Why your HIIT workout is a winner for your liver
HIIT has long been lauded as a quick and effective way to build strength and burn fat, now new research shows it’s also a superior way to train for a healthy liver.
There are few things those within the fitness industry love more than to talk about the benefits of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and Adala Bolto, founder of ZADI Training, does not disappoint.
“HIIT is a very effective way to train, consisting of working hard for a short period of time followed by taking a quick break to allow the body to slightly recover before you start again,” Adala says.
“HIIT can burn a lot of calories in a short workout.
“One study reported that it could burn 25-30 per cent more calories than any other workout.
“HIIT can improve your oxygen consumption which assists the health of your heart and vital organs as well as your cardiovascular fitness, and it can also help to lower your blood pressure, blood sugar and heart rate, among other things.”
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How HIIT can help liver health
Impressive enough, but now Australian research suggests HIIT (as well as moderate-intensity continuous training or MICT) is effective for improving non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, one of the most prevalent liver diseases in the world.
For the review, researchers from Western Sydney, the University of Sydney and the University of Queensland, screened over 28,000 studies and found that both HIIT and MICT resulted in clinically significant liver fat reduction.
The biggest surprise for researchers? HIIT workouts were found to be just as effective as MICT workouts in reducing liver fat despite requiring less time and energy, explains lead author, Dr Angelo Sabag.
“Excess liver fat accumulation (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) can lead to an array of cardiometabolic complications, which can include elevated blood sugar and triglyceride levels,” Dr Sabag says.
“As a result, it is unsurprising that having fatty liver disease puts you at a much higher risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
“Aerobic exercise, or cardio, has previously been shown to reduce liver fat, but it was unclear which form of cardio was best.”
Dr Sabag said being able to achieve optimum outcomes in less time with HIIT is great news for those with a busy lifestyle and little time.
How to HIIT – any way, any time
The positives of HIIT don’t end there; the style of training is so versatile exercise aficionados (and the more… reluctant among us) can always find an activity that suits their needs, interests and lifestyle.
“You can do sprints such as sprinting around 100 metres and then walking back slowly to rest before going again,” Adala suggests.
“A circuit is also a good option.
“Just choose a bunch of exercises and cycle through them for 40 seconds on and 20 seconds off as an example, although you can change up the timings.”
For best effect, aim for at least three HIIT sessions per week.
“The majority of the studies included in our meta-analysis incorporated exercise programs consisted of three exercise sessions or more per week,” Dr Sabag says.
“Furthermore, the World Health Organisation recommends adults should accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise per week for general health and wellbeing.”
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Written by Dilvin Yasa.
