UTM’s fitness centre has a new group fitness class to help you escape from long and boring cardio sessions.
Unlike other workout programs, such as the one I developed for myself where I run on the treadmill until I feel like my insides are dying, High-Interval Intensity Training is much less time-consuming. The hour-long class incorporates cycling, rowing machines, circuits, core exercises, and weighted exercises.
And sprints—let’s not forget sprints.
I went into this class thinking about how tired and exhausted I would be at the end, but I was wrong. The class was tiring due to the intense routines. Even the rest periods were active rest periods. Time to rest means stop, right? Wrong—for HIIT, it means jog, or skip, or do anything, but make sure you keep moving.
At the end of the class, I felt amazing and energized. I was so ready to tackle my readings and keep going on with my day.
HIIT is becoming a popular workout that is designed to help individuals burn fat faster in shorter periods of time. This class is great for individuals looking to build strength, increase endurance, lose weight, or just blow off some steam.
HIIT helps benefit both aerobic and anaerobic types of endurance. Cardio, jogging, or running marathons are all examples of aerobic exercises. These exercises are sustained over long periods of time, and require oxygen and slow-twitch muscles. Slow-twitch muscles help increase endurance.
Anaerobic is the opposite. It means “without oxygen” and uses fast-twitch muscles, which are useful in intense bursts of body movements. Sprinting is an example of this kind of movement. HIIT incorporates both fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscles, which makes it a great workout routine.
Unlike steady-state cardio, HIIT has an after-burn effect, which is also known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. The after-burn effect helps you burn more calories even after you’ve left the gym. This is one of the main reasons why HIIT is a perfect workout method for losing fat.
Anyone can benefit from a HIIT workout. Next time you’re looking for something to do, join instructor Julia Dedic on Tuesday from 11:30-12:30 p.m. in the fitness center, and experience this for yourself.
