HIIT workouts have gained popularity in the last decade with the likes of 1Rebel, F45, Crossfit and The Body Coach successfully bringing this training protocol to the masses and hailing it as THE final answer to getting in shape.

So, is the hype to be believed and is HIIT the one-stop solution to sculpting the body you’ve always dreamt of?

The short answer, we’re afraid to say, is no!

HIIT workouts offer a huge range of benefits such as increased fitness, fat loss, increased aerobic capacity and time efficient training, to name but a few. Unfortunately, however, for the results to be truly effective and sustainable over time your body needs to become progressively stronger and remain injury free, which are not within the realms of HIIT’s capabilities. To achieve this, HIIT workouts must therefore be just one part of a periodised strength and conditioning programme and not simply used in isolation.

At The Fitting Rooms Gym in London Bridge, we are huge advocates of high intensity workouts and we encourage our clients to supplement their weight-training with a HIIT element, whether it be with us in our Shared Personal Training HIIT sessions or with the likes of 1Rebel, just across the river. And, if HIIT studios are serious about their clients seeing long-term results, they too should encourage HIIT to be used alongside a well-designed weights programme elsewhere.

The benefits of a periodised resistance programme are far wider than most people realise, including:

  • Injury prevention;
  • Muscle imbalance correction & prevention;
  • Increased strength;
  • Reduced training plateaus;
  • Improved body composition;
  • Making your HIIT sessions more effective;
  • Improved posture;
  • Tangible progression indicators.

In short, by following a resistance training programme that is periodised over time, you will benefit far more from HIIT workouts since you will be stronger and far less prone to injury, meaning you are able to lift heavier, which increases the metabolic effect of the training and you will spend less time out through injury!

So, by all means do your HIIT workouts, in fact we recommend you do, but remember: it is only one element of an effective health and fitness regime and to sculpt the body you dream of, you need to be following a resistance programme too!

CLICK HERE TO BOOK IN FOR A FREE TASTER SESSION WITH ONE OF OUR EXPERT PERSONAL TRAINERS IN LONDON BRIDGE TO SEE HOW WE CAN HELP YOU GET STARTED.