Another blog post from Ann Arbor chiropractor Mike Tannenbaum, D.C.

A great way to work out to improve your health is to do high-intensity interval training, or HIIT. (As a note, if you have any medical conditions, including cardiovascular issues, you should consult your primary care provider before attempting HIIT.) HIIT is a popular form of exercise. Many high-end athletes use HIIT, as it can be very effective for overall fitness, especially for heart health. HIIT is also popular because it can be completed in a relatively short amount of time. HIIT has been shown in a variety of studies to create physical fitness in considerably less time than more traditional forms of exercise.

HIIT is any workout that involves high-intensity exercise that alternates between bursts of intense physical activity and specific intervals of lower intensity exercise. HIIT workouts should take no more then 15 minutes. As a matter of fact, longer than 15 minutes of HIIT may increase your chance of an overuse injury.

Here are some examples of HIIT workouts.

Try this 12-minute workout using 30 seconds per exercise with a 10-second slow walk between each exercise.

1. Set a timer for 12 minutes. Then do as many reps as possible of the following:

A. 100 knee highs, then 10-second slow walk

B. 10 push-ups, then walk

C. 30 squats, then walk

D. 10 sit-ups, then walk

2. 12-minute workout using 30 seconds per exercise with 10-second slow walk between each exercise. Set a timer for 12 minutes. Then do as many reps as possible of the following:

A. 50 repetitions of jump roping, then 10-second slow walk

B. 10 v-ups, then walk

C. 50 jumping jacks, then walk

D. 10 push-ups, then walk

As a reminder, if you have any health condition, especially issues with your heart or circulation, you should consult a primary care provider before attempting HIIT. Also, if you have any questions about this blog post, chiropractic, back pain, neck pain or headaches please feel to contact me at [email protected].