If HIIT (high-intensity interval training) is the cool auntie, SIT (sprint interval training) is the uncle with the social skills of corned beef. The one that no one really wants to hang out with.
But people put up with him because he owns a big boat.
Whereas HIIT revolves around sub-max work and incomplete recovery, SIT is about ultra-high effort with complete recovery.
How to SIT
As an example, you go anywhere between 10-30 seconds of all-out effort and rest until the heart rate returns to normal. Depending on your conditioning, the work-to-rest ratio is anywhere between 1:2-5.
As with HIIT, the total workout should stay under 20 minutes.
Benefits of SIT
– Improved insulin sensitivity
– Increase in lean muscle
– Increase in fat-burning
All of those dive when estrogen and progesterone start flatlining in the perimenopause. SIT is a way to give the body an external stimulus that kickstarts a similar reaction as those hormones used to provide.
Ok Joonas, I get it. Show me an actual workout
Workout 1:
10-15x Kettlebell Swings
Rest until fully recovered
Go again for up to 20 minutes
Workout 2:
30s Hill sprint
Rest until fully recover
Work up to 10 sets
The modality doesn’t matter. Pick whatever you’re comfortable with so you can safely go as hard as you possibly can.
In HIIT, the intensity tends to drop as you get further in the workout. With SIT, the goal is to have the last set as hard as the first set. Hence the long recovery in between sets.
If you haven’t done anything like this for a long time (or ever), start easier. Gradually push your heart rate to those high numbers. The goal is to reach your theoretic max heart rate (220-Your age).
I told you SIT is like the obnoxious uncle you don’t care for. But he’s got a boat, so…
-J