When you are initially looking to improve your overall health or change your workout routine in general, one of the first things people ask is the tried and tested question, “How long until I begin to see results?” The problem here is that, as with most things, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is the temple that is your body.

When attempting new workout routines, weight training programs, weight-loss programs, or anything involving muscle growth, it is pivotal to understand that you will not see immediate results. While today’s society has become absolutely obsessed with the idea of immediate gratification, the true vision is to work towards long-term goals, not short-term gains.

So, the question for today is: How long can you start seeing HIIT results? The initial answer is about a month, but if you push yourself even harder, it can take slightly less than that. However, it is important that when working out, you listen to your body instead of continually going if you cannot do more.

This article discusses what HIIT is, how fast you can see results, and how you can yield results. We encourage you to continue reading for more information, especially if you are starting to learn these things for yourself. There can be a lot of misinformation, but here at Indoor Cardio Pro, we strive to ensure you are getting the most accurate information possible.

What is HIIT?

While some may find it hard to believe, not everyone has a fundamental grasp on every aspect of physical fitness. To that end, let us break down HIIT, how it works, why someone might want to begin trying it, and what the benefits are in the long term.

Starting with the definition of the acronym itself, HIIT means High-Intensity Interval Training, which involves bursts of incredibly demanding physical exercise alternating with resting periods or low-intensity exercises. The goal is to achieve a workout that helps you burn as many calories as possible and gets your heart pumping faster.

One of the biggest reasons people want to do HIIT training is to burn fat as efficiently as possible. Other benefits include a better physique, increased endurance, stronger mental focus when pushing yourself to personal limits, and finally, the ability to stay in a calorie deficit through pure effort consistently.

How Fast Can You See Results With HIIT?

A simple answer to this question would be that within roughly a month, you can begin to see some small changes. Perhaps you can push yourself a little further with slightly better endurance in some areas, or your muscles are ever so slightly more toned (yes, any progress is good progress), but patience is key.

A few other factors also come into play when discussing how quickly you can begin to see results with HIIT. For instance, if you have not been living the healthiest lifestyle to start with and are not exactly in shape, you might not be able to keep up with your exercise regimen, or you could be pushing yourself too hard or too early.

What Are Ways HIIT Can Yield Results?

As noted above there are several ways HIIT can begin to show results in your life, but the most important things to bear in mind before you begin are as follows:

• Your personal weight at the start of your training
• How in shape you are
• What your eating habits are currently
• How accustomed to being physically active you are

Here are some other helpful ways you can improve HIIT results quickly:

1. Improve Your Workout Compliance

Attempting to pursue a Greek statue’s physique is admirable, to begin with. However, you’ll need the mental and physical fortitude to achieve that goal.

You will also want to start that particular journey by allowing yourself to commit to a regulated workout schedule that is consistent not only on a week-to-week basis. Still, something you can maintain over several months, if not making it a lifestyle (ideal if you truly want to become your best self.)

The more sessions you commit to and continually work through the pain, excuses, and shortcomings to keep your routine up, the more dedication you’ll have to maintain the lifestyle itself and your body by association.

2. Increase Weight Loss if Possible

Assuming you do manage to convince yourself to keep moving forward consistently in routines and a proper diet, you’ll obviously begin losing weight. This is doubly true when coupled with the constant state of calorie deficit that HIIT programs aim to achieve. You will not be shedding weight in a matter of weeks, but you will begin seeing progress, and quickly.

3. Increase Cardio Fitness in Less Time

Endurance is a marathon race, not a sprint, and to that end, your cardio fitness levels improve in much the same way. While an initiate or someone who has little to no physical activity in their lifestyle will be incredibly stressed just doing the most basic of HIIT, as time goes on, your endurance and stamina levels will as well.

Over weeks, months, and years, you’ll find yourself feeling more in control of your pacing, able to keep up with more rigorous activity using less effort, and day-to-day challenges that life throws at you (like chasing your kids around in the yard for example), will become less of a chore, and more fun, as life should be.

Cons of HIIT Workouts

In the same way that there are positives to most things, there are also negatives. It would not be a fair assessment of HIIT if both sides of this topic weren’t weighed adequately in one way or another. To that end, let’s briefly review the cons of utilizing HIIT workout methods.

The first would be burnout or boredom, depending on how you view it. Utilizing the same exact routines and workouts will eventually stagnate even amongst the most devout muscle maniacs, and more importantly, your body will begin to adapt to them.

When these changes inevitably happen, you’ll need to change things up to continue seeing positive growth and keeping up with the challenges your ever-growing body needs to remain in not only a caloric deficit but also muscle tear in order to rebuild stronger than before.

It would be wise to also consider the possibility of overtraining, which can potentially lead to injury. This is doubly true if you are not exactly physically fit. HIIT is something that you might want to consider as a middle ground if you are overweight or obese. Your body is more at risk of serious injury due to insufficient muscle or proper technique.

As you might assume then, it’s easy to say that while HIIT is fantastic for burning fat, it’s not newcomer-friendly, so you may want to stick with the basics and work your way up to doing HIIT exercises.

Is HIIT 3 Times a Week Enough to Lose Weight?

Hypothetically speaking yes you can do HIIT workouts 3 times a week to lose weight.

However, most fitness experts agree that HIIT training should be sprinkled into existing training programs to maximize overall efficiency or woven into existing programs.

It would not be wise to ruin something already working for you, especially when HIIT pushes you to your limits in small bursts.

Challenging yourself is a very important aspect of physical training, but knowing certain limitations to avoid putting yourself, or your body in harm’s way is paramount to keeping the strength that you do gain, as two months of great workouts means next to nothing if a serious injury leaves you unable to hit the gym for a month.

Is 30 Minutes of HIIT Enough to Lose Weight?

The simple answer is yes, but technically, even 20 minutes is enough to begin seeing some weight loss. This also assumes that you maintain a normal workout regimen and a healthy diet to help lose weight.

It wouldn’t be fair to assume you can eat garbage all day, skip out on a longer workout routine, do HIIT for 30 minutes two to three times a week, and assume you’ll somehow still manage to lose weight. It’s been said hundreds of times, but it needs to be said one hundred more: the key to losing weight isn’t necessarily how hard you push yourself; it’s simply remaining in a calorie deficit. 

What Is the 80/20 Rule for HIIT Training?

Let’s start with some clarity. First and foremost, the 80/20 rule is not specifically limited to HIIT and can be extended to many different topics outside of physical fitness in general. The idea is that you utilize 80% of your workout in a low-intensity mode, then shift in the last 20% of that time into high intensity, almost shocking your body into getting more gains than expected and producing more benefits.

Defining this “80/20 area” in the raw time value can be difficult. This is especially true for people who haven’t been physically active. You will get the hang of it when you spend more time hands-on and learn your body’s limits and how to pace yourself properly.

Why Am I Gaining Weight Doing HIIT?

Several concerning factors can be the leading cause of weight gain during HIIT training. The first is that the (High Intensity) part window is too long. This is because your body releases cortisol during this period, which essentially allows your body to enter the “Fight or Flight state.”

Remaining in this area for too long can cause significant damage to your body. Still, as far as weight is concerned, the bigger issues arise from bloating, digestive problems, and weight gain.

Another potential underlying cause of gaining weight while doing HIIT training is that your eating habits aren’t being sufficiently regulated, or you are eating foods incredibly high in fats or sugar while in that cortisol-heightened state.

If we were to boil it down, you simply aren’t maintaining that calorie deficit that’s been mentioned repeatedly, so you are gaining weight, either in muscle or fat, but it will be a weight increase regardless.

Conclusion

Utilizing HIIT in conjunction with a normalized workout routine can produce fantastic results for your physique, endurance, cardio, and mental well-being. The positive benefits will not only bolster your ability to perform when you need to, but your confidence will also increase, allowing you to consistently maintain a healthy lifestyle.