Many people tend to do high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with the wrong ratio. They focus on a 1:1 ratio, meaning they’ll do 30 seconds of exercise and 30 seconds of recovery. In this blog we will cover how to be effective in your workouts, why you should focus on the anaerobic system and more. Here are some informative tips on how to improve your HIIT workouts!
For HIIT to be effective, you have to be focusing on the anaerobic system. That means that you need to be pushing it to your absolute max to tap into that energy system.
That 30 seconds of activity needs to be as close as possible to 100% of your max intensity, to the point where at 31 seconds, you’d ultimately collapse.
Get Enough Rest In Between the High Intensity!
If you are working your hardest, 30 seconds of rest is not going to give you enough time to recover. So a 1:1 ratio, 30 seconds intensity, and 30 seconds off, isn’t going to cut it.
You need a longer rest, like a 1:2, but more preferably a 1:3 or 1:4 ratio of activity to recovery. So perhaps 30 seconds of activity, followed by 2 minutes of recovery. Get to know your body and settle on a ratio that allows you to get the maximum effort during your interval.
Glycogen and HIIT
We all have something called glycogen in our muscles. So whether you just ate a pizza full of carbs, or you haven’t eaten in 10 hours, you still have carbohydrates that are stored in your muscles that are ready for action when you exercise.
That means you don’t need to eat to be able to have the energy to do your high-intensity interval training!
Fasted Training
A study that was published in the Journal of Physiology found that if you train in a fasted state, you recruit what are called “Intracellular Lipids Fat Molecules”, which are found inside our muscles.
This study took a look at those that trained fasted and those that had food before they worked out. They found that those that trained fasted ended up reducing the amount of fat that sits inside their muscles from 18% to 6%!
Spirulina and HIIT
Another powerful aide in improving your ability to do HIIT is Spirulina! It all has to do with the fact that algae is growing through photosynthesis, but also is highly oxygenated. So when you consume algae through forms like this, your body has the ability to harness the energy in a very easy way.
The Power of Plyometrics
Plyometrics is really effective when it comes down to improving the effectiveness of your HIIT. If we can increase the contractile strength in an explosive way, we can increase our ability to get our heart rate up during our actual intervals!
What is Plyometrics?
Plyometrics are exercises in which muscles exert maximum force in short intervals of time, with the goal of increasing power. By adding plyometrics to your HIIT, you can improve your body’s ability to utilize fat during your HIIT sessions.
After trying out these science-backed tips, you will be an expert on how to improve your HIIT workouts! Let us know down in the comments what your favourite HIIT tip is or check out How Often Should You Do HIIT In A Week? to start your fitness plan!