Starting a High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Phase

HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training

I’m starting a new phase of training. I’m focussing on HIIT workouts.

My three months of German Volume Training has come to an end. I used it to start the year and make use of the extra calories consumed over the Christmas and New Year period. It’s been great – I’ve added 5kg of muscle without much extra fat and I’ve gotten over a couple of niggling injuries that were caused by my training.

The time is ripe for change though.

Andy (my training partner) and I are going to switch up our training and adopt a HIIT approach. It will help us with our conditioning and body composition changes into the summer.

What is HIIT?

HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. It can take a variety of forms such as spinning, rowing or the kind I like and will use, resistance-based circuit training.

The training methodology is exactly as it says – you work hard (high intensity) for short bursts (intervals), interspersed with rest periods. HIIT is an amazing calorie burner, but that comes at a cost – it’s not for the faint hearted! With a HIIT workout you can’t be half-arsed.

Why HIIT?

The first three months of the year, I focussed on adding muscle and I have done that. I’m now around 88kg. I’m carrying a little more fat than I’d like though, so I’m switching the training to help get rid of some of the excess.

I’m also booked in to do a couple of endurance events later on in the year – the Snowdon Charity Challenge again and another Tough Mudder in September. The change in training will help me more in my preparation for these than a pure strength or mass-gaining approach.

It’s also a business decision. When I was looking through my traffic stats it seems that a lot of my readers like articles I have done on versions of HIIT workouts, such as the ones on sprinting, the HIIT rowing workout, the HIIT spin bike workout or the HIIT conditioning workout. (There are plenty of others, but that’s enough internal links for now). I’m going to do this HIIT phase for three months, document a lot of it, record the workouts and have them put together in an ebook format that you will be able to buy later in the year.

I’m no stranger to HIIT – over the years I have done plenty but I’ll be right back at square one. Three months of pure german volume training has left my conditioning lower than I’d like, so it’s going to be a grim start to the training! It’s hard at the best of times, never mind when you aren’t physically ready!

This picture is the aftermath of a HIIT workout involving only squats and deadlifts….

One of the great things about HIIT is that it’s excuse-less. You can do a brilliant HIIT workout with nothing but your bodyweight. You can do a sprint workout. You can do it outdoors. It really is that versatile, so excuses are a thing of the past with this approach!

Here is a simple HIIT workout to get you started. You won’t believe how simple it is…

Perform 100 burpees as fast as you can. 

That’s it.

Do the workout and see how long it takes you. If you want to, use a heart rate monitor to see the effects of HIIT workouts first hand. You’ll be maxing out your heart rate in no time at all.

By the way, I’ve now started a VIP email list with discounts, offers, tips and news. You can subscribe at on my homepage! Click here to sign up (blue box at the bottom).