The Science Behind Building Lean Muscle With HIIT Workouts

By Russell Howe


Every fitness trainer is constantly looking for new, improved methods teaching how to build muscle. One of the theories which the last decade has embraced is high intensity interval training and today you'll discover what it can do for your muscle building goals.

It might sound odd to use intervals as a resistance program, but it's easily possible.

When we think about HIIT, we usually think about cardiovascular exercise. However, that does not mean it is the only way of using it.

The first reports of interval training showed this. Back in the 1992 Olympic Games, sprint coaches were using high intensity routines to prepare their athletes for the events they faced. These included both weights based work and outdoor sprints.

When you think about it, any weights workout bears striking resemblances to interval training. You train, you rest, you train, you rest, and so on.

Most people who are using intervals for fat loss results are doing so because they are chasing the fabled afterburn effect. This is the post workout recovery phase which follows an interval based workout, where the body can continue to burn calories and fat for a number of hours on autopilot.

This has been shown in various scientific studies to burn off up to 900% more fat than regular aerobic exercise, so it's no wonder this style of training is becoming so widely popular.

There are two problems which prevent most gym users from seeing these results.

Most people allow themselves to get stuck in a comfort zone when lifting. They fail to force new results by handling loads their body can already take. Also, they rest for way too long.

The two key aspects of high intensity exercise are that you must lower rest periods and you must workout to your absolute maximum ability, which is why those two reasons above often lead to failure.

But how do you incorporate HIIT into a resistance workout anyway?

Eliminate unnecessary rest. You shouldn't need more than sixty seconds to recover from a set. You can do this by using the stopwatch feature on your mobile phone, rather than using it to text your friends between sets. This will massively increase your workout's productivity, burning more fat as well.

Your workouts will feel more like cardio than anything else, but your fitness levels will go sky high as a result.

High intensity interval training shows you how to build muscle without spending your entire working day in the gym. You can enjoy less overall workout time but more physical results if you approach it correctly and use it wisely.




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