Experts discuss: How effective and healthy HIIT really is?

All have no time. The extra-long workday, the evening beer and dinner with the children. When to get round a long time Jogging?

Here HIIT In a few minutes recreational athletes to be as fit as after a whole workout.

The abbreviation HIIT, stands for High-Intensity Interval Training. In German it is an intense Form of interval training.

The replaced the moderate, the same burden on other forms of training stay due to short, but crisp loads.

HIIT: full throttle, with almost no recovery

HIIT takes up this interval training and pushing it to the top. Because with HIIT, there is no so-called wage breaks more, explains Prof. Christoph Eifler, the German University for prevention and health management (DHfPG) in Saarbrücken.

In the case of rewarding breaks, you wait until the load pulse after an interval is decreased. When HIIT is different: Here the length of the pause is set after a maximum of 60 seconds here we go again – regardless of how fast the heart is beating straight.

The power of HIIT, high-intensity, as Eifler says, even if the Training in practice, it is not always clear from the traditional interval training theory.

“At the end of the difference is not so big,” says a sports scientist. “The term HIIT is there is always some Marketing, because it is a Fitness Trend.”

Flexible Training for professionals

Important: HIIT is a form of training, no sport is. The basic principle on the Bicycle Ergometer, as well how to apply on the Jogging courses, track or group, such as Step aerobics.

The reason for the growing interest in HIIT, particularly the large savings in time, Alexander Wulf from the employers Association of German Fitness and health equipment DSSV says. The training effect at least remains the same.

The individual intervals will take 15 to 60 seconds – and the whole Training is finished after about 20 minutes.

Much more, it should not be for health reasons, so Wulf: “in Principle, it is important that the Training at this intensity should not take too long,” he says.

And also to often is not good: Two or three training sessions per week is the Maximum.

HIIT or endurance training?

And the little bit of Training to show results? Yes. The only question is whether it is better than classic continuous endurance training.

“The most important question in the evaluation of HIIT is, what I want to achieve,” explains prof Andreas Niess, Medical Director of the Department of sports medicine at the University hospital in Tübingen.

It is alone physical Fitness, as measured by the oxygen saturation in the blood, HIIT, the so-called period superior method.

Trickier it will be to Use the therapeutic – so in the regulation of the Resting heart rate or blood pressure, and even lose weight. In this respect, the study situation is not so clear, says Nieß. In part, appeared to be the duration of the method even more efficient.

Not generally risky but intensive

Athletes can choose the software according to individual preferences. However, there is a limitation: the risk to health.

HIIT is not fundamentally more dangerous than other forms of training, says Nieß, at least for healthy people.

Eifler, advises beginners to be careful. HIIT is a Trend of the danger that principles from the sport unreflective in recreational sports.

“I think this is cause for concern, because it is physically and mentally very stressful.”

Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa)

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