High Intensity Interval Training commutes to the cubicle
| Reuters
1. High Intensity Interval Training commutes to the cubicle |
Reuters
NEW YORK High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT, which has successfully sprinted from the
playing fields of professional athletes to the fitness centers of everyday exercisers, may be coming to
a cubicle near you.
Experts say even mini-interludes of this cardiovascular workout, which alternates short, high-
intensity intervals with longer, slower ones, can help fend off the sedentary perils of time-pressed,
computer-shackled men and women.
Air boxing, in-place marching, wall push-ups and chair jogging are among the office-friendly cardio
bouts that exercise physiologist Sean Foy suggests in this new book "The Burst! Workout: the Power
of 10-Minute Interval Training."
"We're pushing people like athletes, and that's great for the P90X and CrossFit crowd," said Foy,
who is based in Placentia, California.
"But for people who work in an office 12 hours a day, spending another hour at the gym might be
unreasonable."
The best exercise, he said, is the one you will do.
Foy proposes a 4-3-2-1 formula that entails four minutes of high-energy aerobic training to raise
heart rate and metabolism, three minutes of
http://www.teambeachbody.com/workout-routines/p90x-workout resistance training to strengthen
muscles and bones, two minutes of core-strengthening exercises for abs and back and one minute of
breathing and stretching.
For the desk-bound, Foy said even a minute of activity can have a profound, positive impact on
psychological, emotional and stress responses.
"Take a sedentary person and ask them to air box as quickly and as safely as they can and their
2. heart rate will be elevated," he said. "The key element is to progress so over time the body will
become stronger."
The book, which is not insanity versus limited to office-friendly activity, accommodates three levels
of fitness: the beginner, the reasonably fit and the exerciser seeking maximum intensity.
A 2013 report by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) says that HIIT training has been
shown to improve aerobic and anaerobic fitness, blood pressure, cardiovascular health, abdominal
fat and body weight while maintaining muscle mass.
ACSM recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity fat loss physical activity five days per
week, or 20 minutes of more vigorous activity three days per week.
Dr. Mark Kelly, an exercise physiologist and lecturer at California State University, Fullerton, said
HIIT is very effective in achieving conditioning effects with short periods, if both the body and mind
build up gradually to high intensity.
"Unfortunately you need to go really hard if you are going really short," he said.
Kelly added that continuous moderate
exercise also has its benefits.
"Many are claiming that just moving or
standing is more beneficial for disease
avoidance than a quick workout fitness
routine in a day surrounded by laziness," he
said.
Foy thinks the dialogue around fitness has to
change.
"Too many people say the only reason they
exercise is that they want to lose weight," he
said, adding that the fitness community
should spread the word that exercise makes
people feel better.
