Three GREAT Reasons to Use High Intensity Training

Unless you've been hiding under a rock as of late, you may have heard a thing or two about something called High Intensity Training. What exactly is H.I.T.? Simply it is a training program that stresses the energy system that provides short, powerful bursts of energy without the use of oxygen rather than the slow burning aerobic energy system most people are familiar with. Thanks to some of the great fitness minds of today, High Intensity Training is becoming all the rage in the fitness industry. Despite it's rising popularity, most people are in the dark about why this style of training is really great for you outside of it being an ass kicking workout. Here's three of my top benefits of H.I.T.:

1. More results in less time -  If you're doing it right, you can wipe yourself out and see some serious increases in your fitness levels in just FOUR MINUTES of legitimate H.I.T. work (Tabata et al study). While that alone is not going to melt away your beer belly or muffin tops, repeated 30 second bouts of maximal intensity work followed by rest periods of 30-90 seconds for about 15 to 20 minutes can boost your metabolism more than 60 minutes of traditional steady state cardio. Don't get me wrong, those 4, 15 or 20 minutes are going to be some of the nastiest of your life, but you'll get more overall fitness benefits than traditional training in a fraction of the time.


2. H.I.T. keeps you young, strong and lean - Repeated bouts of near maximal intensity cardio or high intensity weight training will stimulate the release of Human Growth Hormone which helps you hold onto or build muscle AND burn fat. The natural decline of HGH when people enter their 30s is one of the main reasons people lose muscle mass and their metabolism "slows down" as they age. Naturally keeping your HGH levels high with the right training program and proper diet will keep you looking younger, staying stronger and living leaner longer.

3. It enhances insulin sensitivity - Perhaps the most important reason to utilize H.I.T. is through stressing our type II muscle fibers through explosive lifts/moves, sprints or weight training you increase your insulin sensitivity. Why is this important? When your body runs out of storage space for carbohydrates in the muscles and liver, it converts excess sugars directly into saturated fats. When you wipe out glycogen stores via H.I.T. and also increase storage space with increased muscle size, you improve your body's ability to metabolize carbohydrates effectively. With insulin resistance and Type II diabetes being an epidemic that is sweeping our nation, improving carbohydrate metabolism is a key ingredient to long term health, wellness and fat loss.