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Fitness trends - HIIT: Harder, better, faster
Want to offer HIIT sessions in your club, but not sure how? Kath Hudson looks at some of the off-the-shelf packages on offer
TABATA
Developed in a lab rather than a gym, Tabata is a clinically proven way of increasing aerobic and anaerobic fitness in just four minutes. It consists of 20 seconds of intense exercise, followed by 10 seconds rest, repeated eight times.
The group exercise format comprises a 20-minute class – with four minutes flat-out high intensity and time allocated for explaining the moves – which means clubs can easily schedule two classes in the lunch hour.
Bodyweight moves inspired by Capoeira and primal training are incorporated. It’s essential that these are performed correctly, and that instructors don’t deviate, otherwise the full benefits won’t be achieved. The class is suitable for everyone, as easier alternatives for less fit people are offered.
Professor Tabata, former head coach of the Japanese Olympic speed skating team, designed the programme in the early 1990s. His trials showed Tabata to be more effective not only than an hour of moderate workout on an exercise bike, but also than an alternative form of HIIT which involved 30 seconds of higher intensity training with two-minute rests between intervals.
Research also indicates that Tabata enables calorie-burning in the 12 hours post-workout, and could benefit diabetics as it improves the mechanisms for transporting blood in the body.
LES MILLS GRIT
Les Mills GRIT comprises three different classes featuring three styles of HIIT: Strength, Cardio and Plyo. All can be bought off the shelf and installed with minimum fuss.
GRIT Strength builds strength and lean muscle using a combination of barbells, free weights and bodyweight exercises to work all the major muscle groups. It also stimulates the production of growth hormones, which reduces fat and helps develop lean muscle.
GRIT Cardio burns fat and rapidly improves athletic capability. Explosive, high-impact bodyweight-based exercises achieve maximum calorie burn during the workout, and for hours after.
GRIT Plyo incorporates the principles of plyometric training to build power and increase speed, creating a powerful, agile and athletic body. The programme uses free weights, bodyweight and a bench to explode off to achieve “off the chart” heart rate responses.
Les Mills GRIT has been the focus of two studies at Penn State University in the US. The first compared two groups of adults doing regular Les Mills group fitness for five hours a week with a group that substituted one of their hour-long cardio classes with two GRIT workouts. The participants who did HIIT showed vast improvements in lean body mass, glucose tolerance and maximal oxygen consumption. In another study, a team of female soccer players substituted their usual seven hours’ off-season training with four hours plus two GRIT workouts. They saw significant changes in both body composition and fitness levels.
ZONE MATCH
ZONE MATCH is a game-based group cardio class on the gym floor. Using any piece of equipment, it takes the heart rate through different levels of intensity based on the MYZONE zones, which measure effort level rather than fitness or ability.
The aim is to match the pre-set colour (effort) zones as they change throughout the duration of the class; the closer exercisers match the zones, the higher their percentage ZONE MATCH score.
Clubs can programme their own ZONE MATCH classes, but more than 40 pre-written classes are also available, which can be programmed to start automatically without an instructor present. They can accommodate a single person, or as many as 150. However, best results are achieved when instructors coach participants on the gym floor, creating a motivating atmosphere.
To install the programme, clubs need a visible TV or projector – unless they have screens on their cardio machines – as well as MYZONE physical activity belts (£40) and a MYZONE hub (£295).
LES MILLS SPRINT
Les Mills Sprint is a HIIT class on a studio bike, making it low impact and also allowing the user to choose their resistance. It features bursts of intensity to peak heart rates, followed by periods of rest. The programme has been proven to produce the EPOC effect (Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption), which is what causes the body to continue burning calories long after the workout has finished.
Sprint has been involved in a study by Penn State University in the US. Two groups of participants – who were equally matched in terms of age, gender and physical activity – were used to test the effectiveness of the workout. One group replaced a single cardiovascular training session with two 30-minute Sprint sessions. The results showed that Sprint elicited greater oxygen consumption and leg strength among participants, while also reducing body fat, blood pressure and cholesterol levels compared to the control group.
SPEEDFLEX
A high-intensity, low impact cardio and resistance training circuit, Speedflex is led by a personal trainer and tracked via heart rate monitoring.
Based around Speedflex machines that create resistance based on the individual’s force, it’s suitable for any age or fitness level and enables users of all abilities to exercise together at their own pace.
Sessions focus on compound exercises that engage multiple muscle groups, allowing for large calorie burns during and post exercise; more than 100 exercises can be performed on the machines.
Body composition data from 200 Speedflex customers – all of whom completed at least two Speedflex sessions a week over a six- to eight-week period – showed significant improvements in body fat percentage (among 96 per cent of participants), visceral fat levels (97 per cent of participants) and muscle mass (76 per cent of participants). ?
