Are you HIITing it?

If you want to become super fit, super-fast, research shows intensity interval training is the way to go.

Nowadays people want fast results. This is why high-intensity interval training programmes are popping up everywhere in the fitness world. Essentially high intensity interval training (HIIT) is going as hard as you can for a short period of time (usually 15-45 seconds), interspersed with low-intensity recovery (usually half the length of time you were working for) and then repeating.

Working in intervals allows you to keep pushing into your max effort training zone. This not only allows you to keep burning calories for hours after you have finished, but 30 minutes is all you need to take your fitness to a new level. As a recommendation, you can replace an hour a week of your normal training with one-two 30 minute HIIT sessions (at least 20 minutes where your heart rate is at 85% of its max).

The good news is that squash can easily offer a high-intensity aerobic workout. As you rally, you sprint around the court, back and forth. This keeps your heart working at about 80% of its maximum and is why squash burns so many calories. For the best results HIIT works best when added to your base fitness. Simply add HIIT in alongside a combination of moderate-intensity cardio, functional strength training and flexibility to transform your fitness.

Things to remember:

• Always begin with a warm up – for ideas click here
• Keep the intensity high and duration short
• Always finish with a cool down and recovery

If you really want to improve your squash and take it to the next level, give SquashFit a go.