8 Benefits of HIIT Training You Need to Know

Author

Stephen Sheehan, CPT, CNC
September 27, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

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Welcome to Home Gym Club! Today’s edition pays tribute to the time-efficient form of training known as HIIT. From boosting your metabolism to building muscle and burning fat at the same time, you can make major progress toward your strength and conditioning goals without spending a ton of time in the gym. While 30 seconds may seem short, just wait till you’re midway through a set of kettlebell swings before you get too confident about knocking out your next work interval.

What’s in today’s newsletter:

  • A CPT breaks down the benefits of HIIT.

  • 3 HIIT workouts for men that anyone can do at home.

  • Our expert product testers picked out the best heart rate monitors.

  • A side-by-side comparison of steady-state cardio vs. HIIT.

Back to Basics

Benefits of HIIT

HIIT is an acronym for high-intensity interval training, and it basically means that you perform short bursts of intense exercise followed by periods of rest (or low-intensity movement). The cool thing about a HIIT session is that it’s just a method of training—you choose the exercises, work periods, and rest periods. You can pretty much adapt a HIIT workout for any form of exercise, including weight training, bodyweight movements, or aerobics.

The tough part about embarking on a fitness journey is that you’re not going to see immediate results. The human body is capable of change, but it takes repeated work over the course of a long period of time. Plus, it’s increasingly difficult to find the time to exercise.

This is where ramping up the intensity of your workouts can make a huge difference. From improving your heart health to potentially decreasing your body fat, GGR Senior Staff Writer and certified personal trainer Lauren Strong dives deep into the different benefits of HIIT training, offering her expert insight on this time-efficient form of exercise.

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Trainer’s Corner

3 HIIT Workouts That Anyone Can Do

As a guy who used to weigh 285 pounds, I understand it can be difficult to wrap your head around the idea of only needing to work out for 20 or 30 minutes to burn fat and build muscle. However, the reality is that you don’t need to spend hours in the gym to sculpt your ideal physique. You’ll quickly learn that how intensely you train and how you structure your workout drastically impacts your results.

During the weight-loss journey that inspired me to become a certified personal trainer, I discovered the power of high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Like many others, I found these workouts challenging but efficient and well-suited for my schedule. Luckily, HIIT workouts for men are no different than those for women, as everyone can benefit from this training style.

Whether you want to improve your conditioning, add lean muscle, or shed stubborn body fat, you can utilize the goal-specific workouts I’ve designed to make your fitness dream come true. While they certainly aren’t for the faint of heart, you’ll undoubtedly feel accomplished once you wrap up the final interval.

Test Drive

Best Heart Rate Monitors

Among all your biohacking options, a heart rate monitor (HRM) is an excellent tool for athletes and non-athletes alike. And if you want to incorporate HIIT into your routine, knowing the exact number of beats per minute can help ensure you’re working at the right intensity level.

The GGR team includes CrossFit athletes, certified personal trainers, and nutrition coaches with decades of collective experience in the fitness industry. To determine the best heart rate monitors, our testers bought, used, and scored the leading brands on the market, assessing each HRM on a scale of 1 to 5 on factors such as ease of use, comfort, and connectivity options.

Which monitors left the strongest impressions on the GGR squad? Find out which seven made the cut, along with why you should consider investing in one, in this heart-focused roundup.

This or That

Steady-State Cardio vs. HIIT

You’ve decided you need to add some cardio exercise to your routine to burn fat and improve your health. (That’s a great first step). Now you’re faced with weighing the pros and cons of the slow-and-steady approach vs. high-intensity interval training.

\Which form of cardio should you choose, and can you do both?

Cardio, no matter the mode, duration, or intensity, has great stress-relieving and calorie-burning benefits, as well as the ability to lower your blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease. While some members of the steady-state cardio vs. HIIT camps are firmly entrenched in their views, you don’t have to be like that since there’s plenty of room in the middle.

GGR contributor and certified personal trainer Shane McLean covers both sides of the cardio coin by comparing the two modalities and giving you sample workouts for each so you can start breaking a sweat and burning calories right away.

Deal Zone

Horizon Fitness Coupon

Horizon Fitness has some of the best folding treadmills for home gyms in addition to other home cardio equipment like ellipticals, exercise bikes, and rowers. The brand is known for exceptional durability and offers lifetime frame warranties on all cardio equipment—a perk the GGR squad fully appreciates.

Our expert product testers and reviewers are always on the hunt for ways to save on fitness equipment, whether it be a discount code, free delivery, or free gifts. Here are a few ways the GGR team has found to save on your next equipment purchase from Horizon:

  • Find exclusive and limited-time Horizon Fitness promo codes on the deals page.

  • Horizon offers additional savings site-wide for military, first responders, nurses, and teachers by using ID.me to verify your identification.

  • Horizon Fitness does not lock you into a specific subscription. Instead, you can utilize Bluetooth to sync workout metrics to popular fitness apps, saving you money over time.

  • Qualified buyers can receive 0% APR on loan terms between 6 to 24 months when financing exercise equipment over $500.

  • Stay up-to-date with Horizon Fitness on social media or subscribe to the newsletter for possible sales.

Quick H(i)its

Just Keep Spinning