I have had this conversation on many occasions recently as it seems to be the new trend and has become hugely popular. So thought I would do a quick segment to outline the pros and cons on HIIT.
HIIT involves short bursts of intense exercise followed by rest or active recovery.
Some great benefits to HIIT are it is a great way to increase your metabolism, it’s quick and convenient and there is no equipment needed.
You work at or above your VO2 max to promote rapid improvements in conditioning. The high-intensity activity burns more calories faster than cardio workouts such as jogging or walking, causing your body to continue burning calories even after you finish the session.
But how much HIIT is to much?
If you push your body at a level to frequently, it may begin to break down.
‘The more work you do at a higher intensity, the more recovery you need, we want to create enough stress to stimulate improvement, but if we create distress, then the body is no longer able to adapt, and it becomes OVERTRAINED’ – Tumminello.
HIIT workouts are generally performed with body weight or lightweights. If your primary goal is to get bigger and stronger, which it should be for most of us (the more muscle we have, the more fat we burn) male OR female, HIIT is not a substitute for heavy strength training.
My recommendations is to improve general fitness, you should do no more than 3 HIIT sessions a week.
If also strength training, no more than twice a week to account for the demands of your training sessions as a whole.
Side note:
Remember, you can continue burning calories 24 hours after a heavy HIIT session, some studies say 48 hours.
Are you sure you are eating enough, when doing 7 classes a week? You may be in a serious calorie deficit and doing some serious damage to your body!