Although body-weight training and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) have been around for decades, these exercise types have been surging in popularity in the last couple of years.
And with good reason. Body-weight training—think pushups, dips, squats, pull-ups and lunges—are functional movements that translate into more common everyday movements than, say, the bench press.
That’s not to say there’s no place for the bench press in a person’s workout routine—the move can be beneficial in a variety of ways—but body-weight training strengthens the core while simulating common movements one might do at home, at work or in sports.
For example, a squat is a functional movement because it trains the muscles used when you rise up and down from a chair or pick up low objects. What’s great about the squat—one can make a strong case it’s the single best exercise because it hits every major muscle group in the lower body—is that there are several variations of the movement and you can perform some of them in the confines of your own home.
For runners, body-weight squats and lunges are an excellent way of warming up and priming the body for a tough workout. Jump squats are great for runners or anyone who wants to get more powerful. The goblet squat, in which one cups a dumbbell close to their chest, strengthens and taxes
the core.
Beginners should start off with body-weight squats, working up to repetitions of 30 with good form. Once they start getting more comfortable with the movement, they should start adding weight, performing squats with dumbbells or a barbell.
Classic workout routines include two sets of 15 reps, three sets of 10, four sets of eight, five sets of five and four sets of four. Of course, a personal trainer or certified strength and conditioning specialist can put you on a program where you progressively advance and bust past plateaus.
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) ranked body-weight training as the top worldwide fitness trend for 2015. High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, was No. 2 on the list. Each year, the ACSM talks with thousands of fitness professionals before releasing a report listing the top worldwide fitness trends. HIIT, which took the top spot in 2014, alternates short bursts of maximum activity with brief periods of rest or recovery time.
In other words, HIIT gives people the most bang for their buck. In a day and age when it seems like people are busier than ever and are having a hard time consistently fitting exercise into their lives, HIIT is a great option. HIIT workouts last anywhere from four to 30 minutes—it is not recommended to take these workouts past 30 minutes. If done properly—meaning at a lung-busting intensity—then one would be hard-pressed to take it past the half-hour mark, anyway.
One can incorporate an HIIT workout with running, cycling, a rowing machine, an elliptical machine, with kettle bells and with weights. A running workout would include doing all-out sprints for 20 to 30 seconds interspersed with a walk or recovery jog for two minutes.
The same concept applies for someone wanting to do HIIT on a bike—whether it’s on a road bike or an indoor cycling machine—or on any of the various cardio machines. Performing HIIT on a rowing machine or on a bike are great workouts and easy on the joints.
An advanced form of HIIT would be doing hill sprints at maximum intensity, or sprinting on a treadmill at an incline, followed by a rest period. Many studies conclude that HIIT increases the resting metabolic rate in the 24 to 48 hours following a workout, meaning you’re burning more calories at rest. You can also incorporate HIIT into strength-training workouts.
One of my favorite HIIT strength-training workouts includes super-setting squats and pull-ups, where I’ll do a set of five squats at 80 to 85 percent of my one-rep maximum followed immediately with 10 pull-ups or 10 to 15 dips.
Of course, HIIT is not for everyone. If you’re new to exercising or haven’t been exercising for a while, consult your doctor before trying any interval training. Otherwise, always start with a nice warm-up before any activity—dynamic warm-up movements include jogging, body-weight squats, lunges, high knees, butt-kickers and pushups—before ramping things up.
As your strength and stamina improves, challenge yourself by going harder. You’ll be amazed by just how far the human body can go.
