HIIT or Miss? The Workout Everyone's Talking About—But Is It Right for You?

What if you could revolutionize your fitness routine with just a few minutes a day?

Today, we explore the electrifying world of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and uncover its powerful impact on your health.

Join us as we trace the origins of HIIT back to Dr. Izumi Tabata and reveal how CrossFit made it a global phenomenon. 

You’ll discover how this "espresso shot" of workouts can boost cardiovascular health, ramp up your metabolism, and torch fat more efficiently than traditional workouts. 

However, we'll also candidly discuss its challenges and the importance of proper pacing and listening to your body to avoid injury.

I’ll share a personal tale from my first grueling encounter with Tabata squats and the valuable lesson it taught me about pacing and perseverance. 

We’ll celebrate those triumphant "fudge yeah" moments when you break your limits and experience the unmatched endorphin rush following a killer HIIT session. To top it off, we'll discuss how making small, measurable changes can lead to a happier, healthier life. 

And don't forget to support our mission by leaving a review—a small action that makes a big difference in spreading this empowering message to more fitness enthusiasts. 

Stay strong, stay focused, and let’s push those limits together!

Chapters

• 0:08 Exploring the World of HIIT Training
• 10:19 Podcast Review Request and Encouragement

Transcript

Dai Manuel: 0:08

Hey there, 2% Collective Warriors. Welcome back to another episode of the 2% Solution. I'm your host, diamond Wall, and today we're going to crank things up a notch and dive into the world of high-intensity interval training, more properly and improperly known as HIIT training. That's what we all tend to call it. Anyways, whether we love it or hate it, it's HIIT style, and we're talking about the good, the bad and the F? Yeah moments. Yeah, I said F? Yeah, trying to keep it clean, peeps, but F? Yeah moments that make HIIT workouts a staple in the fitness world. Let's grab your water bottle, get ready to sweat and let's get into it.

Dai Manuel: 0:50

Well, let's start with a little history lesson. Hiit has been around for decades, but it started gaining a lot of traction in the 70s, with a guy named Dr Izumi Tabata you might have heard of Tabata training or Tabata intervals. Yeah, that's the guy. Okay, fast forward to the early 2000s and along comes CrossFit, revolutionizing the fitness industry with its intense, varied workouts. Now, crossfit didn't invent HIIT training, but it certainly popularized it, bringing those short, intense bursts of exercise well into the mainstream. And then some. Well, let's talk about the good stuff. Hiit is like the espresso shot of workouts they're quick, they're powerful and they definitely get the job done.

Dai Manuel: 1:42

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, hiit can improve cardiovascular health, increase our metabolism, while also burning fat more effectively than traditional steady state cardio Plus steady state cardio very boring, okay, very boring. You know, it's like just maintaining a certain pace on a cardio machine and just going. It's like just maintaining a certain pace on a cardio machine and just going. Yeah, I prefer HIIT training personally, but you know, to each their own. But here, another benefit is you just don't need a lot of time to do HIIT style training. A study published in the Journal of Physiology found that just 10 minutes of HIIT training can provide the same benefits as 30 minutes of moderate exercise. How awesome is that? Now, we should probably keep it real, and HIIT isn't all sunshine and rainbows. So let's talk a little bit about the bad, because it's tough, like really tough. It's high intensity for a reason, and that means it's not for everyone, Especially if you're just starting out or have certain health conditions. Overdoing it can lead to injuries and burnout and if you're not careful it can feel like you've been hit by a truck. Always listen to your body and consult a healthcare professional if you're unsure.

Dai Manuel: 2:57

A little side note I remember the first time I did Tabata squats. The way Tabata training works is it's 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated for eight rounds. So if you do the math, it's like four minutes of work, right, and it doesn't sound like a lot, but trust me, it is all out mayhem. Okay. So Tabata squats you do 20 seconds. You're trying to do body weight squats as fast as you can, full depth, so you're basically dropping in the bottom of the squat, firing up and doing it again. And I remember doing it the first time and you know the goal is to try to maintain the same number of output or the same number of squats every round.

Dai Manuel: 3:36

I remember doing it and for the next two days I couldn't walk, like literally like going down the stairs, I had to go down on my butt and getting on the toilet. Hello, uh, we'll keep the show clean, but it was agonizing, right, and it was probably my fault. Uh, actually, you know, get rid of the. Probably it was my fault, all right, I wasn't listening to my body. I knew it was intense, I pushed myself way too hard and it was my first time doing tabata style training.

Dai Manuel: 4:01

And even then my friend the coach at the time, it's my first time doing Tabata style training. And even then my friend the coach at the time, it's my first time going to CrossFit. He's like, hey, man, if you've never done these, just just take it down a gear or two. You know, you trust me, you're going to want to do that. And I'm like, yeah, whatever, I'm going to go for it. Uh, wise words, right, no dumb words. But um, that's the one thing you know. If you're not familiar with HIIT style training, you're just trying to all of a sudden introduce it or go from zero to a hundred. We all know that's a recipe for disaster. So just be cautious. Okay, if you're going to start doing HIIT training, make it a gradual progression, something that you build up over time, start smaller and then, you know, put the layers on as you start to see the intensity for yourself increase, but also that recovery aspect where you're bouncing back from those intense workouts.

Dai Manuel: 4:46

A and then, lastly, let's talk about the F? Yeah, moments. F yeah, I know you're probably all just saying I just say it. Just say it. Okay, fudge, yeah, fudge, yeah Moments. Why we love hit. So there's something incredibly empowering about pushing our limits right and seeing what the body is capable of. The endorphin rush that you get post hit is is is completely next level. Okay, the endorphin rush that you get post-hit is completely next level.

Dai Manuel: 5:16

I have such productive conversations and work sessions and recordings right after I've done a great HIIT workout. I remember my first real HIIT session. I mean, this is the one where I actually got into it. It wasn't Tabata style, so it was more high-intensity interval training. It wasn't Tabata style, so it was more high intensity interval training. So it was what they call an AMRAP style workout, which means as many reps or as many rounds as possible done in a certain time. And I remember I think it was like a 10 minute workout and honestly, halfway through I thought I was going to pass out, but by the end I felt like I could take on the world. That's the magic of HIIT. It builds not just physical strength but mental toughness and resiliency too.

Dai Manuel: 5:59

Now you're probably wondering well, how can I start incorporating more HIIT into my routine? Well, here's some tips. Number one start slow. If you're new to HIIT, ease into it. Begin with one or two weekly sessions and gradually increase as your fitness improves. Number two mix it up. Variety is key To keep things interesting. Combine different exercises like sprints, burpees, even jump, squats and push-ups All great movements. Great way to get a full body HIIT while also getting a huge cardiovascular uptick. Number three recovery. Don't forget the importance of rest and recovery. Hit is intense, so your body needs time to heal and recover. Grow stronger. Those are the three tips right. Start slow, mix it up and make sure you give yourself enough time to recover between those sessions.

Dai Manuel: 6:57

For more resources, check out the American Council on Exercise, ace. I've got one of my certifications through them. Amazing resource as well. Crossfitcom another great resource If you haven't a good subscription. If you're ever going to subscribe to something, it's well worth the money is the Crossfit journal. I freaking love the thing. It's all been digitized now. But, uh, great resources and wonderful uh information. Um, for for all levels of fitness. Uh, not, not just crossfit on its own. And then, lastly, the journal of physiology for detailed studies on the benefits of HIIT training. Now, what are you thinking? Are you thinking, yeah, I want to do some HIIT style training? Well, here's an invitation. If you've never done HIIT style training or done it consistently enough to really start to like it. I'd love to invite you to check out the Whole Life Fitness Manifesto. So my book.

Dai Manuel: 7:51

When I wrote it years ago, the importance was to help people figure out how how to incorporate more fitness into their lives and lifestyles without having to reinvent their lifestyle. You know, I think a lot of us think, oh, I want to make some fitness changes, and so the first thing we do is we try to reinvent our calendar and schedules and, quite frankly, our routines to now accommodate fitness into it where I'm like. Well, take a plug and play approach Look at your calendar, look at your schedule, look at what your week to week, day to day, you know, even month to month, looks like and figure out where's their opportunity to start to incorporate more fitness. You know so it's not a matter of having to rewrite everything as much, as it is just to retool a few things to make it work. And what you'll find is, over time, you're gradually going to want to make or take back even some of your time to incorporate more wellness into your lifestyle, because you realize how much it benefits all those other hours in the week there's 168 hours every seven days and we know that we're going to dedicate, say, four to six hours to our well-being and fitness, mental fitness included. Well, I can tell you, those four to six hours are going to make the other 160 or so way better. Okay, Not just for you, but for the people you connect with. Anyways, check out the whole life fitness manifesto. The workout routines are all 15 minutes in duration, they're all hit style and I think you'll really like them because they're all body weight based. And I think you'll really like them because they're all body weight based, as long as you got enough room to throw a towel down in the middle of your living room, you got enough space to do the workouts. So that's my little invitation If you've never done it, go check those out. So, all right, my 2% collective warriors. That's it for today's episode on HIIT the good, the bad and the fudge. Yeah, one of these days I might just go for the explicit rating, but that's not today. Remember the journey to optimal health. It's all about finding what works for you and having fun.

Dai Manuel: 9:51

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend who might need a little push to get moving, and don't forget to follow me on social media and when I say follow me, I'm meaning me and the show and like, listen, I want you to connect. I love connecting with people, especially people that have been listening to the show, having a conversation. Shoot me a DM, say hey, say what episode you really enjoyed, or any suggestions or feedback you'd love for the show. Maybe you know a great guest, maybe you're an amazing guest that would be amazing on the show. Well, message me.

Dai Manuel: 10:19

All right and uh, and if all else fails, hey, I'd love it if you left a review. If you like this podcast, you're finding value in it. Just leave a review because it helps get this podcast in front of more people, just like us, that are into making small, measurable changes and really trying to live our happiest, healthiest lives possible. On that note, stay strong, stay focused and keep pushing your limits. I'm Diamond Wall and you've been listening to the 2% Solution. Let's keep thriving together and I'll see you on the next episode.