Kieran Sharpe Sports SMECourse Director Wellbeing Fitness www.wellbeingfitness.co.uk
As many of us embark on a New Year’s training flurry, here is a message of good sense from our Sports SME Kieran Sharpe
We see a lot of trainers in the industry promoting HIIT training as a cure all and demonstrating examples of what HIIT training is, and getting it very wrong.
HIIT training, High Intensity Interval Training.
When establishing the difference between these two types of training the simple answer is, ‘It’s all about intensity.’
Running on a treadmill compared to interval, maximum effort hill sprints. Maintaining a steady state of effort for an extended period of time without getting out of breath compared to sprints up a hill and gasping for breath when you finish.
Think about how you feel on the treadmill versus during a high-intensity interval workout: Your probably feel like you could maintain that steady state for a pretty solid amount of time without wheezing, while just one round of HIIT leaves you gasping for breath.
As a practitioner it is important to understand the difference. As training methods diversify, teaching examples update and comprehension diversifies.
When planning such activities for clients it is important to be aware of that the body will create energy in two ways:
- Anaerobically (without oxygen)
- Aerobically (with oxygen).
Trainers needs to understand the true factual process that can assist in burning calories and fat, along with overall strength, power, and endurance.
Activities performed at a high intensity that your body can’t provide the necessary energy to complete it with oxygen intake alone is anaerobic.
Anaerobic workouts primarily focus on fast twitch muscle fibres that prefer to function for a short amount of time without the help of additional inhaled oxygen. The practitioner needs to not only schedule activity type, appropriate set and track intensity but also crucially rest and recovery periods.
Simple’ish science is that when activities are performed without oxygen, the body uses adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and glucose in the muscle cells for energy. This process cannot be sustained for more than 90 to 120 seconds of high-intensity exercise due to the fact that during this process muscles have produced a significant amount of lactic acid. To break down glucose and fatty acids your body must begin to utilise inhaled oxygen. Your body then transfers to the Aerobic system.
A good example of exercises and training methods to apply in an anaerobic setting could include plyometrics, sprinting, and weightlifting.
Aerobic exercise is anything that requires oxygen to process the necessary energy to sustain performance without utilising other body energy systems.
In comparison to anaerobic exercise, aerobic routines will focus on slow twitch muscle fibres. Glucose and fatty acids the anaerobic system has already produced for fuel, which can sustain activity for extended periods of time.
Example of aerobic exercises would include steady-state exercise like walking, running, cycling, or even dancing. Client won’t be gasping and their perceived exertion will be maintained to a level where they can maintain a conversation.
It has been my experience that trainers have opted for anaerobic over aerobic over false claims clients will burn more calories quicker that aerobic. Crucially opting for anaerobic to add excitement to the training session and avoid boredom.
With all exercise prescription, it needs to be focused around the client’s SMART goals, training needs and ‘current’ fitness levels.
Aerobic training is crucial to help the client establish base line cardiovascular fitness and health to then help the client progress and sustain anaerobic activity.
Consider that all top flight sport teams with a knowledgeable strength and conditioning coach start pre-season training with base line aerobic running for the first two weeks before progressing into game-specific scenario fitness.
A lot of sports therapists and rehabilitation specialists are very busy with clients injured from poor exercise prescription.
Both aerobic and anaerobic training are very different, however both are equally important in a well-rounded fitness regimen.
Aerobic exercise triggers fat burning, as the muscles have oxygen in the tissues. By strengthening the heart and potentially increasing the maximal amount of oxygen the body can utilise, aerobic training will develop the overall cardiovascular system improving V02 max.
Anaerobic exercise such as HIIT, has been claimed to burn more total calories in a shorter amount of time (if the client can maintain the intensity). Anaerobic training can be extremely beneficial for power development, building muscle mass. Don’t fall in the trap, however, of thinking muscles are not working strength because the cardiovascular system is working. One system does not close off because another is in action.
Both styles of training will burn calories and improve the function of the heart and lungs, and the best result for maximum adaptation and body transformation is to combine these training styles over the course of weeks, depending on the entry point and previous fitness history of the client.
By doing this you are getting the power and muscle-building benefits of anaerobic work while adding the increased stamina and endurance associated with aerobic workouts.
How you schedule rest and recovery is the most concept for long term success. This can be increased and shortened depending on client needs and responses. Crucially we want to avoid overtraining and overuse injuries.
A good base line starting point would be to start ‘an average’ client with one to two aerobic sessions with one anaerobic session per week.