Tag Archives: high intensity interval training

November 2, 2013 · 5:04 PM

Canadian Study Finds Abdominal Obesity Health Markers Much Improved With Mediterranean Diet and High-Intensity Interval Training

…according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Some quotes:

The study found an average reduction in waist circumference of eight centimeters, a reduction in systolic blood pressure of 6 mm Hg and an aerobic fitness improvement of 15 per cent over the first nine months of the study.

Improvements in waist circumference, blood pressure and fitness can lead to numerous other health benefits including a reduced risk of developing high blood pressure, as well as improving osteoarthritis symptoms, quality of life, physical functioning, and cognition.

The high-intensity interval training was done two or three times a week over 20-30 minutes each session. Click for an example of HIIT on a stationary bike. More basic info on HIIT.

The classic Mediterranean diet has too many carbohydrates for many diabetics, although it’s better for them than the Standard American Diet. That’s why I devised the Low-Carb Mediterranean Diet.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Steve Parker MD, low-carb diet, diabetic diet

Olives, olive oil, and vinegar: classic Mediterranean foods

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August 30, 2013 · 5:45 AM

What’s HIIT and Why Should You Care?

A treadmill is one of many ways to do high-intensity interval training. Tabata's classic study used a stationary bicycle.

A treadmill is one of many ways to do high-intensity interval training. Tabata’s classic study used a stationary bicycle.

I found a free article by Martin Gibala,Ph.D., a major researcher into high-intensity interval training (HIIT).  He prefers to abbreviate it as HIT.

I don’t like to exercise, so I’ve been incorporating HIIT into my workouts for over a year.  It’s helped me maintain my level of fitness to that required of U.S. Army soldiers, without being a exercise fanatic. Why exercise if I don’t enjoy it? For the health and longevity benefits.

Here’s Gibala’s definition of HIIT:

High-intensity interval training is characterized by repeated sessions of relatively brief, intermittent exercise, often performed with an “all out” effort or at an intensity close to that which elicits peak oxygen uptake (i.e., ≥90% of VO2peak).

HIIT involves short sessions of very intense exercise about three times per week, for as little as 15 minutes.  That’s total time, not 15 minutes per session!  Yet you see a significant fitness improvement.  Be aware: the brief exercise bouts should be exhausting.

The Gibala article has all the scientific journal references you’d want, plus a suggested HIIT program for an absolute beginner.

One final quote from Dr. Gibala:

It is unlikely that high-intensity interval training produces all of the benefits normally associated with traditional endurance training. The best approach to fitness is a varied strategy that incorporates strength, endurance and speed sessions as well as flexibility exercises and proper nutrition. But for people who are pressed for time, high-intensity intervals are an extremely efficient way to train. Even if you have the time, adding an interval session to your current program will likely provide new and different adaptations. The bottom line is that — provided you are able and willing (physically and mentally) to put up with the discomfort of high-intensity interval training — you can likely get away with a lower training volume and less total exercise time.

Read the rest.

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS:  Why won’t Gibala give some credit to Izumi Tabata who did a pioneering study on HIIT in 1996?

PPS:  Gibala narrated this stationary bike HIIT video.

h/t Tony Boutagy

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August 13, 2012 · 1:05 AM

Video of HIIT on Bicycle

A “stationary” bicycle

Gretchen Reynolds is the Phys Ed blogger at the New York Times.  She posted a five-minute demonstration of high intensity interval training on a stationary bicycle.  It’s narrated by Martin Gibala of McMaster University.

No mention of Tabata’s pioneering work.

-Steve

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June 11, 2012 · 2:00 AM

Evidence in Favor of HIIT

Tabata’s team used stationary bicycles

I ran across this recent scientific review article on HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and thought you might be interested. Looks like it’s slated for publication in The Journal of Physiology.

I’m interested in HIIT as a means to achieve fitness in much less time than the 150 minutes a week of exercise recommended by various public health authorities.  I don’t like to exercise, so I’m searching for a program with substantial benefits at only 60-90 minutes a week!  Can I get a “Amen!”?

Why didn’t the authors at least mention the oft-cited and apparently pioneering work of Izumi Tabata et al from 1996?

Steve Parker, M.D.

References:

Gibala et al. Adaptations to low-volume, high-intensity interval training (preliminary draft). Journal of Physiology, doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.2011.224725

Tabata, I., et al. Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max. Medicine and Science in Sports and Medicine, 1996 Oct;28(10):1327-30.

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