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High-Intensity Workouts
HIIT now as a Rejuvenating Pill!

The High-Intensity Interval Training also known as HIIT is an exercise regime

popular among people who want quicker results in terms of gaining muscle
mass and endurance capacity.

It became famous for athlete training in the 1950s and is a specialized form of
training that involves a series of short intervals of maximum intensity workouts
separated by longer intervals of low to moderate-intensity exercise or rest.

Nature’s View
Intervals of high or extremely high exertion of physical activity are frequently
observed in nature and across most species. This is most often seen when
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creatures are in survival situations such as the defense of territory when chasing
prey or escaping from predators.

This has been no different for humans at least for the vast majority of human
evolution. Our ancestors had to chase deer for survival or needed to escape from
wolves or saber-toothed tigers.

Early on, mankind also engaged in fights or even wars between clans which
required the highest level of physical exertion since it was literally a question of
survival.

Human’s View
The population in the Western world is no longer required to exert the highest
levels of physical effort in order to secure food for daily living.

Moreover, gone are the days when humans had to escape from dangerous
animals - they still exist, of course, but rarely do we have to escape a spider or
wolf attack.

Unfortunately, fights and wars are still seen amongst humans but rarely do they
fight physically since modern weapons have replaced physical fitness a century
ago.

Science’s View
HIIT became famous more recently with modern gym technology such as
spinning. It is a scientifically proven practice to burn calories at a minimum
amount of time. Bryna Carracino the fitness expert also added that HIIT has got
a lot of benefits other than simply burning calories. She says HIIT boosts health
and lifespan even for adults over 70 years of age. Comparison studies conducted
by her suggest people who did strenuous exercise twice a week are much
healthier physically and mentally. It also contributes benefits like mood
regulation, cognitive health, and boosts metabolism.

Carracino suggests practicing HIIT workout 2 – 3 times a week, followed by a

recovery of 24 hours. HIIT can be combined with sessions of moderate training
like strength training, low impact cardio, restorative yoga, and foam rolling
which are all good for longevity.
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Background
The practice of high-intensity interval training is usually defined by the
maximum heart rate.

There is a simple formula to calculate an individual’s maximum heart rate

without applying a full fitness test which would be more accurate: Take a
maximum heart rate of 220 and deduct your age (as the heart rate tends to fall
with aging). For example, a 35-year-old may have a maximum heart rate of
220-35 = 185 beats per minute.

De Blair Tate, explains the more intense an interval is, the greater oxygen
demands to recover the body.

Therefore, it creates an oxygen deficiency in our body thus increasing the

metabolism for the next 48 hours after workouts.

Out of the 45 minutes of exercise, a maximum of 20 minutes should be in

maximum heart rate.

The maximum heart rate during the high-intensity session should be within 70-
90 percent and 55-65 percent during the recovery stage.

A recent study published by the British Medical Journal stated that this type
of workout is particularly effective for adults above 70 by boosting mental
health, physical wellbeing, improving fitness, and extending lifespan even.

The survey was conducted to evaluate the HIIT training effectiveness on

mortality in older adults (70-77 years) where participants were randomized in
two sessions one with high-intensity interval training with 90% peak heart rate,
then moderate-intensity continuous training(MICT) of 70% heart rate for 5
years.

Findings suggested that a combined MICT and HIIT has no effect on all-cause
mortality compared with recommended physical activity levels. However, it
was found a lower cause of mortality trend after HIIT compared to MICT.

HIIT is the best longevity pill

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Scientist Dorth Stensvold lead author from Norwegian University recommended

HIIT can lead you to an improved metabolic profile and thereby reduce the risk
of cardiovascular diseases and enhance lifespan.
43 participants were observed with metabolic syndrome in three groups: aerobic
interval training, HIIT strength training, a combination of both 3 times a week
for 12 weeks.
It revealed an overall gain in strength and more importantly, the exercise regime
benefited psychological abnormalities and factors of metabolic syndrome.

Benefits of HIIT
HIIT is anti-aging- The longevity genes gather strength on exercise.
These include extending the length of telomeres (proteins that are good
indicators of our aging genes) which protects us from genome
degradation.
Again, it helps to grow microvessels that provide enough oxygen supply
to cells that boost the activity of mitochondria, which burn oxygen to
chemical energy.
HIIT improves memory- Heavy improvement in older adults who
exercise using HIIT having 30% memory improvement. While older
adults who exercised moderately showed no improvements.

HIIT helps to shed weight- HIIT helps burn more calories in a shorter
span of time of about 25% to 30%.

Conclusion
HIIT improves age-related decline in muscle mitochondria. It also increases the
production of proteins in cells that are important for normal body functioning,
which declines normally with age.

Therefore, it’s never late to start HIIT for happy long life.
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Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/search/research-news/12310/
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.01237.2011

Keywords: # HIIT physical activities #longevity #rejuveneration #lifespan

#healthy lifestyle #healthy people #exercise