High-intensity interval training tops fitness trends list

For a second year in a row, Canadian fitness experts are touting functional fitness and high-intensity interval training as top workout trends.

Functional fitness involves exercises to work multiple muscle groups, mimics activities like shovelling snow

The Canadian Press Posted: Dec 30, 2015 11:47 AM EST | Last Updated: December 30, 2015

For a second year in a row, Canadian fitness expertsare touting functional fitness and high-intensity interval training

as top workout trends.

Functional fitness, which was second in Canfitpro's annual trendssurvey last year and No. 1 this year, involves exercises that workmultiple muscle groups and mimic activities like shovelling snow orcarrying groceries.

"Typically, a good functional training drill would show evidenceof strength, training and balance all in the one exercise, andcreating muscle tension or tone throughout the whole body," saidTwist Conditioning founder Peter Twist, a former strength andconditioning coach for the Vancouver Canucks.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT), which was last year'stop trend pick, is characterized by intense bursts of exercisefollowed by short rest periods. Some experts believe HIIT is a moreefficient form of exercise that can minimize time spent at the gym.

"Depending on what format you take, it can take you about fourminutes after you've warmed up to be able to get a very goodresponse from your cardio-respiratory system and get many if notall of the same benefits as you would from doing a longerlower-intensity workout," said Rod Macdonald, vice-president ofCanfitpro, whose organization represents fitness professionals,health club operators and industry suppliers.

Adding in compound exercises those that involve more than onemuscle group can also be of benefit, said Macdonald.

"You're actually going to be incorporating a lot in one singlemovement. And compounding those exercises can be really powerful inmaking the most of your time," he said.

For those looking to lose weight in the new year, exercise aloneis not enough, Macdonald said.

"If you're eating too much, it's very hard to do enough exerciseto work it off," he said.

"The average chocolate bar has about 300 to 350 calories in it.The average person will maybe burn that many calories if they did 45minutes on a treadmill.

"Even if they can get through that 350 calories of thatchocolate bar, they haven't done anything to lose that additional

weight and it's not just a chocolate bar they're eating that day.

Healthy eating programs are critical to complement the exerciseto ensure that they're getting the best result."

South of the border, the American College of Sports Medicineranked wearable technology as its No. 1 trend, including use ofgadgets like fitness trackers, smart watches, heart-rate monitorsand GPS tracking devices. Body weight training involving exercisessuch as pushups and pullups ranked second, and HIIT rounded outthe top three.

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High-intensity interval training tops fitness trends list

Functional fitness involves exercises to work multiple muscle groups, mimics activities like shovelling snow

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