The Truth About HIIT Workouts
- Nov 18, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 19, 2021
Written by: Dhairya Udeshi, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Most of us have heard about HIIT workouts, which is High Intensity Interval Trainng. It is a
kind of training which is done for a lesser time duration ranging from 20 to 60 seconds, with
a minimum amount of rest between sets. The rest duration between sets range from 25 to 40
seconds max.
The idea of HIIT workouts is to burn as much calories as possible in the minimum time.
People want to achieve fast results, look good on Instagram and other social media sites, and
want to post videos of their high intensity workouts as these are unique and tough workouts.
People are now very obsessed with HIIT workouts.
Personal Trainers and Group Fitness instructors worldwide know that currently selling in the
name of HIIT will help them get clients faster. High Intensity training is not bad as it helps us
to build up stamina as well as help burn calories at a faster rate.. However, we should not
consider it as the sole way to lose weight as they come along with a lot of baggage. High
Intensity workouts are not meant for the following categories -
Beginners
People who have a bulged or a slip disc
Those who have injuries in their joints such as knee, shoulder, elbow and hip
If you are suffering from arthritis (Osteo or rheumatoid), diabetes, Blood pressure and heart
issues.
Let me provide you with a brief on the above points. Beginners are those who have never
exercised or are working out after a very long break. It is not good for the body to straight
away start off with HIIT workouts for such clients as it creates a sudden rush of blood in the
a body which would affect their heart, resulting in blood pooling and causing joint pains and
muscle cramps.
When a person has an issue with the disc, which can be a bulged disc or a herniated disc, then doing high-impact exercises such as jumping and sprinting can cause the disc to touch the nerve, which would cause muscle spasms and nerve compression.
When a person has pain or an injury in any of his/her joints, they must not be doing this kind
of high intensity workouts as this would cause further stress and inflammation in the joints,
which would aggravate the pain and worsen the symptoms. There would be high chances of a
ligament tear, which would then need a surgery for further treatment. Hence, it is best to do
light jog and light run if there is an issue with the knee and hip. For shoulder and elbow
workout, it is important to not put impact on them by doing burpees or jump pushups.
If you have any type of autoimmune condition such as arthritis (Osteo or rheumatoid),
diabetes, Blood pressure and heart issues. Then it is not advisable to do HIIT workouts.
Arthritis is a condition where the body has excess inflammation. In that if we do high-intensity workouts without much break in between sets, then the flare will increase twice,
which will worsen the condition.
If a person is having diabetes, then there is a high chance that the insulin levels would have a
sudden drop while training HIIT. Hence, it is best to keep an energy bar along during the
workouts in case of sugar levels dropping along with taking lesser dosage of insulin post-workout as the metabolism would increase rapidly, causing the insulin levels to fall.
HIIT causes a rapid rise in Blood pressure levels and if at all a person wants to do HIIT
workouts, I would recommend to take a rest of at least 1 minute between sets so that the
blood pressure levels could stay regulated. For heart patients, I would not recommend high
intensity workouts as this would directly pressure the heart for pumping more blood and
could lead to many cardiovascular diseases.
So what is the right way to use the HIIT workouts for someone who has no problem in the
body or even with diabetes and blood pressure? As a personal trainer, I would train my
clients with a mixture of both weight training as well as HIIT workouts so that we focus on
strength training and cardio. This combination is the best form of cardio as it would help
body burn a good amount of fat, help keep the muscles and heart healthy, strengthen the
joints and surrounding muscles and help build up stamina. An example would be doing one set of bench presses and along with that one set of spot sprints for 10 secs.
I hope you all have found the article useful. For further consultations, do reach out to me on
the below-mentioned information.
Dhairya Udeshi, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Dhairya Udeshi is the Executive Director of Shape Up LLC, UAE. His company focuses on providing Personal and Group Fitness training services either in the Gym, Outdoors, or Online training using a video call service. It depends on the client's preference. Dhairya's idea has always been to provide clients with many flexible options and make it easier for them to choose their preferences.
Dhairya's aim has always been to build a big network of clients and potential clients as his mission is to help more and more people stay fit and healthy. This is why he implements the strategy of charging 20-30% lesser than the market rate and providing clients with even better services with more flexible options for places to work out.
With 8+ years of Experience in Health and Fitness, Dhairya has trained over 500 clients with all kinds of Health and Fitness challenges such as Running a marathon, Playing at the national level, Heart issues, Disc injuries, Spasms, Arthritis (Both Rheumatoid and Osteo), Diabetes, Blood Pressure, Depression and Anxiety.
Dhairya is also a Life Coach, and he takes care of the mental health of his clients along with their physical well-being. With his belief that he instills to the world that Mental well-being is as or more important than Physical well being his Clients are more than willing to take up Coaching sessions along with Fitness training sessions in order to focus on their all-around development. Very few kinds of companies provide this kind of service.
