Today we’re diving into the benefits of Strength and HIIT. You’ll find both these workout styles in your planner and in the Masterclass hub in your KIC app.

HIIT and Strength workouts are powerhouse workout styles – each in their own way. There’s no denying that they both get us moving and help us release endorphins, but it’s important to understand how these styles uniquely benefit our bodies.

So, what are these unique benefits you might ask? Let’s dive in and understand the benefits of HIIT and Strength a little better!

HIIT

HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. This workout style focuses on short bursts of intense work followed by a short recovery period. HIIT is designed to get your heart rate up and is a super effective workout style that help you to get maximal health benefits in minimal time. The work to rest ratio in a HIIT workout will vary but common splits you’ll see are: 15:15, 30:30, 45:15, 50:10.

By undertaking regular HIIT training, you’ll improve your anaerobic threshold and your VO2 Max. Your anaerobic threshold is the length of time your body can work at its highest intensity without needing to rely on the blood to bring oxygen to your muscles for energy. Your VO2 Max is the amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise, so the higher your VO2 max the more oxygen your body can carry to your muscles for energy. Put simply, HIIT training is going to help you get fitter!

HIIT is also an incredible tool to help you maintain muscle mass. It may also help you to gently improve your muscle mass (dependant upon your fitness and muscles levels), however this is what strength training helps with!

STRENGTH

Unlike HIIT, Strength training focuses on placing your muscles under tension in order to build and strengthen those muscles. Having strong muscles is going to enhance your everyday life as your ability to undertake tasks incidental to life such as the simple task of carrying your groceries will become even easier and you’ll reduce your risk of injury.

You may not always leave a strength workout feeling as sweaty or exhausted as you might after HIIT, but that does not mean you haven’t worked hard or had a stellar workout.

Undertaking strength workouts is going to help you to increase your lean muscle mass which as we get older, we naturally lose. Strength training is one of the best ways we can best support our bodies as they age.

One thing you might notice with strength training is the increased use of equipment in comparison to HIIT. To get stronger you do require some sort of overload to push your body and often the easiest way to achieve this is by transitioning to using weights and very slowly over time increasing the amount of weight.

Put simply, strength training is an incredible way to improve our muscles’ strength which in turn will our bodies more capable in and out of our workouts.

Which style is best for me?

Both HIIT and Strength training have innumerable benefits and are an amazing way to move your body. Here at KIC regardless of how you choose to move, we are proud of you for moving and doing something incredible for YOU.

When it comes to choosing between Strength and HIIT training we say ‘why not both?!’ This is because it’s so important to move your body in a way which supports both your cardiovascular health and muscular health. This is why you’ll find Strength and HIIT workouts scheduled in your weekly planner within the KIC app.

However, we do know that throughout our fitness journeys we’ll have specific goals and when trying to achieve these goals, a certain training style might be better suited. So, for anyone who might have a particular goal we hope that you now feel better equipped to identify and make any adjustments to your routine so that your training is best supporting your goals. You’ve got this!

P.s. You’ll get to try our community’s favourite HIIT and Strength masterclasses in the KIC Squad Faves Challenge running this April! Join the challenge now.