Most ‘HIIT’ Workouts Aren’t Actually HIIT

HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, has become a popular workout choice in recent years. High-intensity interval workouts are supposed to be intense and short, but a lot of the so-called HIIT workouts you find online or in gyms are actually not HIIT at all.

Type “HIIT Workout” into Google or the Instagram search bar and you’ll get a bunch of beautifully produced interval workouts- a few of which are HIIT! It’s frustrating because influencers are selling you all the benefits of HIIT without actually setting appropriate expectations or teaching anyone how to perform high-intensity interval training.

Ever hear the phrase “All puppies are dogs, but not all dogs are puppies”?

Well, the same is true for HIIT workouts. All HIIT workouts are interval training, but not all interval training is a high-intensity interval workout.

HIIT workouts are all the rage these days for good reason – high-intensity interval training offers all the benefits of a traditional workout in a fraction of the time. If you’re considering giving HIIT a try, here are some things to keep in mind.

What Is HIIT and Why Is It so Popular Lately?

HIIT stands for high-intensity interval training. It is a type of aerobic training that involves a series of short, high-intensity workouts with rest periods in between. HIIT is popular because it is an efficient and effective way to train, and it can be done in a relatively short amount of time.

How high-intensity interval training differs from other types of interval training is that it focuses on high-intensity or max-effort working periods to get the heart rate up to 90%+ of your heart rate max. This is spaced with short periods of rest or recovery.

Because HIIT is so intense, it can only be done for a short period of time. HIIT is usually programmed with a simple exercise such as sprinting to keep the focus on intensity.

The goal of HIIT workouts is to increase your cardiovascular fitness. HIIT workouts improve your cardiovascular fitness by challenging the heart so that it's forced to work more efficiently when at rest or while doing lower intensity exercise.

If heavy lifting is what stimulates the most muscle growth during strength training, we can consider HIIT to be the 'heavy lifting' of cardio that stimulates the most cardiovascular improvement.

HIIT workouts gained popularity due to their efficiency and effectiveness as a conditioning tool. HIIT is known for delivering the most benefits to your cardiovascular system while taking up a short amount of time. HIIT workouts can also be done with a relatively low risk of injury.

There are major benefits to doing HIIT, which is why it is such a buzzword in the fitness industry. You can burn more calories in a shorter workout time, improve body composition (lose fat and maintain muscle mass), improve oxygen consumption and cardiovascular fitness, and reduce blood pressure and resting heart rate.

HIIT workouts also increase oxygen capacity and lung function which can help athletes run faster, jump higher and get better overall performance. HIIT workouts are very effective for improving your speed, strength, and power.

But if there is one takeaway I want you to have from this article, it's that you don't get the benefits of HIIT workouts unless your workouts are actually HIIT.

The Problem with Many So-called HIIT Workouts

Type “HIIT Workout” into Google or the Instagram search bar and you’ll get a bunch of beautifully produced interval workouts- a few of which are HIIT! It’s frustrating because influencers are selling you all the benefits of a HIIT workout without actually setting appropriate expectations or teaching anyone how to perform HIIT.

What’s missing in all of the videos on Instagram is the effort.

• A HIIT workout should include working sets of 20-40 seconds with ALL OUT-MAX EFFORT followed by rest or active recovery of about the same amount of time.

• Performed properly, it should feel very difficult or almost impossible to continue exercising for the allotted working time. You shouldn’t be able to talk and you shouldn’t be able to hold a smile for the camera.

• You should be completely out of breath and unable to concentrate on much other than getting through the next 20-40 seconds.

• “HIIT workouts” with working periods of 2 minutes are not high intensity enough to be HIIT.

• “HIIT workouts” with exercises that don’t get your heart pumping (bicep curls or planks) are not high intensity enough to be cardiovascular exercise, let alone HIIT.

• If you’re able to talk while teaching a “HIIT workout” it is not high intensity enough to be HIIT.

HIIT is NOT pretty and because of that, you will be able to find very few true examples of high-intensity interval workouts on Instagram.

What you are seeing instead is circuit training, interval training, or bodyweight workouts. These are not the same thing. Doing those workouts are great, but you will not get the benefits of a HIIT workout unless… you actually do a HIIT workout.

How to Make Sure You’re Getting a Real HIIT Workout

It's not too difficult to spot a fake HIIT workout if you know what to look for! HIIT workouts generally follow three simple rules.

1. High-intensity interval training is first and foremost a cardio workout, and the goal is to increase the heart rate. Although some strength training exercises can be done quickly to increase the heart rate (such as a barbell squat clean), you're more likely to see cardio exercises such as sprinting, cycling, or jumping.

2. Intervals in HIIT should include working periods of all-out effort lasting 20-40 seconds, followed by resting periods of about the same time.

3. Your heart rate should get up above 90% of your heart rate max during the working periods of the interval. Heart rate max is calculated by subtracting your age from 220. A 30-year-old woman would have a heart rate max of 190bpm and her goal for HIIT would be to get above 171bpm during working periods.

A high-intensity interval workout will typically go for about 8-12 rounds depending on the duration of the intervals and last about 10-15 minutes in total. If you see a 30 minute HIIT workout (or longer), I would be wary of it being fake HIIT. Even the world's most elite athletes can't sustain 30+ minutes of all-out physical effort.

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Effective HIIT Workout Examples

When I program HIIT for my clients, I am a big fan of keeping it simple. high-intensity interval training is already hard enough, I don't want my clients to have to think about lifting weights and having complex exercise mechanics. We stick to basic, repetitive cardio.

Sprint 200m (half of a standard track) and walk the remaining 200m. Repeat for 10 laps.

For treadmill or street running, this could be prescribed as sprinting for 30 seconds then walking for 30 seconds, repeating for 10 intervals.

On a stationary bike, you could perform 10 intervals of 25 second all-out sprints followed by 20 seconds of light pedaling (no resistance).

If you really wanted to do high intensity full body workouts, you could try exercises like burpees or jump squats to get the heart rate pumping. 8-10 rounds of 30 seconds of all-out working periods and 20 seconds of rest will get your heart beating!

Build Your Own HIIT Workout

Thankfully, programming a HIIT workout is not as difficult as performing them and you can build your own workout to give HIIT a try!

1. Pick an exercise.

Choose one simple exercise that you know gets your heart pumping. This could be sprinting. biking, burpees, etc. Choose something you can perform safely and intensely.

2. Pick your intervals.

Choose your working period and rest period to each be between 20-40 seconds and set an interval timer for the number of rounds you want (you can download an app on your phone for this). Try starting with 20 seconds of all-out effort followed by 20 seconds of rest and repeat that 10 times.

3. Leave nothing on the table.

Push yourself to the max and finish all your rounds. The objective is to get your heart rate up to 90%+ your maximum heart rate! If you have a heart rate monitor of some type (Apple Watch, FitBit, etc), you can use that to try and measure if you are close to a 90%+ maximum heart rate.

Try it out, then come back and tell me how different a true HIIT workout felt from other interval training or circuit workouts you have done!

Conclusion

HIIT workouts are a great way to increase your fitness level and get the most out of your time working out.

High-intensity interval training has a ton of benefits, which is why it has become such a popular buzzword online. You can improve body composition, increase aerobic capacity and cardiovascular fitness, reduce blood pressure, reduce resting heart rate, and improve strength, speed, and power - all in a very short amount of time.

However, don't be fooled by all the cardio circuit workouts you see online that are incorrectly labeled as HIIT. You won't see any of the benefits of a HIIT workout until your workout is truly HIIT.

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