The Jessica Ennis Effect: High Intensity Interval Training

I’VE been having a little 80s revival on my iPod of late and I’m rather embarrassed to say that I came across that cheesy little Eurovision number by Bucks Fizz where they told us all we’d ‘gotta speed it up and then we gotta to slow it down’. 

I’m sure you’re wondering what on earth this has to do with over 40s women and weight loss? Well, here’s why those words are a mantra for getting optimum weight loss results...

To really make the most of your body’s fat burning potential you also need to up the intensity of your workout by including high intensity interval training (HIIT) in your workout portfolio. 

HIIT For Real ResultsIf you read my last article, Lift Weights To Lose Weight, you’ll know that using resistance, be it your own body weight or additional weights, is an excellent way to burn fat and lose weight.  But to really make the most of your body’s fat burning potential you also need to up the intensity of your workout by including high intensity interval training (HIIT) in your workout portfolio. 

This form of workout has you working at near maximum intensity for a short period (20-40 seconds) followed by 10-20 seconds of active rest (50 per cent intensity) for between 8 to10 rounds.  

By working out in this way you are creating a long lasting Excessive Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) effect. Traditionally known as the ‘afterburn’, this is the time after exercising when your body uses more oxygen in order to help it to rebalance hormones, repair cell structures and restock your energy stores. When your body is in a state of EPOC it burns more calories than it does at rest and you’ll be pleased to know that HIIT keeps your body in a state of EPOC much longer than traditional ‘slow, steady’ fat burning workouts do - meaning you’re burning more calories for longer. In fact you burn more calories for up to 36 hours after exercise.

What’s more, the calories you will be burning will be fat and not lean muscle tissue.  Traditional slow steady cardio workouts encourage the body to burn lean muscle tissue as well as fat. HIIT, on the other hand, encourages your body to maintain the levels of muscle tissue meaning that all of the calories you burn will be fat.

Jessica EnnisWho can have failed to notice that amazing six pack sported by Olympic Gold Medal winning Jessica Ennis. She didn’t get that by going for 20 minute jogs on the treadmill or even running marathons. That six pack and all of the other amazing muscle definition she displayed came about as a result of resistance training and HIIT, coupled with discipline specific work.

In addition to the fabulous fat burning benefits, HIIT will also help cut down your workout time giving you more time to get on with the rest of your life. It’s the best form of exercise for improving your VO2 max (the maximum amount of oxygen you can take in during exercise) meaning that keeping up with the children or grandchildren, running for the bus or just larking around in the park will all be easier to achieve.

So now it’s time to make your mind up.  Do you want to lose weight?  If you do ‘you gotta speed it up, then you gotta slow it down.’

(Sincere apologies to all of you who now have the song playing on a loop in your head – I share your pain.)