HIIT to LIT — Is the Workout Scene Changing From High Intensity to Low?
Run, jump, slam, bound, up, down, up, down. High-intensity interval training, otherwise known as HIIT, has ranked in the top five fitness trends in The American College of Sports and Medicine (ACSM) Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for the last six years—but what exactly is high-intensity interval training?
According to ACSM, HIIT exercise programs typically involve short bursts of high-intensity bouts of exercise followed by a short period of rest. It is designed to get your heart rate up through cardio exercises like running and jumping.
Nicole Pearce, Founder of Nicole Pearce Fitness, explains that "HIIT has been shown to increase your metabolic rate, not just during a workout, but afterward. This is referred to as increased EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption). Essentially your body continues to burn calories at an increased rate (compared to pre-workout), as it works to restore your body's oxygen debt and return the body to its normal metabolic rate."
Year after year, workouts trends show that HIIT's increasing popularity is becoming more accessible through boutique fitness studios and group training classes. "The big sell of HIIT workouts during their peak popularity was always the time factor. They don't have to be long to be effective, so HIIT workouts can be a good option if you're short on time." - Pearce says.
While HIIT training has proven to maintain its popularity—the format and level of intensity has similar benefits to an endurance workout with less time spent actually working out. In the day and age of quicker is better—HIIT training seems like the best solution for fast results.
What if you are new to working out, nursing an injury, or dealing with structural housing issues? Can HIIT training be the right fit for you?
“There is a greater risk of injury doing high-impact exercises, yes. And with HIIT, there’s typically an element of speed, which further increases risk.” Pearce says. “You would want to make sure you can properly perform low-impact versions of an exercise before adding in any impact and/or speed.”
It is not to say that HIIT and injury should immediately be linked. "With proper form, there is a way to do just about any form of movement safely, just as there's a possibility of injury doing the simplest of tasks.” Pearce says.
The Benefits of HIIT
Aerobic and anaerobic fitness
Blood pressure
Cardiovascular health
Insulin sensitivity
Cholesterol profiles
Abdominal fat and body weight while maintaining muscle mass.
Although it may be new to some, low impact training has been around for quite some time. Studios like LIT Method, btone Fitness, Indoor Cycling, and Rowing Studios have designed their signature workouts around low impact training. With marketing promises of increasing mental, physical strength and less injuries.
“For a while, I was seeing HIIT training as the foundation of a lot of fitness programming. For example, someone doing four HIIT workouts a week and then maybe mixing in one low-impact workout like a yoga or Pilates class. Now I see that slowly flipping, with low-impact training as the foundation of a fitness program.”
Low impact training can be misunderstood. People believe that low impact will mean low intensity. In reality, low impact exercises can still be performed with high intensity by removing any jumping exercise and replacing it with a low impact-high intensity exercise. According to btone FITNESS, each session builds long, lean muscle mass, toning and balancing your whole body. While the movements are slow, they are challenging and create the perfect atmosphere for zero-impact, heart-rate driving cardio while you build muscle. But why is LIT now catching the attention of the fitness industry now?
“Since the start of the pandemic in March, I’ve seen way more requests for low-impact workouts. With everyone working (and working out) from home, the thudding that comes with jumping around in HIIT workouts isn’t always an option. People have downstairs neighbors to consider, napping children in the other room, and an increased need to keep their home workout on the quiet side.”
What is Low Impact Training? (LIT)
Low impact exercises and training can mean several things. It could be as simple as going for a walk, riding a bike, or doing yoga. "Low impact training is more joint-friendly than HIIT, and therefore more accessible to a wider range of people and bodies." Pearce says. Low impact interval training includes high cardio exercises in an interval structure with no jumping involved.
The benefits of liit
Strength
Blood pressure
Stress
Cuts down on the risk of musculoskeletal injury
Maintaining a healthy weight
Reduce the risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
The conclusion
It all depends on your fitness goals and physical ability. If your goal is to reach max caloric burn, you may want to incorporate a HIIT exercise program into your weekly workout routine. "But personally, caloric burn is very low on my list when it comes to qualifying a workout as "effective" for clients. From a functional view, time (even if it's brief) may be better spent on mobility, breathwork, etc.—it all depends on what an individual body needs."
With similar benefits from both HIIT and LIIT, it is really up to your preference and/or body ability on which style to choose. The incorporation of interval training into a general conditioning program will optimize the development of cardiorespiratory fitness and numerous other health benefits. So tell us, are your HIIT or LIIT?
Get to know Nicole
Nicole is a Boston-based fitness trainer with over six years of experience teaching group fitness. She is a NASM CPT and in the process of completing STOTT Pilates Mat certification. Nicole shares weekly workout classes on her YouTube Channel, with additional classes on her subscription service.
What is your preferred method of working out?
Personally, my body feels best with about an 80/20 split (maybe even 90/10), low impact to high impact training. I do love a sweaty HIIT workout here and there, but not every day—by any means!
Favorite Low Impact Exercises?
No particular exercises (best exercises will vary by person and what an individual's body needs), but my favorite methodology of low impact training is Pilates. I love the anatomical focus of STOTT Pilates and truly believe every body can benefit from incorporating this type of work into their training.
Experts Reference
Nicole Pearce, Founder of Nicole Pearce Fitness, September 2020
Thompson, Walter R. Ph.D., FACSM WORLDWIDE SURVEY OF FITNESS TRENDS FOR 2020, ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal: 11/12 2019 - Volume 23 - Issue 6 - p 10-18 doi: 10.1249/FIT.0000000000000526
Reposted with permission of the American College of Sports Medicine. Copyright © 2014 American College of Sports Medicine. This brochure is a product of ACSM's Consumer Information Committee. Visit ACSM online at www.acsm.org.
btone FITNESS, The btone FITNESS method at www.btonefitness.com