There are different forms of exercise, each with unique benefits for your health and quality of life. Most of us know that getting enough exercise is essential for our health, and high-intensity aerobic workouts take you a step closer to your ultimate body goal faster than you think.
High-intensity aerobic workouts are a powerful combination of cardiovascular exertion and calorie-burning efficiency. These workouts, which raise heart rates fast and sustainably, are typified by intense bursts of activity alternated with short rest intervals or lower-intensity exercise. The attractiveness of aerobic HIIT workouts, ranging from hard interval training sessions to dynamic circuits, is their capacity to enhance cardiovascular health and stamina, speed up metabolism, and encourage effective fat burning.
High-intensity aerobic workouts remain reliable for people looking to maximise their exercise time while reaping significant health advantages, even as fitness trends change. Read along to learn more about high-intensity aerobic training, its benefits, and whether HIIT is good for weight loss!
Table Of Contents
1. What Is High-Intensity Aerobic Training?
2. 7 Benefits Of High-Intensity Aerobic Workout
3. Is HIIT Good For Weight Loss?
4. Expert Advice
5. The Final Say
6. FAQs
7. References
What Is High-Intensity Aerobic Training?
High-Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT, is a workout regimen characterised by alternating short bursts of intense exercise with brief recovery periods. Unlike traditional steady-state cardio, HIIT aerobic exercise pushes your body to its limits for short durations, followed by active recovery phases.
The concept of interval training isn't new. Early forms can be traced back to the early 20th century, where athletes experimented with alternating high-intensity efforts with rest periods to enhance performance. However, HIIT gained widespread popularity in recent decades due to its time-efficiency and remarkable fitness benefits.
Today, HIIT encompasses a wide range of workout styles, from TABATA protocols to sprint intervals, making it suitable for various fitness levels and preferences.
Also Read: 10 Targeted HIIT Cardio Exercises For A Time-Efficient Full-Body Workout!
7 Benefits Of High-Intensity Aerobic Workout
Here are 7 benefits of incorporating HIIT into your fitness regimen:
1. Improves Your Stamina
HIIT entails brief intervals of high-intensity exercise interspersed with lower-intensity activity or rest intervals. During high-intensity intervals, your heart rate and breathing rate will increase substantially. Your aerobic capacity, or VO2 max, the greatest quantity of oxygen your body can use during vigorous activity, gradually improves as a result of this. A higher VO2 max is associated with improved stamina and endurance.
2. Increases Your Strength
HIIT has been proven to maintain muscles by training them to recover and rebuild during short rest periods. This helps to build strength quickly and is easily maintained by simply continuing the HIIT regimen.
3. Helps Burn Fat
HIIT is known for burning lots of calories and fat. It is said to burn 13 calories per minute by pushing the body to meet the demands of maximum heart rate. This type of training is excellent for those looking to lose weight naturally, but it should be balanced with a healthy diet that provides enough calories for enough fuel.
HIIT burns many calories during exercise, and the fast-paced program increases a person's resting metabolic rate. This means the body will continue to burn calories after the workout, making managing your calorie intake much easier. This is often called the "afterburn effect" or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). EPOC occurs because your body needs to restore oxygen levels, remove waste products, and repair muscle tissue after intense exercise. This process requires additional energy and can last hours or even days after a HIIT session.
4. Keeps Your Heart Healthy
A heart attack-causing arterial blockage is a common description of stable coronary artery disease. HIIT exercise and a balanced diet are important to preventing this plaque build-up.
Research from the National Library of Medicine demonstrates that HIIT improves heart health by assisting in the prevention of a number of cardiac conditions. It may even reverse some of the symptoms of stable coronary artery disease.
5. Relieves Stress
HIIT exercises effectively combat stress by triggering the release of endorphins, the body's natural mood elevators. Additionally, HIIT helps regulate cortisol, the stress hormone, bringing it back to normal levels post-workout.
The combined effect of endorphin production and cortisol management results in a noticeable decrease in perceived stress, promoting a general feeling of being healthy.
6. May Help Regulate Blood Sugar Levels
HIIT is indeed a great exercise for diabetes patients. Insulin sensitivity, or the body's capacity to react to insulin and successfully control blood sugar levels, can be enhanced by HIIT. During the high-intensity intervals of HIIT training, your muscles require more glucose for energy. Your body becomes more insulin-sensitive in order to meet this need, which improves the efficiency with which glucose enters cells. This increased sensitivity may help reduce blood sugar levels and the risk of insulin resistance, which is a critical factor in the development of type 2 diabetes.
HIIT can also help reduce post-meal blood sugar fluctuations. After a meal, blood sugar levels typically increase. HIIT, especially after a meal, can help reduce the size of this post-meal blood sugar spike. A 2017 study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology found that people with type 2 diabetes who did 12 weeks of HIIT (walking or hill running) achieved more significant increases in their aerobic capacity and greater reductions in haemoglobin A1C than those who walked moderately intense continuous walking.
7. Can Increase Bone Density
Your body is constantly removing old bone and replacing it with new bone. This process is called remodelling and keeps your bones strong and dense. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, until about age 40, when less bone is replaced. With less new bone, your bones can weaken, increasing your risk of osteoporosis (a bone disease characterised by low bone density) and fractures (broken bones).
Weight-bearing activities like HIIT can help slow bone loss. HIIT workouts improve bone mineral density, mainly when emphasising resistance training.
Also Read: 8 Targeted HIIT Workouts For Women With Training Plan And Exercises!
Is HIIT Good For Weight Loss?
Yes, high-intensity exercise (HIIT) is very good for weight loss. HIIT takes less time to complete than moderate-intensity aerobic exercise but provides similar health benefits.
According to research, HIIT can be a useful weight-loss strategy. In one randomised controlled experiment, 32 obese adults received 12 weeks of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with similar weight loss outcomes (13.2 and 12.5 pounds, respectively). However, HIIT sessions were, on average, 10 minutes shorter than moderate-intensity sessions, making HIIT more time-efficient.
Since HIIT burns calories during and after exercise, it may be useful for weight loss. Post-exercise calorie burning is a phenomenon known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, commonly called the afterburn. According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine, your body needs more oxygen and calories to recover from high-intensity exercise than low—or moderate-intensity exercise, which leads to burning more calories in the hours after your workout. Burning calories during and after HIIT can help you achieve a caloric deficit for weight loss in conjunction with healthy foods.
A research study conducted in 2017 by medical doctoral students Zhang, H., Tong, T. K., Qui, W. et al. found that HIIT exercise significantly reduced body fat percentage when performed three times per week. The study also found that more energy is used from fat stores during high-intensity bodyweight workouts than during moderate-intensity exercise.
Also Read: Unlock The Best Exercises For Losing Weight Quickly And A 7-Day Workout Plan!
Expert Advice
HIIT, or high-intensity aerobic exercise, helps tone the body, increase metabolism, burn calories, improve endurance, and improve fitness. These exercises, which include high knees, burpees, jumping lunges, and jumping jacks, work your quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, chest, shoulders, abs, and lower abs.
These exercises increase your fat-burning capacity, improve cardiovascular health, and improve agility and balance. Remember to warm up thoroughly before doing these exercises to avoid injury. If you have a pre-existing injury, consult your physical therapist or fitness professional before starting high-intensity aerobics.
Health Expert
Lavina Chauhan
The Final Say
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) packs a powerful punch, delivering exceptional results in minimal time. You can burn more calories with a high-intensity aerobic workout than other types of exercise.
By changing short periods of high-intensity exercise with brief times for recovery, HIIT helps to make the most of calorie burn and the development of lean muscle while also improving heart health. This workout that uses time efficiently can be an ideal choice for people who are busy and want maximum benefits from their fitness activities. So, if you're aiming to reduce weight or improve muscle strength and general health, HIIT might just be the game-changer you've been looking for!
FAQs
1. Can I do high-intensity training at home?
Yes, you can easily do high-intensity aerobic workouts at home, even without equipment. But if you have access to a treadmill, bike or rowing machine, they work well. Short bursts of running, jumping, burpees, mountain climbing or squat jumps can also be effective.
2. What exercises can be included in high-intensity aerobic workouts for beginners?
Exercises to include in high-intensity aerobic workouts for beginners are:
- Burpees
- High knee
- Jump rope
- Squats
- Mountain climbers
3. What does high-intensity aerobic mean?
High-intensity exercise is, to put it simply, a brief, high-impact physical activity. Your heart is pumping at 80–95% of its maximal heart rate at this effort level. On the other hand, low-intensity exercise has less of an impact and lowers aerobic activity.
4. If I were to plan a high-intensity aerobic workout for weight loss, what should I add to it?
Here are the best exercises to include in high-intensity aerobic workouts for weight loss:
- Swimming
- Jumping jack
- Plank
- Running
- Squat jump
References
- https://www.breathewellbeing.in/blog/hiit-for-weight-loss-perfect-workout-plan-to-burn-fat/
- https://patient.info/news-and-features/is-hiit-or-cardio-better-for-you
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/hiit-workouts-weight-loss#best-workouts-for-weight-loss
- https://www.circlehealthgroup.co.uk/health-matters/exercise-and-fitness/10-benefits-of-hiit
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