DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BODYWEIGHT TRAINING AND HIIT
Fitness is the measure of physical capability. In order to achieve overall fitness, one is required to target all the five components of fitness into his/her exercise routine: cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular endurance, flexibility, musculoskeletal strength and ideal body composition. In order to improve musculoskeletal strength, i.e., combined strength of muscles, bones, ligaments & tendons, intense weight training or resistance training is done. To improve stamina & endurance, aerobic activities like jogging, cycling, etc. is done. For improvement in flexibility, stretching routine is the best tool post workout. And, finally a good nutritious diet with the right kind of food is required to improve body composition.
If you Google, there are many types of training methods available out there. To get the most out of a training method, try to understand things- like, for what purpose the method is used, and that training method helps in the development of which component of fitness- in order to clear the confusion, avoid inefficiency, or an unproductive workout. One such confusion arises between Bodyweight Training and HIIT.
Let’s look at each individually.
Bodyweight Training
As the name suggests, it is the type of weight training in which person’s bodyweight is used as resistance. This involve movements like push-ups, pull-ups or chin-ups, bar dips, inverted row, etc. Weight training is the tool to improve strength, whether weight used in training as resistance with external load like dumbbells, barbell, kettlebells, weight plates, etc. or own bodyweight. In the gym, you might have noticed few people doing push-ups, before starting lifting weights, as warm-up and some really struggling to get even single repetition. That’s because depending on person’s strength one may be able to do multiple repetition such that it becomes a cardio for him/her. But, this doesn’t make it a cardio activity. As it is still a challenging task to push or pull or sit and stand with own bodyweight, try picturizing a beginner with 30 % body fat and weighing 100 kg doing pull-ups, one hell of a task!
HIIT
HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training, used to increase intensity in cardio training. It is the combination of medium or intermediate intensity training and high or advance intensity training. An interval training consisting short intervals of high intensity cardio activity and long intervals of medium intensity cardio activity. It is a training method used by an individual looking forward to increase performance, mainly by athletes like sprinters, track runners, etc., to reach to advance from intermediate level. For example, jogging for 5 minutes then running for 2 minutes, again, back to jogging for 5 minutes and again to running for 2 minutes, and so on. Running, jogging, walking, brisk walking, or sprinting will depend on person’s capability and progression.
- Ankit Gaurav, Registered Exercise Professional (REPs India), Certified Sports Nutritionist
