Sprint Interval Training - “It's a HIIT - Strength Coach.com

High‐intensity Intermittent Training from a Common Sense Viewpoint
Throughout humankind’s development, short‐duration, high‐intensity exercise has been a prerequisite for
both survival and human progression. In primal times, humans, for the most part, would not have moved long
distances by running slowly or “jogging” as our modern world likes to call it; rather, they would have walked
because, from an energy perspective, it is the most efficient form of gait. In comparison, humans running at high
speeds are energetically inefficient 8 . Having said that, throughout a day, short, vigorous bouts of activity would be
required for hunting, gathering, carrying, digging and escaping danger 9 . One can easily imagine that jogging
through fields and forests would not be a particularly effective hunting strategy. However, research examining the
few primitive tribes left on the planet demonstrated that a very healthy aerobic capacity, along with a lean
physique, was always found without the daily 30 to 60 minutes of continuous “cardio” training that so many feel
they need to endure to be lean and possess a healthy heart 10 . Further, the biochemical make‐up of human muscle
fibers is not comparable to truly superb endurance creatures 11 . In the animal kingdom, humans, while no cheetah,
are a long way from, for example, ducks that can fly vast distances without breaking a sweat.
Athletes have long been held in high regard for their physiques and fitness levels. In the early days of
sports, and prior to the professionalism of current day conditioning programs, athletes simply attained their fitness
from engaging in their respective sport. Well, the vast majority of sports are interval based – meaning that the
activity comprises short bursts of high‐intensity exercise followed by rest or a recovery period of low‐intensity.
When I conduct my seminars, I usually ask the audience to shout out a list of sports. On many occasions, none of
the sports that are offered fit the mold of a continuous endurance activity (which is not that surprising since so few
sports do fit that description). When they are offered, such as distance running, cycling or swimming, they are
vastly outnumbered by the deluge of sports the audience races to name. Go ahead, start naming a few of your
favorites. Perhaps you are a fan of football, baseball, tennis, golf, basketball, hockey (ice or field ‐ still the same),
soccer, rugby, skiing, snow‐boarding, volleyball, or . . . I think you get the point! The vast majority of sports are
interval‐based and you can get cardiovascularly fit and lose the fat by simply playing the sport, none of which, ever
require engaging in moderate‐intensity continuous activity 12 . In a very recent study published in the Journal of
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