Don’t try this at home unless you’re kinda fit
Ten minutes of explosive exercise can give the same rewards as an hour of moderate, continuous training, writes
TAKING A ‘HIIT’: Advertising director Samantha Jones, front left, training at MovementX gym, Norwood
GOT a minute or 10? That’s all you need to get fitter — provided you train regularly and flat out.
To benefit from “high-intensity interval training”, or HIIT, you don’t have to be an Olympic athlete, although you need be moderately fit and healthy.
A single minute of very intense exercise produces medical and fitness gains similar to less vigorous training lasting five times longer, a recent study among Canadian men shows.
Ten minutes of explosive exercise could reap the same rewards as 40 to 60 minutes of moderate, continuous training, said Justin Durandt, manager of the Discovery High Performance Centre at the Sport Science Institute of South Africa.
Sports scientists, physicians and personal trainers agree that HIIT — defined as short bursts of high-intensity effort followed by varied recovery times — is the most efficient way to boost fitness and fat loss, but caution that it can be risky.
Durandt said: “HIIT is a great way of training in that you get your most bang for your buck time wise — but it is not for everybody.”
Sports scientist Marc Booysen of the Centre for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand said HIIT seemed to burn more fat for 24 hours afterwards.
“For fat loss it is good and it doesn’t matter how long you train for. Shorter workouts at a higher intensity can be more effective than long, drawn-out sessions at a lower intensity. The intensity must be high, however, reaching about 85% to 90% of your maximum heart rate [about 220 minus your age].
“I would say that most people exercise around 70-75% of their maximal heart rate, whereas in HIIT the intensity of your work periods should be a lot higher.”
But be warned: Throwing yourself into such a hard workout that you are gasping for breath and feel like throwing up is only safe if you have a baseline fitness.
Sports physician Dr Rob Collins said: “If execs who used to be high-level athletes try it, but now have a few drinks after work and have put on weight, they are at risk of heart attack or injury, like snapping an Achilles tendon.”
He said HIIT is in fashion now, having made headlines when, in 1996, Professor Izumi Tabata published its effects on the Japanese Winter Olympic speedskating team.
The efficiency of HIIT means it is increasingly popular among those with excessive demands on their time, from CEOs to working parents.
Advertising director Samantha Jones, 32, did HIIT training until she delivered a baby girl and a fortnight later she was back. Within a month, with breastfeeding, she had lost the 9kg she had gained while pregnant.
Jones has the A-type personality well suited to HIIT, being motivated enough to push out of her comfort zone.
“I run until I’m gassed and my heart rate spikes and then I recover on the trot. You forget about how it hurts and how tired you are and for me it’s time out.
“I’m addicted and there is quite a vibe when the music is pumping and the lights drop,” she said about the MovementX classes she attends four to five times a week.
“Before I was building bulkier muscle, but HIIT made me leaner and more toned. I do a combination of treadmill at different speeds and use weights, bars, dumbbells, elastic bands and exercises using my body weight.”
Johannesburg entrepreneur Luyanda Bambisa, 33, said HIIT got him better results than traditional training.
“I go to MovementX classes twice a week and my fitness has improved. When I run on the road my ability to do an uphill or recover is better. I recently did a wellness check and, for the first time since I left school, I was absolutely spot on and well below the recommended BMI [weight-to-height] levels.”
MovementX, its forerunner CrossFit, select gym classes and the Sport Science Institute of South Africa’s Researched Innovative Performance Training programme are some of the HIIT workouts on offer.
Qualified personal trainers such as martial artist Claude Nkomo, 37, also support it. He said: “I do high-intensity training with my clients because it is the best way to train and save time. We use skipping ropes, body-weight exercises such as burpees, jumps and squats and jogging on the spot as fast as you can.”
Nkomo, based at the Virgin Active Old Eds in Houghton, said: “Personally I haven’t seen injuries from it, but there are many. When people push all out, they tend to lose form and compromise technique. They need to be monitored.”
British coach and fitness guru Scott Laidler said he supported HIIT along with light activity in daily routines. “If time is an issue you are best off doing highintensity training with resistance and trying to incorporate very light activity into your daily regime as a habit.
“This means walking places you might otherwise drive, taking walking meetings and phone calls or perhaps sitting on a stationary bike as you watch your favourite TV shows.”
Resistance drills of high-intensity, for example with kettlebells, could replace endurance training except for competitive athletes who did both, he said.
However, some runners and cyclists would rather ride five hours or run one hour than do half an hour of HIIT, said Booysen. “Interval training is very hard and I don’t prescribe it to athletes in the holiday season. I tell them to do something fun or go for an easy run.”
Ball sports such as squash and team sports such as ultimate Frisbee are a fun form of HIIT. And those who prefer endurance training to HIIT will be glad to know they score on at least one front: Olympic athletes in high-intensity disciplines such as rowing, cycling and boxing had a higher mortality than those in lower-intensity sports such as cricket and golf.
I recently did a wellness check and, for the first time since I left school, I was absolutely spot on