HOW TO BALANCE HIIT, WEIGHT TRAINING, AND CARDIO

Should I cardio, HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) or push the weights to grow muscle?

This is a GREAT question. And many people get this wrong.

Here’s how to think about this…

1) High Intensity Interval Training HIIT is a method of training that alternates short periods of all-out intensity with longer periods of lower intensity and recovery. The classic formula here is 10 rounds of 30 seconds of all-out sprinting followed by 90 seconds of lower intensity jogging.

HIIT can indeed do some wonderful stuff. In the right doses, it can have powerful anti-aging effects. But for most humans, it’s usually best done only 1-3x per week. If the volume gets much higher, joints will start to break down; particularly if there are higher impact activities involved (think running, jumping, etc.).

Joints aside, after a tipping point of volume, the body will start to actually have a negative response. This is why I’m not a huge fan of many boutique studios that only offer HIIT and invite clients to take five times per week, week in and week out.

Most of Fit GYm's Small Group Personal Training programs include a 5-10 minute finisher. This gives you a moderate dose of HIIT goodness without overdoing it. It’s also time efficient, as these sessions also give you the beauty of weight training (more below).

NOTE: This is also not the best modality to dive into when one is starting or restarting an exercise regime. Best to give yourself some time to ramp up.

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2) Strength Training Thoughtfully loaded and well-executed weight bearing exercises are our preferred foundation for fitness. Depending on the movement and your fitness level, this type of exercise can include both weight training AND bodyweight training. While more isn’t necessarily better, this kind of training can be meaningful even 1x per week, and can be done as often as 4-5x (provided volume and intensity are modulated). When done with good technique and a full range of motion, strength training:

Builds and maintains muscle, strength, and power
Improves bone density
Increases movement skill
Improves joint health
Supports fat loss and muscle retention when dieting

A good strength training program will also include variation in movements. This provides more mental variety AND a lower risk of joint overuse injuries. This style of training is the heart of Fit Gym's Small Group Personal Training programs.

For most people most of the time, we like traditional strength training with adequate rest as the base. However, when submaximal weights are used with incomplete rest periods, it can create a powerful cardiovascular training effect. The lower loads and brisk rest periods do blunt some of the strength-building stimulus. Nonetheless, this kind of training can be an amazingly time effective way to keep your heart healthy while getting many of the benefits of traditional weight training. Provided you use good form, you can get a MASSIVE bang for your buck. This type of training is sometimes called “Metabolic Resistance Training.” This is a fancy way of saying “strength training designed to burn calories/ disrupt your metabolism.”

My highly biased, absolute personal favourite workout mix for those looking to be as fit as possible with the best bang for their buck: 2x Small Group Personal Training and 1x-2x sessions following your own personalised exercise programme prepared by Fit Gym Trainers (at no extra cost) done each week.

3) Steady State Cardio When we use the term “steady state” cardio, we’re referring to lower intensity, longer duration cardio exercise. This is usually done with some kind of cardio machine (elliptical, treadmill, cycle, etc.) for 20-60 minutes at a time.

When done in the appropriate volume for one’s goals and fitness, this kind of cardio can be valuable for improved heart health, increased total movement, and even improved recovery and cognition. The key here is keeping the total weekly volume reasonable and ideally utilizing a non-impact modality (think brisk incline walking vs the repetitive impact of jogging).

This kind of training doesn’t usually require lots of technical coaching or fancy programming. However you may want to use a heart rate monitor so you can stay at 60-70% of your max heart rate. If you go too low — or too high! — you won’t get the benefits you’re looking for. -------------------- PS Do you find these details confusing? We hear you. If you’re new to Fit Gym and want us to take care of all this for you, start by trying our Small Group Personal Training. Contact us to organise a FREE session.