High intensity interval training involves alternating between short duration bouts of vigorous and moderate intensities of exercise. The cumulative total of these interval minutes at a vigorous level is often more than an individual could sustain at a sustained vigorous intensity. Allowing the participant to obtain the health benefits of vigorous exercise without trying to get all the minutes in one longer bout.
High intensity exercise should be a part of most adult’s weekly exercise routines due to its’ beneficial impact on mental and physical health, as well as, disease risk. Initially this type of aerobic exercise was studied in healthy populations to improve aerobic exercise markers including VO2 max. Researchers have more recently started to use these protocols in participants with disease. A recent review of the research describes the impact of HIIT on cardiovascular and metabolic disease markers.
Poon and colleagues published their review of the literature on HIIT for patients with metabolic syndrome (Br J Sports Med. 2024). Authors included 23 randomized controlled trials of 1374 participants who were randomized to either a control group or performed HIIT. They found significant benefits of HIIT for blood glucose levels, triglycerides, cholesterol, and waist circumference. Importantly, authors reported shorter sessions of approximately 15 minutes of HIIT were not less effective than longer HIIT sessions.
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