, but we also offer franchisees a unique business opportunity in the fitness industry through a scalable business model and large community via our franchisee network.
This could be a life changing opportunity.
