We can’t do HIIT everyday of the week - yes it can be “addictive” to get that sweaty out of breath feeling and being totally satisfied you’ve absolutely nailed that session leaving nothing in the tank!
Don’t get more wrong, HIIT training is fantastic and in my opinion 100% has it’s place in a training programme. When we exercise intensely our stress levels elevate and this is great as it can help (not solely) to burn fat which is exactly what we want, but there is something else to consider!
Yes an increase in stress during exercise is good, but what if we are already stressed, this is where too much HIIT/Cardio based workouts can have a negative impact.
Our body can only deal with so much stress at once, so if your stress levels have increased dramatically during your HIIT and you’re already stressed through work, lack of sleep, relationships, even homeschooling all this stress at once is just a powder keg ready to explode and our cortisol levels will rocket.
Chronically high levels of cortisol will suppress our bodies ability to burn fat, we’ll lose lean tissue, and it will effect our immune system and probably increase the chances of us picking up niggling little injuries (does this sound familiar with you)?
Imagine that daily, weekly, monthly - you’re hammering all these sessions out wondering why you’re body composition isn’t changing, you become stressed at that itself and start to train even harder, add more sessions in - worst thing you can do. Sometimes it pays to take a back step and to look and analyse other aspects of your life, not just the training!
Are you fuelling your body correctly, are you getting to bed early enough and getting in quality sleep, what life pressures / stresses have you and is there anyway to relieve them a little, can you cut back on your training, and can you replace a couple of HIIT workouts with Strength based workouts. All of these have a massive role to play and your worst decision would be to start adding in more HIIT/Cardio based workouts, training harder or more intensely.
This is the primary reason the strength sessions on this programme outweigh the HIIT sessions, for me it’s a smarter protocol to have - add in Yoga, Pilates, Meditation and Mindfulness I firmly believe its such a well rounded package that ticks all the boxes.
Feel free to SHARE any of these insights if you think it will help any of your family or friends. Click on the icons below this blog or click the “link” symbol to copy.
Would love to hear your feedback on this - can you identify with the any of the above?
Ian I have to say I always preferred doing weights sessions at the gym and steered away from HIIT, however I absolutely love your HIIT sessions and definitely feel my fitness levels have increased 10 fold! It is definitely worth getting up early and getting them done live - not sure I would have the motivation otherwise! The balance of HIIT, strength, Pilates and yoga on the new programme is just perfect 👌🏼
I definitely feel the benefit of Pilates and mindfulness to my week. I’d have seized up a long time ago if I didn’t do Pilates, also (without jinxing myself) have remained injury free, which means I can give 100% to your sessions, win:win! Love the breadth of classes on offer, thanks 🙏
I can totally identify with this ! I have had to take a step back from the intensity of some of the sessions and incorporate active rest and yoga into my weekly health and fitness regime. I do a long intense day ‘sitting’ at a computer and have a niggly sciatica issue and sometimes the last thing I wanted to do was to hit up a HIIT session. I have had to listen to my body lately and yet my head feels guilty not turning up 🤦🏻 . Can’t win ! Although with there being no daily ‘accountability’ with the new website it could be easy to get into a habit of skipping too many classes or catch-ups and the…
My problem is I always want to hit big numbers! Big calories burnt, big MEP points etc... Saying that the strength sessions are great for me and its an area I want to improve on and get stronger. I have been doing the mindfulness sessions for a few weeks now and kicking myself I didn't make time sooner to be honest. The yoga would be good to get into as well. Can you jump in with little or no experience of Yoga though?
Oh my goodness, this is totally me! Loved the Pilates, yoga and mindfulness this week and definitely need to prioritise that as my stress levels are through the roof generally. Just what I need as I feel guilty when I'm not doing more sweaty hiits but I'm just busted.