Last March was the annual summit for the American College of Sports Medicine. These guys are the largest organization for sports medicine and exercise science.
It's this institution that helps to both advance and integrate science as it applies to physical fitness and sports medicine. In other words, when it speaks, we should listen.
At the summit, one of the trending topics was high intensity training, otherwise known as HIT.
Presented as confirmed and concise science was that high intensity training was far more superior than continuous steady-state exercise for physiological benefits.
What the heck does that mean for you and I? It means that intense, yet shorter, workouts will elicit far greater returns to our aerobic and anaerobic fitness, our ability to burn calories both during and after the workout is completed and it achieves a far better fat burning result.
High intensity training will also stimulate our muscle-building hormones like growth hormone and IGF-5, putting our bodies into the perfect state to build lean muscle mass.
When incorporating a HIT workout into your regime, I recommend you first start on a treadmill with a heart rate monitor on.
You need to understand and feel how hard you need to work, and a treadmill is one of the easiest ways to control your environment.
To train at a HIT intensity, the recommended training heart rate is 85 per cent of your maximum. This is not a heart rate that most people are used to, so it will be uncomfortable and challenging. On the flip side, you only need to be at that heart rate for a short duration.
A HIT workout cycles between periods of intense exercise and periods of active recovery.
These are called intervals and each intense interval can be anywhere from 20 seconds to two minutes (maximum), with your active recovery time double whatever work time you choose.
How long you choose to do a HIT is up to you and your current level of fitness. Beginners may want to start with four to 10 minutes, working themselves up to the maximum of 30 to 40 minutes.
Don't think that this is just for athletes, either. Anyone can perform a HIT workout, regardless of your current level of fitness.
What changes is how fast you go. A fit person may have to increase their treadmill speed to 10 mph (to achieve their 85 per cent target), while a new exerciser may only need to be 3 mph with a four per cent hill to reach theirs. Wear a heart rate monitor and listen to your body.
Once you get a feel for what intensity you need to be at, start adding this principle to other types of exercise.
All of my group classes are HIT workouts using both body weight and dumbbells. I am able to achieve great results for my people with this technique - and I train all ages and levels of fitness.
Give a HIT workout a try and start seeing results once again with your exercise program.
at PJ Wren is the fitness half of the Go Fit Gals team, as well as a local personal trainer.
Check out her HIT workouts on Delta TV, Channel 4, Monday to Friday at 7 a.m., 1 p.m. or 6 p.m. Or join her program www.fitnesswithpj.com.
