HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training is a type of training that has been around for a long time, in part, thanks to the rapid training methodology and for the great benefits it offers.
This HIIT training, although it can be done in many ways, including walking, the most famous and efficient ways are running, cycling, weight training, etc.
For general health and primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention, high-intensity interval training has been recognized as an effective exercise protocol with short exercise sessions.
And not only for general health, but it has been seen that performing HIIT can improve our ability to function in our sport. In cycling, for example, performing HIIT training can improve our power, that is, our ability to generate force per unit of time.
Benefits of HIIT
There is a lot of literature showing us that doing this type of activity has many health benefits, among which we highlight:
- Improved insulin sensitivity
- Improved lipid profile (less LDL cholesterol and triglycerides and more HDL cholesterol)
- Improvement of body composition due to how intense it is, it has been seen that there may be an increase in muscle mass and loss of body fat
- Improved cardiorespiratory fitness
- Decrease in proinflammatory values
Factors to take into account to do a HIIT
It is important to clarify that a HIIT is based on a very intense form of exercise. In other words, we have to leave the training very tired, so when it comes to doing the series, we have to give our 100%.
HIIT can be based on:
- The intensity at which we work must be as high as possible
- Respect work and rest times
The latter is also very important because we do not have to perform the series when we do not feel tired, but rather there is a time of exercise and rest that must be followed.
Normally, HIIT exercises are based on the fact that, for every second of work in the series, we have to rest between two and four seconds. An example of this is that if we make 20 seconds of series, let’s rest between 40 and 80 seconds to be able to be properly recovered and face the next series with all our strength.
Obviously the rest will depend a lot on the person and how trained they are. A person who is a beginner, if he begins resting two seconds for each second of exercise, it is most likely that he will exhaust himself too quickly and will not endure the training, but if he begins resting four and with time the rest time decreases, it will be better .
We repeat that this type of training has to be very demandingbut always prioritizing our health, since it is useless to be very intense if we are going to injure ourselves or we are going to stop training or the habit in the middle.
Why do it by bike?
Doing HIIT on a bike is much more demanding than people may think, especially if we do it on slopes. Still, this type of HIIT we can also do it on a stationary bikewhich is really the most comfortable for most unless you want to compete in mountain biking and require more specific training.
Doing it by bike can be safer than doing it in sprints because the impact on the joints is very low or zero, so the risk of injury is lower. Even so, we always recommend that you do a good warm-up, since, even walking, there is a risk of injury (however small that probability is).
As we have mentioned before, do HIIT should have a ratio between 1:2 and 1:4enough to rest well but without losing fluidity in the exercise.
It’s probably easier for people to get to 1:2 because there’s not as much impact on the joints and they can recover better, so if you’re also doing strength training as well as cycling, there won’t be as much interference and you will be able to perform those workouts with weights without so much accumulated fatigue.
HIIT training with bike
As mentioned above, bike training can be done both on a stationary bike as in a normal (can be done on the road and in the mountains). To avoid dangers and accidents, we suggest doing it in a staticalthough this depends on the person and their tastes.
It is also important to clarify that to perform HIIT, the person must have a certain level of training since it is very demanding.
HIIT bike workout example:
- First we will have to heat correctly. To do this, we will cycle but very gently to increase body temperature, heart rate, etc. With 10 minutes of gentle heating is more than enough
- Will a first series at 50% intensity for 15 seconds to get into HIIT
- We will rest between 30 and 60 secondsrespecting the exercise:rest ratio of between 1:2 and 1:4
- We will do a second series at 75% intensity for 15 seconds
- We will rest again between 30 and 60 seconds
- We will perform between four and six series of 15 seconds at 100% intensityalready performing HIIT as such
- Between series and series, depending on our level, we will rest between 30 and 60 secondsno more no less
In Vitónica | A CrossFit WOD at home to do in 20 minutes
In Vitónica | Improve your running performance with this HIIT workout for runners
Image | istock