How to get started with HIIT?

HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. As you could read in the description HIIT is a great fit for those who enjoy breaking a sweat during work-outs. HIIT also allows you to get good results even though you may not have time to incorporate long work-outs in your schedule. You can find HIIT workouts as short as a few minutes and up to 60 minutes.

When you're new to HIIT these 2 ways can slowly build up your progress.

1. you can either start with a short work-out, any 10-15 min will already get your heart rate up and improve your fitness.

2. you can start with a lower ratio work to rest, for example 15 sec of work to 45 sec of rest and slowly build that up to 20-40, 30-30, 40-20 or even 50-10. In this set-up you can still work-out for a bit longer in total since you allow yourself more time to recover in between sets.

A few things to keep in mind when starting with HIIT, regardless of the approach:

1. High intensity doesn't have to equal high impact

A lot of HIIT trainings include jumping, burpees or skipping but there are alternatives. Keep in mind that what matters is how hard you work, not how hard your joints are hit.

You can for example also incorporate swimming or biking into your HIIT trainings.

2. Be patient

HIIT is designed to get your heart rate up quick and therefore it is perfectly normal to have difficulties catching your breath. It may seem impossible to finish the trainings when you first get started but just adapt them to your level and take it slower if needed.

On a scale of 1 - 10 where 1 is a walk in the park and 10 is fainting we're looking at a 6 to 8 during the high intensity part of the intervals. Over time you will see that you can perform longer periods of high intensity with shorter periods of rest. During all your HIIT workouts it's also important to make sure that in between you have time to catch your breath before you go all-out in the next exercise again. Be patient since this is not something you can improve overnight, week by week you will find it easier to execute and finish the rounds before you're ready to increase the intensity or time.

3. Focus on form

Even though the focus is on cardio movement we cannot stress the importance of form enough. During your intervals it could be smarter to use lighter weights or a modified version of an exercise to secure you can finish the round with perfect from beginning to end. Working this hard with bad form could lead to injuries and will not give the best results.

4. Do a proper warm-up

Both for high intensity work-outs as for strength training a good warm-up is important. You can perform the same exercises you have planned during the workout in a lighter version to make sure you get all the right muscles going.

5. Get ready to work hard

Final tip, but important, be ready to put in your best work! The intervals will only deliver if you are prepared to go hard during the performance. Know that a short period of rest is always right around the corner and be ready to push yourself to your limits.

Enjoy the sweat!