HIIT Exercises Help Build Muscles And Improve Your Fitness

High-Intensity Interval Training also called as HIIT are a set of powerful exercises that are performed over shorter time periods by taking small breaks in between exercises. HIIT is also considered to be a cardiovascular exercise, wherein, individuals put in their entire efforts to perform the exercises followed by a brief recovery period. A lot of fat can be burnt by you within a shorter span of time. By doing these exercises, your heart rates tend to spike, wherein, you might experience excessive sweat and may also be left gasping for breath. However, these exercises are capable of making you burn as much calories that you would burn from a longer workout.

Normally, HIIT exercises are not expected to take much of your time. The duration of these workouts is not going to be beyond half an hour. At the same time, it would need a lot of efforts and exertion from your side to perform these exercises. It would be sufficient if you can manage to find time to perform these workouts for about 2 or 3 days in a week.

HIIT exercises must be performed in a cautious manner and you must not jump to the idea of performing these exercises that require a greater measure of strength and severity. Since these workouts are severe and intense, it is recommended to take the suggestions of your doctor before you start with these exercises, especially in the case of those who may be already diagnosed with any physical condition. You can gradually increase your intensity levels to build your muscles. Additionally, you must take enough care to consume the right amount of food and sufficient water that is required for every single day.

Some of the HIIT exercises can be performed by using any additional equipment, while at the same time, you wouldn’t have to use any such equipment at all for performing many of these exercises. For instance, in some of the cases, you may perform certain exercises with the help of some additional equipment such as treadmills or weights. In the case of some HIIT workouts that are considered to be really strong and severe, your body must possess enough stamina and the capacity to withstand any form of pain in the process. Hence, it is recommended to move gradually towards performing such severe and intense workouts.

Ways to perform HIIT exercises:

Firstly, you should remember to go for some warm up exercises, including stretching if you can, before you decide to take up intense workouts. You would have to put in extra efforts and energy at work, especially within a shorter time period, which would also be followed by short periods of rest at regular intervals. These workouts would not be focused on building intensity and on the other hand, you may be required to put in your 100 percent efforts at the time of performing each set of these exercises.

While performing a HIIT workout, you can start doing many exercises. Since there are a lot of options before you at the time of performing HIIT workout, you could perform bodyweight exercises such as squats or push-ups or could maybe try to run on a treadmill. In all these cases, you would have to increase the speed and intensity levels of these exercises, in addition to taking short breaks in between in order to build your stamina and strength.

What are the benefits for individuals from performing HIIT?

Individuals would be spending a lot lesser time on HIIT workouts.

The workouts are completed within a faster time period. You would need a maximum of half an hour and not more than that to perform these exercises.
HIIT helps in burning higher number of calories as compared to other forms of exercises.
Individuals are benefited greatly, as their metabolism increases. This helps your body to burn higher amount of fat even as you rest.
Your heart rate and blood pressure also stabilizes, owing to these exercises being highly severe and intense. Moreover, it is also observed that there is an increase in the requirement for oxygen, while you put in all your efforts, thereby causing you to demand more oxygen at the time of recovery.
HIIT helps to preserve muscle mass in individuals who may be trying to lose weight through such workouts.
No major costs are involved either for investing in gym space or when it comes to investing in any equipment for performing HIIT workouts. They can be done from literally any place. These workouts are going to use only your body weight and help in increasing your heart rate. While performing these workouts, you are most likely to keep your focus on building as well as retaining your muscles while doing such workouts.

There are many examples of HIIT workouts that you can try as a part of your routine. Some of them are as follows:

Push-Ups

In order to do push-ups, you must do the following:

Enter into a plank position, by keeping your hands on the floor directly under the shoulders.
Keep your feet a few inches apart.
Bring yourself down closer to the ground as much as possible.
Now, push yourself back by using the chest and arms to reach the position where you started.
The core must be kept tight at all times all through the movement.
Repeat once again.

Jumping Lunges

Jumping Lunges can be performed in the following manner:

Begin by staying in a lunge position by placing your feet about hip width apart and keep your arms on both of your sides.
Now go for a jump upwards and at the same time move your right leg to the front and left leg to your back.
Your front knee must be kept at a 90 degree angle and must not go beyond your toes.
Repeat once again.

Burpees

Burpees can be performed by following these steps:

Stand with your feet a little wider as compared to your shoulder width and squat down on to the ground.
Place the hands on the floor in front of you.
Now jump back to come to a pushup position.
Jump with your feet forward till you are at the bottom of a squat once again. Subsequently, take a jump onto the air.
Repeat once again.

Sit-Ups

Sit-ups can be performed through the following steps:

Lie onto your back and bend your knees and keep your hands behind the head.
Keep your chin angled facing the sky and ensure that the core is used for sitting up, till your elbows are able to touch your knees. Once again, you must lower back down on to the ground.
Repeat once again.

Image Source: www.shape.com

Disclaimer:

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a health advice. We would ask you to consult a qualified professional or medical expert to gain additional knowledge before you choose to consume any product or perform any exercise.