HIIT it and quit it: Why short workouts work HIIT it and quit it: Why short workouts work
Centr Team
24 Apr 2019
If you’ve always dreaded the thought of needing to spend hours a day exercising to get the results you need, you can rest easy and smile. We’re here to tell you that you absolutely don’t need to!
Short, sharp, intense workouts are ingrained in our core philosophy. Designed to get you the results you’re here for, they offer a big bunch of other benefits too:
Intensity saves time, but does it get results?
The style of Ashley, Tiff and Luke’s HIIT and HIRT sessions are high-intensity interval – meaning you move your body with a big effort (high intensity) during the work phase for a set amount of time, followed by a rest phase for a little recovery.
It’s during those high-intensity periods that you are challenging your body, taking it into a realm where it’s adapting to the moves to become fitter and stronger.
Because your body is giving an all-out effort, the workout doesn’t need to last as long. Results – muscle-building, cardiovascular improvement, flexibility – are accomplished in less than an hour. We’d almost call it cheating, except you worked so damn hard for it.
Rest time's over: get your heart pumping with one of Luke's HIIT workouts.
The muscle burn is real
Muscles on fire? That’s what improvement feels like.
Here’s what it comes down to: The harder you exercise, the more you feel your muscles. Sometimes that exercise ‘burn’ can be tough, but hang in there. The more effort your body gives, the more fuel it uses. You’re burning up big amounts of energy (calories) during HIIT, HIRT and MMA – a huge win if weight loss, trimming down, or toning up are part of your game plan.
Benefits keep coming even post-workout
Ever heard of EPOC? Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption is a fancy way of saying that after any of your HIIT, HIRT or MMA workouts, you’re going to burn through more energy than usual. Even as you rest, your working muscle cells spend energy trying to restore themselves back to pre-exercise levels.
That means even when you’re not exercising, your metabolism is turned up and your body is using calories. So yes, 45 minutes or less can keep your body on your toes for hours after your final sit-thru.
Do it on your terms because we get it, life is busy! And in today’s world of crazy schedules and lack of time we know you don’t necessarily have the same time slot each day to tick off your movement.
HIIT and HIRT workouts are designed to fit in around you – you don’t need a big space, lots of equipment or to turn up at a set time each day. And if you’ve only got 20 minutes to move your body between work or life commitments – perfect, that’s all you need!
