High-intensity interval training (abbreviated as HIIT) is a special type of training that involves short periods of intense effort paired with short periods of rest.
It ramps up your heart rate and leaves you out of breath, lying on the floor, praying to God. Just kidding! It doesn’t have to be that intense.
There are now many studies showing the tremendous benefits of HIIT. In this article, we’ll talk about why HIIT is so powerful.
Slows Aging
In his incredible book on longevity, Lifespan: Why We Age – and Why We Don’t Have To, longevity expert David Sinclair talks about the benefits of HIIT on longevity.
He says, “Although many forms of exercise have positive health effects, it’s high-intensity interval training (HIIT)—the sort that significantly raises your heart and respiration rates—that engages the greatest number of health-promoting genes, and more of them in older exercisers.” [4]
In other words, HIIT activates genes in your body that increase health and longevity, and it’s likely that it does this better than other forms of exercise.
Jacks Up VO2 Max
In many studies, HIIT has also been shown to improve VO2 max.
In one study, HIIT resulted in significantly increased VO2 max compared to lower-intensity training. [2]
Why is VO2 max important?
The cells in our body need oxygen to function. With limited oxygen, cells break down and die.
Lucky for us, there’s plenty of oxygen around, but we need to be able to get it to our cells.
VO2 max is the measure of how good our bodies can do just that – take in and use oxygen.
“VO₂ max is the maximum rate of oxygen consumption attainable during physical exertion.” [1]
How good is your body at the oxygen game? That’s the ultimate marker of cardiovascular fitness.
Now that we understand why VO2 max is so important, it makes sense why it’s a big deal that HIIT improves it.
Why does HIIT training improve VO2 max?
For those of you that love asking why like me, I have a theory on why HIIT is so good at improving VO2 max.
The theory involves looking at HIIT through the Principle of Specificity, which states that “the way the body responds to physical activity
is very specific to the activity itself.” [3]
Basically, the body adapts to whatever you throw at it. In HIIT, the body needs a lot of oxygen quickly, so it adapts by getting really good at utilizing oxygen.
That’s my theory on why HIIT is so good at improving VO2 max.
Conclusion
These are just two of the many benefits of HIIT. I hope this article gave you a better understanding of HIIT and its benefits. I hope it also motivated you to incorporate HIIT into your life.
If you want to reap the benefits of HIIT but don’t know where to start, schedule a Fitness Consultation with me, I’d love to help!
FOOTNOTES:
Leave a Reply