Issue #29: 5 HIIT Mistakes you should avoid!

BLOG: ...And a safer way to do HIIT!

Chances are good you’ve already heard of High-Intensity Interval Training aka HIIT.

HIIT is a cardiovascular exercise strategy alternating short periods of intense anaerobic exercise with less intense recovery periods.

In other words, you exercise with utmost intensity for a short amount of time, usually 10–60 seconds, then you recover for a longer period of time, usually 2–4 minutes. This intense burst of activity + recovery period = 1 interval.

HIIT is key when it comes to boosting endurance, increasing metabolism, regulating insulin levels and losing body fat. All exercise helps burn fat by burning calories. More intense exercise burns more fat…it’ll also improve your endurance, complement your strength development, and help you get shredded, lean, and strong.

But Let’s dive into the mistakes you should avoid…

Doing HIIT For Too Long
If you’re doing HiiT right, it should take anywhere from 4-30 minutes MAX. You shouldn’t be able to do more than that if you’re truly pushing yourself during the “working” intervals. Going over this recommended time can give diminishing results.

Your HIIT Is Too Slow
With HIIT you should be working at 80–90% of your max heart rate during your intervals. Slightly increasing the speed from your recovery interval just won’t cut it. In Layman’s terms, on a scale of 1–10...if 10 was like imminent death, then you should be aiming for around 8–9 tops. Crank that speed up!

Your Recovery Ain’t Recovery
Most people benefit from more recovery time between intervals, so that they’re able to recover well enough to produce a high level of intensity during the next work interval. If you cut your recovery time short, you’ll soon find that your interval intensity will decline. Rest long enough to get your breath back and bring your heart rate down ready to keep intensity high.

Too Much, Too Quickly
HIIT can be a brand new concept to some people, so not everyone is at the level where they can blast out max intensity for 60 seconds. Build yourself up slowly if your new to it or your fitness levels aren’t as good. Start out with only 10 minutes and reduce your sprint intervals to 10–15 seconds only, with lots of recovery rest in-between.

More Is Better
No it isn’t, not with HiiT. 2–3 sessions of HiiT training per week is more than sufficient. One of the biggest mistakes people make is that they keep plugging away at sprints day after day, not allowing their CNS (central nervous system) to recover adequately, then soon wonder why energy levels and performance slowly go out the window. Allow a rest day in-between each HiiT session for best results, especially if you’re weight training too (and should be).

But there is a safer way to do HIIT…

EMS Training was for a long time the lazy people fitness training. But these days are over since visionbody engineered a cable-free suit that is light and easy to move in.

The impact of the unique Visionbody middle-frequency electric impulses helps not only to stimulate the surface of the skin but deeper muscle tissues which not only stimulates Type-II muscle fibers but also fast-twitch Type-I fibers too!

This makes the training safer because you do not have to push your body to the limit to get all the benefits of HIIT.

But the best thing about EMS and HIIT is the time frame. 5-10min of EMS HIIT equals 30-45min of regular HIIT sessions. So if time is a major concern for you and your training then EMS is the best way to organize your training in cases of time and efficiency.

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