Your health, don’t HIIT it too hard at the gym
‘‘The findings have scientifically established that less is more when it comes to HIIT.’’
it definitely shouldn’t keep us from working out and staying fit. Scientific studies routinely confirm daily exercise is found to be one of the key variables that drives death rates down.
In fact, Harvard University research finds that exerciserelated heart attacks account for fewer than 5 per cent of all sudden cardiac arrests.
There is no question that ‘‘regular, moderate-intensity exercise is the best way to prevent sudden cardiac arrest,’’ says Dr Aaron L Baggish, of Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.
Keeping that in mind, a new study by New Zealand gym Les Mills and US university Penn State helps us answer the question ‘‘how much is too much?’’ when it comes to highintensity workouts.
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), an exercise trend for several years, is a type of workout people often overdo. The method, which normally uses only bodyweight, focuses on increasing your heart rate to an absolute maximum and keeping it there for short intervals.
The study, presented by Associate Professor Jinger Gottschall at the 2018 American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) annual meeting in early June, sets a limit on how much HIIT somebody should do.
According to Gottschall,
90 per cent maximum heart rate workouts should be capped at
30-40 minutes of such activity per week.
This is the first time any sort of guidelines have been recommended on high-intensity interval exercise, explicitly stating how much could be bad for your health.
‘‘The findings have scientifically established that less is more when it comes to HIIT and that any more than 30-40 minutes working out at above 90 per cent of the maximum heart rate per week doesn’t help achieve transformative effects,’’ said Bryce Hastings, the head of research at Les Mills who worked on the study. ‘‘In fact, too much actually hinders.’’
Hastings provides recommendations of what constitutes a safe and healthy amount of exercise. Recreational exercisers looking for basic health benefits should do two 30-45 minute cardiovascular workouts (jogging or cycling), one weight-training session, one flexibility workout, and 30 minutes of high-intensity intervals.
For intermediate people trying to improve their fitness and advanced exercisers who are pushing their fitness to an elite level, they are best to try for up to four cardio sessions, two weights workouts, one flexibility session, and one hour of HIIT
(30-40 minutes of which can be at
90 per cent maximum heart rate). For optimal muscle growth and fat loss, the study recommends HIIT is split into two 15-minute sessions a week, with 85-90 per cent of top heart rate achieved during each.