Blazing Your Way to Fitness With HIT

Fitness With HIT.

Why is fitness an urgent need nowadays?

         It is not surprising that the world of fitness is still constantly evolving and changing. It has to change because the challenges associated with staying fit and healthy are multiplying every year.

         Several decades ago, obesity was considered a minor medical condition and was limited to only a small percentage of adults and in unusual cases, children. The most current statistics show an alarming change in how people are taking care of their bodies today.

Who is affected by obesity today?

         Sadly, the answer is that almost everyone is affected by obesity.

         In the United States, an estimated 65% of all females and 71% of all males are already in the "overweight" category.

          An alarming 6% of the entire population is within the "extremely obese" category. Extreme obesity is marked by having a body mass index or BMI that's equal or greater than 40 kg/m2. Remember: these statistics include children, teenagers, adults and yes, even our seniors!

          It appears that obesity is sparing no one these days. This is indeed a sad day for anyone who understands how important one's health is.

          I've shared with you these statistics to help you see why it is vital for everyone to find their "fitness pulse" as soon as possible and maintain an active, healthy lifestyle.

          An active, healthy lifestyle is guaranteed to protect you from the countless medical problems brought about by obesity. It also provides a promising avenue for people who want or need to lose weight.

          It is never too late to start losing weight! It doesn't matter if you are in your thirties, forties or even fifties. The determining factor is your willingness to start something that could impact the quality of your life for years to come.

What can you do to jumpstart your active lifestyle?

         The first thing that you have to do is to aside 10-20 minutes a day for exercise. That's it!

         Before you shy away from the idea of regular exercise, let me tell you that you don't have to perform long, boring exercises to burn calories. Forget about walking aimlessly on a treadmill for an hour or so just to get your dose of fitness.

         A more effective approach to fitness exists: high intensity interval training. High intensity interval training or HIIT is actually very simple! You take your regular exercise and supercharge it by adding a "high intensity" phase to it.

         The intensity of an exercise is measured in MHR or "maximum heart rate." Every age group has a corresponding MHR range. A HIIT workout has a recovery portion and a high intensity portion.

What's the difference between these two parts of an HIIT exercise?

         When you are in recovery, your MHR should be no more than 50%. This part of the exercise will allow you to recuperate and catch your breath. When you are in the high intensity phase, you must push harder to bring your MHR to 80%-85%.

   There is a misconception that HIT is "not for women" because it's too tough. Any exercise technique worth your time and energy is challenging. That's just the way things are. HIT can be used to enhance your current workout system or it can be used as an independent workout technique. Either way, you win!

Do you need more evidence? Check out these benefits and see if HIT suits your needs:

        It's Fast and Powerful - Do you dread having to do endless cardio every week? You don't have to anymore! HIIT effectively eliminates the need for long workouts because it burns off calories at a higher rate per minute than steady exercise.

        You will burn off an average of 50% more calories whenever you switch between steady-state and high intensities when you work out.

• Women Are Better at HIT : Studies show that even though women are naturally limited in terms of muscular strength, ladies are better at performing at higher intensities than males.

           So even though we may not be the strongest or fastest, we are metabolically superior because              we can increase our performance more effectively, at a moment's notice.

• It's Fun & Can Be Done At Home - HIT workouts require short bursts of intense movements followed by recovery. The nature of HIT will make sure that your workouts will never be repetitive or boring.

           There are also dozens of exercises that you can do at home with few or no exercise equipment. So even if it's snowing hard, you can still burn calories like a pro!