High-Intensity, Low-Impact Training Will Burn Calories and Protect Your Joints

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High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, is popular because it works—this type of exercise is built around pylometric moves (think jump squats and burpees) and intense bursts of effort. It gets, and keeps, your heart rate up and burns more fat in less time, but it can also seriously stress the spine and joints. Enter HILIT: high-intensity, low-impact training. It’s intense in terms of heart rate, calorie burn, and muscle fatigue, but low-impact on the joints. (Swimming is a great example of a HILIT workout.)

“To reap the benefits of those physiological changes that you’re making when you push yourself, you have to back off a little bit and give your muscles and connective tissues time to heal,” explains Sarah Revenig (shown here), CSCS, a trainer at Soho Strength Lab in New York City. Otherwise you’re setting yourself up for exhaustion and potential injury.

RELATED: This Rowing Routine Is the Best Low-Impact Workout You Haven't Tried Yet

A great way to think about HILIT workouts is that your heart rate is going up but your feet are always on the ground. Ready to go for it? Revenig created a workout just for Health.

RELATED: 4 Low-Impact Exercises That Power Up Your Brain

Bent-Over Dumbbell Row

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