9 Common HIIT Mistakes to Avoid

High intensity interval training (HIIT) is excellent for fat loss and boosting your stamina. If your objective is to increase the oxidative capacity of your muscles and get shredded, you can’t go wrong with HIIT.

Or can you?

In this article we’ll look at 9 of the most common mistakes people make when engaging in high intensity workouts. Be mindful of them and steer clear of these pitfalls. This will allow you to get the best rewards from all that sweaty effort and exhaustion.

1. Not enough effort

HIIT workouts are tough. There’s no denying that. The good news is that they’re not long workouts. Ideally, you should not train for more than 15 minutes. Beyond that and diminishing returns will set in.

During the 15 minutes you’re training, you must work with maximum intensity. You absolutely must not hold back. Give it your best. It’s normal to gasp and pant and groan. That’s just how it is. Not expending maximum effort will diminish the effectiveness of your workout.

2. Training too long

As mentioned earlier, try to stick to 15 minutes or less. The Tabata Protocol, which is considered as one of the most effective HIIT workouts lasts for only 4 minutes.

You can’t train at a high intensity for an hour. Hardly anybody can… and you don’t need to. Short, intense sessions are the key to getting lean and fit.

3. Training too often

When you’re starting off, you can do HIIT twice a week. As you get fitter, you may go up to 3 or 4 times a week. Always try to have a one-day break between each HIIT sessions. Spreading them out is better than doing them consecutively.

Many beginners try to do them daily and end up exhausted and drained. The workouts become dreary and there will be a tendency to skip workouts and finally quit. So, take a break.

4. Insufficient recovery time/too much recovery time

You need sufficient rest intervals between each exercise. Ideally, a 15 to 30 second break will do before you move on to the next exercise in your set. If you go from exercise to exercise with no rest, you’ll be too tired to give your best.

The rest is meant for your heart to slow down a little so that you can give your maximum effort in the next round. On the flip side of the coin, don’t have a 2-minute interval between each exercise. That’s too much time for the workout to be effective.

5. Not prioritizing the workouts

The biggest mistake of all is not working out. Prioritize your HIIT workouts over your TV time, social media, etc. All you need is 15 minutes. That’s just 1 percent of your day. Everybody has time for a quick HIIT session.

6. Using weights that are too heavy

HIIT is about speed. If your weights are too heavy, you’ll be struggling to move the weights. So, pick a weight that will allow you to do about 15 reps in quick succession during your training phase. HIIT is not the same as training for hypertrophy.

7. Not warming up

Spend 2 minutes walking on the treadmill or cycling on the stationary bike. Get your heart pumping a little. Doing a HIIT workout with cold muscles is not a good idea.

8. Training on an empty stomach

HIIT is NOT fasted cardio. Eat a light meal about an hour prior to your workout. This will raise your blood sugar levels a little and you’ll have more energy for your workout.

Don’t worry about insulin spikes, etc. The workouts are so hard that you’ll burn through the fat stores in no time at all.

9. Poor form

Never sacrifice form for speed. Maintain good form at a high pace. Doing the exercises with poor form will make them less effective and you may get injured.

These 9 mistakes are to be avoided at all cost. It’s inevitable for some of them to creep up when you’re not expecting – especially poor form and too much recovery time. These occur when you’re exhausted.

So, be alert and watch out for them. Use HIIT to get shredded and fit. You’ll look and feel better than you’ve ever felt in 3 to 4 weeks.