In recent years, High Intensity Interval Training (aka HIIT) has become quite popular. If you aren’t familiar with the concept, HIIT involves alternating brief rounds of very intense cardiovascular exercise with lighter activity. For example, instead of going for a light jog for 30 minutes, a person engaging in HIIT might sprint as hard as they can for one minute, then walk for one minute, and repeat the process five times for a total ten minute workout.
There are many, many, different HIIT protocols, with perhaps the most famously brief one being a “Tabata”, in which a person does intense exercise (say pedalling as fast as possible on a stationary bike) for 20 seconds, pauses for 10 seconds to catch their breath, and then repeats the process eight times for a total four minute workout.
The advantages of this type of exercise are obvious to the time-crunched person, and I indeed frequently recommend doing a “Tabata” a few times per week to the patient who tells me they have no time for exercise. There is also a psychological appeal to HIIT training for the person who doesn’t feel like they are getting a good workout unless they leave the gym soaked in sweat. Crossfit for example has long incorporated a lot of HIIT work into their programs, and if you know any Crossfitters you will be aware these are not the type of people who are content to just go for a light walk or a gentle yoga class. (That’s not a knock on CrossFit nor the people who enjoy doing it by the way – the world contains many different personality types, and it’s great to have different fitness modalities that cater to these differences. It has simply been my experience that CrossFit tends to attract the “type A” personalities of the fitness world, people who really enjoy a workout that pushes them to the absolute brink of what they are physically capable of on a regular basis).
