HIIT or Miss? The Workout Everyone's Talking About—But Is It Right for You?

What if you could revolutionize your fitness routine with just a few minutes a day?

Today, we explore the electrifying world of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and uncover its powerful impact on your health.

Join us as we trace the origins of HIIT back to Dr. Izumi Tabata and reveal how CrossFit made it a global phenomenon. 

You’ll discover how this "espresso shot" of workouts can boost cardiovascular health, ramp up your metabolism, and torch fat more efficiently than traditional workouts. 

However, we'll also candidly discuss its challenges and the importance of proper pacing and listening to your body to avoid injury.

I’ll share a personal tale from my first grueling encounter with Tabata squats and the valuable lesson it taught me about pacing and perseverance. 

We’ll celebrate those triumphant "fudge yeah" moments when you break your limits and experience the unmatched endorphin rush following a killer HIIT session. To top it off, we'll discuss how making small, measurable changes can lead to a happier, healthier life. 

And don't forget to support our mission by leaving a review—a small action that makes a big difference in spreading this empowering message to more fitness enthusiasts. 

Stay strong, stay focused, and let’s push those limits together!

TEXT ME here - Have a question? Comment? Feedback? I’d love to hear from you.

Support the show

A Message from Dai, host of the 2% Solution Podcast:

Hey there, you fantastic listener! 👋

As we wrap up another episode of The 2% Solution Podcast, I want to throw a massive, confetti-filled THANK YOU your way.

As we launch this podcast, your support is like getting an extra espresso in your Venti Americano—unexpected and refreshing!

Your reviews? They're like high-fives to my soul. Your shares? They're spreading more joy than cat videos on the internet. Subscribing? You're officially the coolest in my book.

Meeting in the 2% Collective Community? It's like watching a garden of awesomeness bloom – and you're all the sunflowers making it happen!

Keep being the amazing, 2%-improving rockstars that you are.

🌟 Stay fabulous, stay tuned, and stay 2%! 🚀

Love, laughs, and much gratitude,

Dai M.

P.S. I'm primarily active on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Feel free to connect and start a conversation. If you're searching for inspiring, motivational, educational, and healthy living content, check out my over 1500 articles at DaiManuel.com - I enjoy writing, okay? lol

Episode Transcript

Dai Manuel (00:08):
Hey there, 2% Collective Warriors.
Welcome back to another episodeof the 2% Solution.
I'm your host, diamond Wall,and today we're going to crank
things up a notch and dive intothe world of high-intensity
interval training, more properlyand improperly known as HIIT
training.
That's what we all tend to callit.
Anyways, whether we love it orhate it, it's HIIT style, and

(00:31):
we're talking about the good,the bad and the F?
Yeah moments.
Yeah, I said F?
Yeah, trying to keep it clean,peeps, but F?
Yeah moments that make HIITworkouts a staple in the fitness
world.
Let's grab your water bottle,get ready to sweat and let's get
into it.
Well, let's start with a littlehistory lesson.
Hiit has been around fordecades, but it started gaining

(00:56):
a lot of traction in the 70s,with a guy named Dr Izumi Tabata
you might have heard of Tabatatraining or Tabata intervals.
Yeah, that's the guy.
Okay, fast forward to the early2000s and along comes CrossFit,
revolutionizing the fitnessindustry with its intense,

(01:17):
varied workouts.
Now, crossfit didn't inventHIIT training, but it certainly
popularized it, bringing thoseshort, intense bursts of
exercise well into themainstream.
And then some.
Well, let's talk about the goodstuff.
Hiit is like the espresso shotof workouts they're quick,

(01:38):
they're powerful and theydefinitely get the job done.
According to the AmericanCollege of Sports Medicine, hiit
can improve cardiovascularhealth, increase our metabolism,
while also burning fat moreeffectively than traditional
steady state cardio Plus steadystate cardio very boring, okay,
very boring.

(01:58):
You know, it's like justmaintaining a certain pace on a
cardio machine and just going.
It's like just maintaining acertain pace on a cardio machine
and just going.
Yeah, I prefer HIIT trainingpersonally, but you know, to
each their own.
But here, another benefit isyou just don't need a lot of
time to do HIIT style training.
A study published in theJournal of Physiology found that

(02:22):
just 10 minutes of HIITtraining can provide the same
benefits as 30 minutes ofmoderate exercise.
How awesome is that?
Now, we should probably keep itreal, and HIIT isn't all
sunshine and rainbows.
So let's talk a little bitabout the bad, because it's
tough, like really tough.
It's high intensity for areason, and that means it's not
for everyone, Especially ifyou're just starting out or have

(02:51):
certain health conditions.
Overdoing it can lead toinjuries and burnout and if
you're not careful it can feellike you've been hit by a truck.
Always listen to your body andconsult a healthcare
professional if you're unsure.
A little side note I rememberthe first time I did Tabata
squats.
The way Tabata training worksis it's 20 seconds of work
followed by 10 seconds of rest,repeated for eight rounds.
So if you do the math, it'slike four minutes of work, right

(03:12):
, and it doesn't sound like alot, but trust me, it is all out
mayhem.
Okay.
So Tabata squats you do 20seconds.
You're trying to do body weightsquats as fast as you can, full
depth, so you're basicallydropping in the bottom of the
squat, firing up and doing itagain.
And I remember doing it thefirst time and you know the goal
is to try to maintain the samenumber of output or the same

(03:34):
number of squats every round.
I remember doing it and for thenext two days I couldn't walk,
like literally like going downthe stairs, I had to go down on
my butt and getting on thetoilet.
Hello, uh, we'll keep the showclean, but it was agonizing,
right, and it was probably myfault.
Uh, actually, you know, get ridof the.
Probably it was my fault, allright, I wasn't listening to my

(03:56):
body.
I knew it was intense, I pushedmyself way too hard and it was
my first time doing tabata styletraining.
And even then my friend thecoach at the time, it's my first
time doing Tabata styletraining.
And even then my friend thecoach at the time, it's my first
time going to CrossFit.
He's like, hey, man, if you'venever done these, just just take
it down a gear or two.
You know, you trust me, you'regoing to want to do that.
And I'm like, yeah, whatever,I'm going to go for it.
Uh, wise words, right, no dumbwords.

(04:18):
But um, that's the one thingyou know.
If you're not familiar withHIIT style training, you're just
trying to all of a suddenintroduce it or go from zero to
a hundred.
We all know that's a recipe fordisaster.
So just be cautious.
Okay, if you're going to startdoing HIIT training, make it a
gradual progression, somethingthat you build up over time,
start smaller and then, you know, put the layers on as you start

(04:39):
to see the intensity foryourself increase, but also that
recovery aspect where you'rebouncing back from those intense
workouts.
A and then, lastly, let's talkabout the F?
Yeah, moments.
F yeah, I know you're probablyall just saying I just say it.
Just say it.
Okay, fudge, yeah, fudge, yeahMoments.
Why we love hit.

(05:01):
So there's something incrediblyempowering about pushing our
limits right and seeing what thebody is capable of.
The endorphin rush that you getpost hit is is is completely
next level.
Okay, the endorphin rush thatyou get post-hit is completely
next level.
I have such productiveconversations and work sessions
and recordings right after I'vedone a great HIIT workout.

(05:22):
I remember my first real HIITsession.
I mean, this is the one where Iactually got into it.
It wasn't Tabata style, so itwas more high-intensity interval
training.
It wasn't Tabata style, so itwas more high intensity interval
training.
So it was what they call anAMRAP style workout, which means
as many reps or as many roundsas possible done in a certain
time.
And I remember I think it waslike a 10 minute workout and

(05:44):
honestly, halfway through Ithought I was going to pass out,
but by the end I felt like Icould take on the world.
That's the magic of HIIT.
It builds not just physicalstrength but mental toughness
and resiliency too.
Now you're probably wonderingwell, how can I start
incorporating more HIIT into myroutine?

(06:04):
Well, here's some tips.
Number one start slow.
If you're new to HIIT, easeinto it.
Begin with one or two weeklysessions and gradually increase
as your fitness improves.
Number two mix it up.
Variety is key To keep thingsinteresting.
Combine different exerciseslike sprints, burpees, even jump

(06:26):
, squats and push-ups All greatmovements.
Great way to get a full bodyHIIT while also getting a huge
cardiovascular uptick.
Number three recovery.
Don't forget the importance ofrest and recovery.
Hit is intense, so your bodyneeds time to heal and recover.
Grow stronger.

(06:47):
Those are the three tips right.
Start slow, mix it up and makesure you give yourself enough
time to recover between thosesessions.
For more resources, check outthe American Council on Exercise
, ace.
I've got one of mycertifications through them.
Amazing resource as well.
Crossfitcom another greatresource If you haven't a good

(07:09):
subscription.
If you're ever going tosubscribe to something, it's
well worth the money is theCrossfit journal.
I freaking love the thing.
It's all been digitized now.
But, uh, great resources andwonderful uh information.
Um, for for all levels offitness.
Uh, not, not just crossfit onits own.
And then, lastly, the journalof physiology for detailed

(07:31):
studies on the benefits of HIITtraining.
Now, what are you thinking?
Are you thinking, yeah, I wantto do some HIIT style training?
Well, here's an invitation.
If you've never done HIIT styletraining or done it
consistently enough to reallystart to like it.
I'd love to invite you to checkout the Whole Life Fitness
Manifesto.
So my book.
When I wrote it years ago, theimportance was to help people

(07:56):
figure out how how toincorporate more fitness into
their lives and lifestyleswithout having to reinvent their
lifestyle.
You know, I think a lot of usthink, oh, I want to make some
fitness changes, and so thefirst thing we do is we try to
reinvent our calendar andschedules and, quite frankly,
our routines to now accommodatefitness into it where I'm like.

(08:17):
Well, take a plug and playapproach Look at your calendar,
look at your schedule, look atwhat your week to week, day to
day, you know, even month tomonth, looks like and figure out
where's their opportunity tostart to incorporate more
fitness.
You know so it's not a matterof having to rewrite everything
as much, as it is just to retoola few things to make it work.

(08:37):
And what you'll find is, overtime, you're gradually going to
want to make or take back evensome of your time to incorporate
more wellness into yourlifestyle, because you realize
how much it benefits all thoseother hours in the week there's
168 hours every seven days andwe know that we're going to
dedicate, say, four to six hoursto our well-being and fitness,

(09:01):
mental fitness included.
Well, I can tell you, thosefour to six hours are going to
make the other 160 or so waybetter.
Okay, Not just for you, but forthe people you connect with.
Anyways, check out the wholelife fitness manifesto.
The workout routines are all 15minutes in duration, they're
all hit style and I think you'llreally like them because
they're all body weight based.
And I think you'll really likethem because they're all body

(09:24):
weight based, as long as you gotenough room to throw a towel
down in the middle of yourliving room, you got enough
space to do the workouts.
So that's my little invitationIf you've never done it, go
check those out.
So, all right, my 2% collectivewarriors.
That's it for today's episodeon HIIT the good, the bad and
the fudge.
Yeah, one of these days I mightjust go for the explicit rating

(09:45):
, but that's not today.
Remember the journey to optimalhealth.
It's all about finding whatworks for you and having fun.
If you enjoyed this episode,share it with a friend who might
need a little push to getmoving, and don't forget to
follow me on social media andwhen I say follow me, I'm
meaning me and the show and like, listen, I want you to connect.
I love connecting with people,especially people that have been

(10:05):
listening to the show, having aconversation.
Shoot me a DM, say hey, saywhat episode you really enjoyed,
or any suggestions or feedbackyou'd love for the show.
Maybe you know a great guest,maybe you're an amazing guest
that would be amazing on theshow.
Well, message me.
All right and uh, and if allelse fails, hey, I'd love it if
you left a review.
If you like this podcast,you're finding value in it.

(10:27):
Just leave a review because ithelps get this podcast in front
of more people, just like us,that are into making small,
measurable changes and reallytrying to live our happiest,
healthiest lives possible.
On that note, stay strong, stayfocused and keep pushing your
limits.
I'm Diamond Wall and you'vebeen listening to the 2%
Solution.
Let's keep thriving togetherand I'll see you on the next

(10:55):
episode.