The Minimum Effective Dose of H.I.I.T.
Previously, I explored the minimum effective doses for Zone 2 cardio and strength training. Today, I’m shifting focus to perhaps my favorite workout style: high-intensity interval training (HIIT). What draws me to HIIT is its intensity and brevity, plus the flexibility to choose exercises, whether sprints, cycling, or kettlebell swings, and control the length of each interval, from 10 seconds up to 4 minutes. These workouts hit the sweet spot between cardio and strength, packing a powerful punch in less time than either alone.
The big questions are: How short can these sessions be? And how often should you do them? What I really want to uncover is the minimum effective dose of HIIT, the least amount of work needed to get or stay fit without overdoing it.
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In past articles, I’ve covered the minimum effective dose of Zone 2 training and strength training. Today I’ll dive into maybe my favorite type of workout: high-intensity interval training. I love it because it’s intense, it’s short, and, unlike those other types of workouts, I have more say into the type of exercise (sprints, cycling, kettlebells, etc.) and the duration of each set (10 seconds or 4 minutes?). The workouts are that sweet spot between cardio and strength training but intense enough that they’re typically shorter than both.
For HIIT, I typically use a jump rope, kettlebell (swings, hip hinges, squats, overhead press, rows), resistance bands (rows, shoulder pulls, lat pulldowns), and do body weight work (push-ups, plyo jumps),
Occasionally I’ll also incorporate a HIIT workout into my morning or nighttime writing. As I’m typing away, I am sitting on a FlexiSpot Desk Bike. I jack the resistance up to 8, set an interval timer for 30 seconds every 3 minutes and then I just pause my writing for that time and go.
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