Читать книгу HIIT Your Limit. High-Intensity Interval Training for Fat Loss, Cardio, and Full Body Health онлайн

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In 2012, an article in the journal Sports Medicine reviewed fourteen studies that examined the effect of HIIT workouts on cholesterol levels. The researchers found that HIIT has been shown to elevate your body’s “good” (HDL) cholesterol in as little as 8 weeks of training. This is excellent news, considering that HDL cholesterol helps clear out the dangerous plaque that accumulates on the inside of arteries and blood vessels. Increased levels of HDL cholesterol mean your blood has more plaque-devouring scavengers to help get rid of risky plaque build-up. In addition, the scientists who conducted the study believe that HIIT workouts, in combination with a decrease in body fat (or body weight), lower the “lousy” (LDL) cholesterol and other circulating blood fats in your blood. To summarize, there is solid evidence that HIIT workouts are a direct line of defense in combatting heart disease.

What Is the Effect of HIIT on Blood Pressure?

Additionally, the same 2012 article in Sports Medicine concluded people with elevated blood pressure (who were not on any hypertension medicine) positively and appreciably lowered their blood pressure after at least 12 weeks of HIIT training. The research shows that progressive and consistent HIIT workouts may lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure by about 2% to 8%—no small deal. As you may know, systolic blood pressure measures the pressure on your heart when it is ejecting blood and diastolic blood pressure measures it when your heart is refilling with blood. Left untreated for years, elevated blood pressure increases your risk of heart attack and heart failure. Over time, the strain on the heart caused by high blood pressure weakens your heart muscle, causing it to lose pumping strength, and the higher blood pressure damages the inner linings of arteries. It literally scrapes away on the crucial linings of arteries, causing the arteries to lose their elasticity. You want your arteries to be flexible and able to stretch; if they are not able to, your blood circulation will be impeded. HIIT workouts help to counteract high blood pressure and keep your arteries flexible.