High-intensity Interval Training or HIIT is ranked as the top fitness trend in the world in 2014 and it continues to be one of the more popular workout trends until today. It shouldn’t come as a surprise as it promises great and fast results, improving athletic capacity, better conditioning, and improved glucose metabolism. It also burns more calories than your regular cardio, and don’t require equipment to be done. These result to more and more people becoming enticed to work harder and faster instead of longer.
Another great thing about HIIT is that it is perfect for people who can’t spend hours at Snap Fitness. As these workouts can range from as short as four minutes to just 30 minutes, it won’t eat up a large portion of your day. You can either combine it with other workouts like yoga or Soul Cycle to get in better shape or use it as your regular workout on weekdays before you spend more time at the gym on the weekends.
If you’re also the kind of person who gets bored with a single fitness routine, doing HIIT can also break up the monotony for you. These workouts can vary largely, keeping you challenged all the time. Even your progress is not limited, as you can always push yourself further even as you get stronger and fitter.
With all of the great things about HIIT, it still has one downside. A lot of people think that doing such workouts more will let them get results faster and better. This can lead to some people doing HIIT workouts everyday, which is something you shouldn’t do. Experts recommend against doing high intensity exercises on a daily basis as it won’t give your body ample time to recover. This can also lead to injuries, which are more harmful and damaging to your health.
So, should you do HIIT workouts daily? The answer is definitely no. It’s best to space out these heavy exercises, so experts say that you should only do it three times a week. This frequency is just enough for your body to heal and ready itself for another round of challenging physical activities.
If you really want to workout the next day, you can still do so, but at a lesser intensity than regular HIIT. You can do some light cardio or some stretching exercises to keep your body moving and your heart rate elevated. However, if your heart rate is still higher than your regular, you should take it as a sign to have a mellow day. Remember that overexerting yourself is never useful in a fitness regime, so you should also exercise control.