Are HIIT workouts worth it?

Interval training is a simple, familiar concept: exercise at an intense rate, take a break so your heart rate can calm down, then ramp up the intensity again. Since the first modern interval circuit was designed in 1953, it has become accepted that our waistlines and overall health can benefit from such a program. In recent years, a new type of interval training has really taken off: extremely short-duration high-intensity interval training (HIIT).

HIIT programs are time-efficient and intense. One of the better known program designs, Tabata, comes to us courtesy of the Japanese Olympic speed-skating team. Their head coach devised a workout that involved eight rounds of 20-second very high-energy bursts on a cycling machine followed by 10 seconds of rest — four minutes in total. A 1996 study by one of the team’s training coaches, Izumi Tabata, found that, in just six weeks, exercisers following the regime displayed dramatic increases in anaerobic capacity and VO2max (an indicator of heart and lung health that measures how much oxygen you use while exercising at maximum capacity), and improved weight loss.

Over the past few years, gyms and circuit studios have started incorporating Tabata-style workouts into often punishing regimes. There has also been a growing body of reports on the health benefits of all HIIT training regimes.

I have an average level of fitness, but repetitively cycling at full steam, Tabata-style, sounded so stressful I couldn’t bring myself to try it. Then I read a report published in late 2013 in the American College of Sport Medicine’s Health and Fitness Journal that suggested a more moderate, yet still short, program.

Sports performance experts Brett Klika and Chris Jordan found that a seven-minute workout involving resistance and aerobic exercises can help decrease body fat, improve insulin sensitivity and boost muscular fitness and VO2max. This program, they say, “can offer a good option to help busy individuals improve their health and recover from stress via exercise”. Even better, it doesn’t require a gym membership or any fancy gear — just your body, a chair and a wall.

The suggested program includes 12 exercises performed for 30 seconds each at 80 per cent of your maximum effort, with a 10-second breather in between. It takes seven-and-a-half minutes all up but can be repeated two to three times if you wish, for enhanced results. The study authors don’t prescribe specific exercises, so people can tailor them to their own bodies’ needs, but the final program should alternate cardio and strengthening poses as well as body parts used.

With a pitch like that, I had to give it a shot. Armed with a printout of the suggested exercises, off to the park I went.

First up, were jumping jacks — what fun! I felt like a child burning off energy, but the 30 seconds were up before I knew it. In the 10-second break I walked over to a tree for the next exercise: a wall-sit, where you put your back against a wall (or tree, in this case), slide down until your knees are parallel to the ground, and hold. Done.

I had just enough time to get in place for the next exercise, push-ups, which gave my heart a rest and focused on upper-body strength. The report suggests that to maximise the metabolic impact of each exercise, 15 to 20 repetitions should be done, with “proper execution”. You’ve got to be pretty quick to fit that number of reps into 30 seconds, but I find I can just manage about 15.

I’m starting to feel a little flushed, but after a 10-second break it’s on to sit-ups to work the core. The next three exercises — step-ups onto a chair, squats and triceps dips using a chair — I try to do as fast as I can, while still retaining good form, to make sure I’m getting my heart rate up enough.

Almost five minutes down and, OK, I feel as though I’m now working out. Next is a plank, which I do on my forearms, followed by running on the spot with high knees, followed by lunges. I really don’t like lunges but find them doable for half a minute and am proud when I finish the set. My pride lasts for all of 10 seconds, though, because then it’s on to doing a “push-up and rotation” exercise. This involves doing a regular push-up, rotating the body to the left, like you’re doing a side plank, and raising the left arm. You then repeat this on the other side, and keep going. This exercise involves upper-body strength, which isn’t my forte, so I’m glad to get to the final exercise, the side plank, which works on the core.

Seven-and-a-half minutes after I press “start” on the stopwatch, I’m done. It’s such a short period of time, so I don’t feel exhausted, but I do feel like I’ve had a workout: my heart rate is up, my muscles are slightly tired and I’ve broken a sweat. That HIIT workout wasn’t so scary after all. Just for fun, I do another round.

Would I do this version of HIIT again? Absolutely. I’ve faced my fears and, because the workout is so short, it’s easy to combine with my regular walks and yoga. Will it reap health benefits? Only time will tell.

• Note: Not all the exercises mentioned above are suitable for everyone. Please check with your health practitioner before embarking on a new fitness regime.