What’s The Buzz On HIIT? High Intensive Interval Training

Sophie Manuela Lindner

What is HIIT?

HIIT is a training method that consists of high intensive intervals combined with short regeneration phases. Recent studies have shown that with HIIT four minutes of training can be more effective than 45 minutes of normal cardio training.

How does it work?

You should start with a warm up phase with toprocking or running of ten minutes, until you sweat gently. After the warm up you can start with the HIIT protocol.

There are different types of HIIT _training. The tabata method is a good training regimen for bboys and bgirls because it is similar to the runs you do in a battle.

Tabata Regimen

The tabata regimen comes from a Japanese professor and consists of four minutes of HIIT:

20 sec of high intensity, followed by 10 sec of recovery. In total 8 times=4min!

In the 20 seconds you should do a repetitive combination of exercises where you work with large muscle groups. You should include your legs and your arms.

You repeat this combination for 20 seconds, and then you take 10 seconds of recovery. In the recovery time you should put your hands behind your head, walk around the room and breathe deeply. Then you repeat this for another seven times, which makes a total of eight times.

You can also modify the tabata protocol in accordance with your physical fitness and extend it to your personal preference. To simulate a battle situation you can vary the times:

8 x 35 seconds high intensity, 25 seconds recovery.

After the tabata session you should do a proper cool down of 5 – 10 minutes.

TIP: Do the HIIT training with a pulse watch! This way you can control your performance and your recovery after each exercise.

You can use the following exercises and combine them also with break moves:

Burpees: Jump-squat-push up
Skater: Jump from one to the other leg sideways with your arms going to the same side, your back is tilting to the front like in skating
Skipping: Running at the same place and putting your knees up
Split jumps: Jump from a lunge into the lunge and change your feet in the air
Mountain climber: Push-up position; push one knee towards your chest, move back and repeat the other side
Combination of squats and push ups
Rope skipping

What are the benefits?

Through the high intensity interval training the performer is working at his or her limits, up to 90% of the maximum heart frequency rate. Therefore, the aerobic capacity improves and it is a benefit for the endurance performance. Also the resting metabolic rate increases for the following 24 hours because after the exercise more oxygen is consumed.

Because of these benefits the HIIT is good for dancers who start to train their physical capacity as well as for dancers who are already well-trained.

Until recently, long aerobic workouts have been promoted as the best method to get fit and reduce fat. There was the popular belief that the body is burning the fatty acids after at least 30 minutes of training. HIIT has been shown to burn fat more effectively and increases the resting metabolic rate. It also lowers insulin resistance and adapts the skeletal muscles. This means that the skeletal muscle fat oxidation is enhancing and the glucose tolerance is improving.

REFERENCES:

Tabata / Izumi, Nishimura / Kouji, Kouzaki / Motoki, Hirai / Yuusuke, Ogita / Futoshi, Miyachi / Motohiko, Yamamoto / Kaoru (1996). Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max. In: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 10/28/1996, pg. 1327-1330.
PMID: 8897392