CosBeauty Magazine #101

WELLNESS
Why
LOW-
VOLUME
HIIT
WORKS
Low-volume HIIT, typically involving less than 15
minutes of high-intensity exercise per session,
is being increasingly investigated in healthy and
clinical populations due to its time-efficient nature
and purported health benefits.
The current World Health Organisation (WHO)
physical activity guidelines (150 to 300 minutes of
moderate activity per week or 75 to 100 minutes of
vigorous activity per week) may be unattainable
for a large portion of the population who are
time-poor due to family or work commitments.
This hypothesis is supported by the increasing
rates of physical inactivity amongst adults in highincome
countries.
The findings of the Journal of Physiology review
show that low-volume HIIT (typically involving less
than 20 minutes total exercise time – inclusive
of warm up and cool down) yields comparable
improvements to interventions meeting the current
guidelines despite requiring significantly less time.
Beyond its effect on metabolic health, the new
review reported that low-volume HIIT can also
improve heart function and arterial health.
‘While the WHO guidelines may serve their
purpose at a populational level, individualised and
tailored low-volume HIIT interventions delivered by
appropriately trained exercise professionals may
be more effective at an individual level, especially
for time-poor individuals,’ says Dr Angelo Sabag,
corresponding author of the study.
‘This research is especially important now as
people are looking for new and exciting ways to
engage in regular exercise.’
IS
more
HIIT
EFFECTIVE
FOR FAT
LOSS?