High-intensity interval training (HIIT) means different things to different people. For some, it’s about sprinting on a track or pounding away on a rowing machine. For others, HIIT means battling through a CrossFit-style regimen of burpees, pullups, and box jumps. Still ,others think of HIIT as a grueling outdoor workout simulating the challenges found in an obstacle race. There’s no right or wrong answer, but come summer your HIIT sessions should take the form of beach workouts (if you live by the water).
HIIT is less about the content of the workout than the protocol. It’s the opposite of taking a long easy jog or going through the motions of a familiar strength training regimen or yoga flow. The term high-intensity interval training could be considered redundant since the alternating work-rest nature of interval training is inherently high intensity. But many people in our short attention span culture struggle to maintain any sort of intensity when working out, preferring to zone out listening to podcasts or, worse, check social media and email while “training.”