FitFirst sessions are High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) sessions that incorporate a perfect combination of cardio, in the form of skipping or rebounding, and functional body weight exercises for a full body workout. But what makes this “HIIT training” so effective? HIIT is the ultimate fat burner as it produces excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, a.k.a. EPOC. It has been proven in numerous studies that HIIT increases your resting metabolic rate for the following 24- 48 hours. Meaning: the fat-burning party isn’t over once you finish your FitFirst session – it keeps going and going and going!

HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, is a training technique in which you give all-out, one hundred percent effort through quick, intense bursts of exercise, followed by short, sometimes active, recovery periods. This type of training gets and keeps your heart rate up and burns more fat in less time. A high-intensity workout increases the body’s need for oxygen during the effort and creates an oxygen shortage, causing your body to ask for more oxygen during recovery. This EPOC afterburn effect is the reason why intense exercise will help burn more fat and calories than regular aerobic and steady-state workouts.

Another study found that rats which performed high-intensity exercises lost more fat than the rats which performed low-intensity exercise. The rats which exercised at 80-90% of their maximum heart rate lost a significant amount of body fat compared to the rats which exercised at 60-70% of their maximum heart rate.

Many research studies found that long endurance activities like marathon running can cause muscle catabolism, or the breakdown of muscle tissue. Muscle catabolism can sometimes last up to 7 days after the endurance activity takes place.

HIIT training on the other hand, can help increase speed, power, endurance and metabolic rate, helping you burn fat faster. Professional athletes incorporate HIIT into their workout routines because it has been proven to improve athletic performance.