HOW TO KEEP UP THE INTENSITY, & INCREASE YOUR FITNESS, DURING HIIT & TABATA SESSIONS
Website: www.gtpersonaltrainer.co.uk
Email: glen@gtpersonaltrainer.co.uk
HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and Tabata training are both excellent forms of training for so many reasons; e.g. overall muscular endurance, cardiovascular fitness, weight loss, muscle tone, core stability, strength, mental toughness etc.
If you structure your HIIT & Tabata sessions correctly then you should never find that these sessions get any easier; simply because, as your fitness increases, you should always be pushing yourself that bit harder to achieve more repetitions in the relevant exercises.
I often get asked how a client can increase their fitness during these types of sessions.
This is understandable, especially as fatigue sets in quickly during these sessions and some people find it difficult to keep up the intensity, and as a consequence, they don't see the progression/improvements they desire.
Simply keeping count of your repetitions when you're fresh will keep you training at your maximum throughout the whole session.
For example, during a Tabata session you should be performing 4 - 7 x 30 second sets x 5 - 8 different exercises, with 10 - 20 seconds rest in between each set; you're obviously going to be able to perform the highest number of repetitions during your 1st set of each exercise.
This is where counting your repetitions is so important to your development.
During the 1st set, of each different exercise, give it 100% effort and count the number of repetitions you perform. Rest for the 10 - 20 seconds, then work your hardest to still achieve the same number of repetitions for the 2nd set. If you fail then you know that you have to increase the intensity for the 3rd set in order to achieve the same number of repetitons as your first set. This applies to all 4 - 7 sets. You'll abviously find it more and more difficult to keep up the intensity required. As the saying goes "You only get out what you put in"; so just give 100% effort for each 30 seconds period of each set. You'll probably find that, no matter how hard you try, you still drop the repetitions achieved by 1 - 3 per set as fatigue sets in. However, this is to be expected, but it's a point from which you can work from.
As your fitness increases so will the number of repetitions of your 1st sets, and as a conscequence you will also see an increase in the repetitions you're able to perform for the following 3 - 6 sets. You'll find that you're able to push yourself harder, and you'll start to find other day-to-day activities become easier. Then, as I mentioned earlier, you'll start to see improvements in overall muscular endurance, cardiovascular fitness, weight loss, muscle tone, core stability, strength, mental toughness etc.
