Why should I HIIT?

BENEFITS OF HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING

HIIT, also known as high-intensity interval training, is commonly described as a workout technique that focuses on quick, intense bursts of exercise, followed by short recovery periods. HIIT is holding strong as a fitness trend on the rise, due to its proven ability to burn more fat in less time.

Despite all the hype around HIIT, if you still need convincing, check out these facts about HIIT that you might not have known before and reasons why it’s so easy to start incorporating this type of training into your regular workout routine:

1. Increases Your Metabolism
Human growth hormone or HGH is responsible for our body’s ability to pack on lean body mass, keep energy levels high and increase healing capacities. We often refer to this as our metabolism and unfortunately, it naturally decreases after adolescence. HIIT stimulates HGH production which translates to a boost in your metabolism for up to 48 hours after a completed high-intensity interval exercise. Before you know it, you’ll start to look at feel years younger!

2. Lose Fat, Not Muscle
Steady cardio is associated with losing muscle. HIIT workouts combine weight training (the weight being your body) with and quicker movements, which will effectively allow you to preserve your muscle gain while still shedding unwanted fat.

3. No Equipment Needed
The main focus of HIIT exercises are to get your heart rate up and keep it there. All you really need for an effective HIIT workout are plyometric exercises, like high knees or lateral jumps. These workouts result in optimal muscle building and muscle retention, coupled with fat loss and increased calorie burn.

4. Quick and Efficient
HIIT is great if you have a limited amount of time to work out. Instead of spending 60-90 minutes at the gym, cut it down to 30 minutes of high-intensity interval training. By doing this, you will accomplish more work in less time. Another popular workout similar to HIIT is Tabata training where you are on for 20 seconds, off for 10 seconds, repeated for four minutes. )

5. You Can Do It Anywhere
Another great thing about HIIT exercises is you can adapt them to whatever time and space constraints you have. HIIT exercises require little to no equipment and can be done in a relatively small space; this will eliminate your before or after work commute to the gym. You can do it as a form of sprints, boxing, skipping, rowing…

What Does This All Mean?

The bottom line is, if you are short on time and want to get active, consider trying high-intensity interval training. Keep in mind, because these workouts are considerably short, you will be working hard the whole time, but it will be well worth it. Not only is HIIT a great way to keep your workouts exciting, high-intensity interval training produces many of the same health benefits as other forms of exercise.

Have a nice week.

Why should I Foam Roll and how?

Self myofasical release, also know as “foam rolling ”  became very popular as a familiar everyday practice for people at all level of fitness.

Self myofascial release is a fancy term for self massage to release muscle tightness or trigger points. It can be done with a foam roller, lacrosse ball or your own hands. By applying pressure to specific points on your body your are able to aid in the recovery of the muscle and assist in returning them to normal function. Normal function means your muscle are elastic, healthy and ready to perform.

What is a trigger point?

Our bodies are always compensating for what we throw at them everyday, but we can exceed our ability to recover via too many intense workouts, poor posture and other lifestyle factors. (stress, nutrition, hydratation, flexibility…) and on the long run if the body doesn’t restore his balance state, those compensation mechanism will become worst.

Because os those compensation mechanism a muscle might start to dysfunction and toxins start to accumulate in a specific area of the muscle. That is what we call a trigger point.

Trigger points are unique and can be identified because they will refer pain. Pain referral can most easily be described as the pain felt when pressure is applied to one area of the body, but the pain is felt or radiated in another area. For example a trigger point in a muscle underneath your arm might create pain or tingling in your little finger.

Releasing trigger points helps to reestablish proper movement patterns and pain free movement, and ultimately, to enhance performance. Utilizing stretching alone is not always enough to release muscles tightness, which is why foam rollers have thrived on the mass market. Imagine a bungee cord with a knot tied into it and then envision stretching the cord. This creates tension, stretching the unknotted portion of the muscle and the attachment points. The knot, however, has remained unaltered.

Foam rolling can assist in breaking up these muscle knots, resuming normal blood flow and function. The goal to any corrective or recovery technique is to get you back to the point of normal functioning, as if nothing was ever wrong.

 How Does Self-Myofascial Release Work?

Deep compression helps to break up or relax tight muscles and adhesions formed between muscle layers and their surroundings. Imagine you are tenderizing your own muscles. They should be soft and supple like a baby’s muscles. However, if our muscles are not taken care of properly we can experience loss of flexibility, adhesions, and painful movement.

The deep compression of self-myofascial release allows normal blood flow to return and the restoration of healthy tissue. The body naturally wants to be healthy and strong, but sometimes an extra boost is needed to achieve optimal muscle and tissue health.

To foam roll properly, apply moderate pressure to a specific muscle or muscle group using the roller and your bodyweight. You should roll slowly, no more than one inch per second. When you find areas that are tight or painful, pause for several seconds and relax as much as possible. You should slowly start to feel the muscle releasing, and after 5-30 seconds the discomfort or pain should lessen.

If an area is too painful to apply direct pressure, shift the roller and apply pressure on the surrounding area and gradually work to loosen the entire area. The goal is to restore healthy muscles – it is not a pain tolerance test. You may also use other objects to work on muscles such as a tennis ball, lacrosse ball, Theracane, or Trigger Point Therapy Kit.

Never roll a joint or bone. Avoid rolling your lower back. To target specific  muscles I recommend using tennis or lacrosse ball.

What Happens After Foam Rolling?

You may be sore the next day. It should feel as if your muscles have been worked/released, however you should not push yourself to the point of excessive soreness. Drink plenty of water, get enough sleep, and eat clean. This will help to flush your system and fuel your muscles more effectively. Give it 24-48 hours before focusing on the same area again.