HIIT (high intensity interval training) is a beneficial style of fitness training that involves switching between high intensity and medium to low intensity intervals of exercise over a period of 5 to 30 minutes. Studies have shown that it can substantially increase your cardiovascular fitness, reduce your levels of body fat, and much more. However, despite its many benefits, HIIT has its critics. This article will focus on these criticisms and list some of the main drawbacks of HIIT.
1 – Has a relatively high risk of injury
HIIT is one of the most challenging cardio exercises out there and pushes your body to the limit. This large amount of pressure that HIIT puts on your body makes injuries much more likely compared to light cardio like cycling or swimming. While you can easily keep yourself injury-free by warming up properly and allowing your body to rest when it needs to, this elevated risk of injury is still something to consider.
2 – Not suitable for beginners
As mentioned above, HIIT is extremely challenging and requires a very high level of fitness. If you are just beginning your fitness journey or your current fitness levels are low, HIIT will not be right for you.
3 – Not specific
If you want to train for a specific sport or fitness discipline, HIIT won’t be enough on its own. While HIIT is a great option for getting in a quick workout and burning calories, it doesn’t develop the specific skills needed for many sports and fitness disciplines. So if you want to become a better runner or improve your athletic performance, you’ll need to combine your HIIT workouts with a more focused training program.
4 – It has longer recovery times
One last disadvantage of HIIT compared to other styles of cardio is that it takes longer for the body to fully recover from a workout. While you may be able to do 5-minute HIIT sessions every day without the need for a long recovery period, a 30-minute HIIT session will likely require 2-3 days before your body fully recovers. .
Summary
While HIIT isn’t the perfect fitness tool many people describe, it can still be a valuable addition to your fitness regimen. By combining HIIT with a more specific, less intense training program, and making sure to give your body plenty of time to recover, you can enjoy all of its benefits and negate many of the drawbacks highlighted in this article.
