Is 30 Minutes Of High – Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Once a Week Really Enough?

My answer is: YES, if you are working out several times a week, doing HIIT one of those times is a good thing. Is once a week enough? In my opinion, the answer is again YES. Doing HIIT more than once a week regularly is actually unnecessary, in my opinion. One should not need to perform regular HIIT to achieve the benefits.

What Is HIIT?

HIIT involves alternating bouts of intense exercise of from 30 seconds to several minutes with recovery periods of one to five minutes. It has been touted as a way to help the time poor stay fit without having to slog through the recommended weekly exercise of 150 minutes. Again, in my opinion incorporating it into a workout or parts of your workout being that style workout is ideal. You cannot do 20 minutes of HIIT once a week and consider that enough time for your workout.

Here Is Some Research

Over 12 weeks, researchers asked sedentary men to do three weekly sessions of either three lots of 20-second all-out sprints interspersed with one-minute recovery periods, or 45 minutes of continuous, moderate-intensity cycling. Their study, found indicators of cardiovascular and metabolic health, such as VO2 max and insulin sensitivity, improved by similar amounts in the two groups. A review of previous studies involving more than 300 participants found that sprint interval training improves VO2 max by close to the same amount as moderate intensity endurance training.

If you are working out several times a week, doing it one of those times is a good thing. Its a great way to have variation to your program and save you some time in the process! Get creative with it – do HIIT in the gym, outside, with weights, or with cardio. Either way, it’ll be a great addition to your routine!

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