HIIT, HVIT, Metabolic Conditioning or VIIT: Which IT are you doing and do you know the differences?

Lets start with some definitions.

Metabolic Conditioning Workout: perform as many reps as possible of each exercise for 60 seconds followed by a 15 seconds rest one after the other with no rest in between. Rest for 2 minutes and repeat for 3 Full Rounds.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT): also called high-intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE) or sprint interval training (SIT), is a form of interval training, a cardiovascular exercise strategy alternating short periods of intense anaerobic exercise with less intense recovery periods.

Variable Intensity Interval Training or VIIT: an exercise format in which you rotate between high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with medium-intensity (strength/endurance) and low-intensity (mind/body) recovery periods for a shorter, more efficient workout.

High Volume Interval Training HVIT or “High Volume”: meaning a lot of intervals or reps, not performed at maximal levels or, “variable intervals” meaning not all the intervals are done at same intensity or duration, nor, necessarily, are the recoveries.

Warm up before and stretch after any of these workouts!

So what are the aims of these workouts?

The object of MetCon is to alter and manipulate specific variables that affect the body’s adaptation to exercise stimulus. These variables include intensity, exercise selection, sets, reps, rest intervals and time under tension. By simply changing one or two of the variables, one can target different metabolic pathways in order to prevent adaption and increase metabolic capacity. Simply decreasing the rest intervals would increase the intensity of the movement. The fact of the matter is that Metabolic Conditioning is just that. It is targeting a specific metabolic pathway and increasing metabolic demand in order to quickly and efficiently increase energy expenditure and overall metabolic efficacy.

HiiT started initially as a training programme for athletes (Track) to boost their performance, their VO2 max. VO2max stands for maximal oxygen uptake and refers to the amount of oxygen your body is capable of utilizing in one minute. It is a measure of your capacity for aerobic work and can be a predictor of your potential as an endurance athlete. This is supposed to be a protocol where a person works full out/full tilt for a short period of time followed by a period of recovery. The benefits of HiiT are broad: it increases a persons VO2 max, thus increasing their efficiency as an athlete, plus, for those of us not looking for an increase in performance as such, it burns more calories than jogging on a treadmill for an hour. This means in 24 hours after a HIIT workout your body is still burning calories and fat whereas in steady-pace workouts, you may not! Great, huh?

VIIT is probably the newest ‘kid on the block’ in terms of an exercise protocol and some fitness professionals are starting to market these types of classes to other fitness professionals as a qualification/certification and to the general public in the form of group exercise classes. VIIT claims to reap all the fitness and health benefits of steady state cardio with minimal risk of injury, in a fraction of the time, skyrocketing your metabolism after your workout! By altering your intensity levels, you can get fitter in less time – and who doesn’t want that?

HVIT typically used in a strength training gym environment; high volume training is a routine that focuses on building muscle and a strong physique. High volume training is performing a workout routine with a higher number of reps and sets as well as for an extended period of time. High volume training was created and perfected by many celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger. Often high volume workout routines are performed 5 days a week, designating each day to a major body part.

I do my very best to ensure a full body workout, as well as a cardio workout. So we will do a mix of cardio exercises and resistance exercises. The way these are structured in the classes always changes, keeping the classes fresh and challenging as much as is possible. Largely we use body weight exercises but we have been known to use exercise bands, sliders and weights, again to mix it up and provide us with a bit more resistance. The classes typically last 30/40 minutes and we always do a warm up and a good stretch at the end of the session.

When I started the classes in this area I was the only group exercise instructor doing this type of class, now there are a few others advertising the same, so I had thought about re-branding these… the jury is still out on that one. I was chatting about it with one class participant and she did say; ‘Why don’t you just call it a bloody good short work out, come along and get moving!’ She’s probably quite right!

It is a short, sharp, energetic, fun class! You will work hard, you will break a sweat, but you will also feel great! So why not come along and give it a go? Contact me today to book your class!