If I were to ask you to imagine an Instagram fitnessist When you do HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), you’re likely greeted with images of a trim, muscular twenty-something man; flashing a flawless white smile between sit-ups, shadow boxing and plank holds. But if scientist Talk about HIIT, they’re referring to performing short, repeated bouts of the kind of soul-sucking endeavors that have you wondering if you’ll ever smile again.
Let me be clear right from the start that if the type of workout you find in the previous category makes you happy, you should never stop. Compliance is the real Science, and nothing makes you want to stick with an exercise program more than actually enjoy it; don’t let scientific definitions or smug semantic arguments spoil it for you.
That being said, if you want to find out what real HIIT is feels like, we have a workout for you.
HIIT’s research began with the Wingate test, in which exercise scientists had cyclists perform maximum-exertion sprints against high resistance for 30 seconds before resting and repeating for four minutes. The key elements here are the words maximum, as in 100%, and the introduction of enough rest to actually redo that effort. Noting the protocol’s effectiveness, the same scientists examined various timings, searched for the optimal work/rest point, rolled out the now-famous “Tabata” protocol, and more.
One thing that’s clear is that to put in the kind of effort needed to get the most out of your HIIT workouts, you’ve got to keep it simple — a 15-bodyweight movement sequence may be fun, but it does Transitions between movements and the inability to maintain a high pace before your muscles fatigue lose valuable intensity.
The solution? Choose a “cardio” modality that offers at least some resistance, such as cardio. B. rowing, skiing, cycling or mountain sprints and go all out in a series of short, well-spaced fights; and bottom line, we think your life depends on it.
The training below is designed to enable you to work your way through the aisles and reach a true goal high-intensity exertion before resting long enough to do another lap and another. That should just about do it.
The format
After a thorough warm-up, choose your Venom and settle into your machine of choice.
Start a running clock and go all out for 40 seconds, rest for 20 seconds, and at the start of the next minute go hard again, this time working for 30 seconds before resting for 30 seconds. At the beginning of the next minute, press hard again for 20 seconds, this time resting for the remaining 40 seconds. In the last minute of the lap, give it your all for just 10 seconds, no matter what metric you’ve been looking at on your machine (RPM/Watts/Mph etc), aim to hit your highest number on that lap; in fact – aim to break the machine.
This 10 second fight completes the first round. Rest for four minutes before repeating the entire protocol in Round 2. Rest for another four minutes and repeat for one final round, about 12 minutes total.
Run/bike/ski/row x 3 laps
3 rounds of
40 second sprint/ 20 second rest
30 second sprint/ 30 second rest
20 second sprint/ 40 second rest
10 second sprint/ 10 second rest
Rest 4 minutes
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