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Page 28 | Abby's Magazine - www.AbbysMag.com By Dr. Mercola One of the biggest barriers many people face sticking with a regular exercise program is the time it takes to do it. Carving out an hour or two to hit the gym can seem daunting, and on some days might be completely unrealistic. However, short bursts of intense exercise can deliver many of the health and fitness benefits you get from doing hours of conventional cardiovascular training. This is also true for strength training or weight lifting. Your body may gain more strength and muscle mass by doing high intensity or super slow weight training, than you would receive from conventional weight lifting. Since high intensity training works more of your muscle than conventional training, you spend less time getting greater benefits. If you have just 30 minutes, you can perform a high intensity weight training session, helping you get fit in just a fraction of the time it used to take. What Is High Intensity Weight Training? In the early 1970s, the inventor of the Nautilus weight machines popularized high intensity interval training (HIIT). The idea is to train harder for shorter periods of time, which reduces the frequency required. The principle is to overload the muscle, creating a greater demand than your muscle is used to accommodating. The greater the demand, or intensity of the exercise, the greater overload is created and the more effective the exercise becomes. However, this overload is not created by increasing the amount of weight lifted, but rather by increasing the amount of time it takes to lift and return the weight, continuing through your repetition without stopping. You are essentially training the muscle to fatigue by removing the momentum you normally get when moving the weight quickly. Maintaining good form during each movement is very important. Once your muscles have fatigued to the point you are no longer able to hold proper form, you must stop or risk injury. It's also important to decrease the frequency of training to allow for proper recuperation. Training Harder But Smarter The greater the intensity of the exercise you perform, the less time is needed to accomplish successful results. This means there is an inverse relationship between the intensity of your workout and the frequency. You may think that high intensity weight training would only be effective for beginners, but intermediate and advanced weight trainers also benefit. However, as you become more advanced and capable of greater intensity in your workouts, you actually need more rest and less frequency in order to avoid overtraining. It is possible to over-exercise or over-train your muscles and suffer significant setback, illness or injury. When you use high intensity weight training, you shouldn't work out more than three non-consecutive days each week, and even less if you are an advanced athlete, an older athlete or if you don't recover quickly. Hard training breaks down muscle and makes them slightly weaker. It is during the rest periods between your workouts that your muscles grow stronger. This adaptation requires both physiologic stress to the muscles, rest and adequate diet to build strong muscles. When enough rest is not included between HIIT sessions, your improvements will plateau and your performance will ultimately decline. The term "overtraining syndrome" encompasses not only the physiological changes but also emotional, mental and behavioral symptoms that can persist for weeks or months. The appropriate volume of exercise to avoid overtraining syndrome will depend upon your age, gender, nutrition, rest schedule, quality of sleep, recovery time, genetics and training goals. What Are the Benefits of High Intensity Weight Training?