As all fitness trainers know, not all exercise is made equally. Especially when it comes to fat burning, high-intensity interval training or HIIT often trumps longer forms of exercise, delivering the same results in just a fraction of the time.

According to a study by Jeffrey W. King of East Tennessee State University, HIIT, wherein periods of intense exercise are alternated with short breaks, raises a person’s resting metabolic rate for 24 hours, allowing them to burn fat overtime.

That being said, clients are creatures of habit, often preferring exercises they’re already familiar and comfortable with over more novel options like HIIT. But what if you told them that their favorite celebrities are actually fans of this training method? In this week’s newsroom post, we round up five stars who are ambassadors of HIIT:

David Beckham

Sprinting helped David Beckham up his game on the field

David Beckham is not just one of the most iconic footballer players in history, he’s also world-famous for his chiseled physique. And he certainly didn’t get his killer body by slaving away on a treadmill.

Rather, the former Manchester United midfielder favors sprints, which helps develop leg power alongside speed and agility. Luckily, this high-intensity exercise can easily be done on Technogym’s new Skillmill, a non-motorized training equipment that is powered solely by the user’s own force. A simple sprinting program could be:

• Run for 2 minutes at 95% of max heart rate, then rest for 1 minute. Repeat 8 times.

Britney Spears

Spin class helps Britney Spears maintain her bombshell figure

The pop superstar is a huge fan of spin class, a kind of high-intensity interval training where the cycling pace and resistance levels are constantly switched up. And if Britney Spears’ lithe and toned body is any indication, it’s a very effective workout indeed. Even a simple interval such as this can help clients work up a good sweat:

•45-60 seconds of full-speed biking at high resistance levels;

•45-60 seconds slow biking at low resistance levels

The Technogym GroupCycle Connect is the ideal equipment for indoor cycling classes because it comes with an audio-visual system that allows trainers to project virtual race tracks a screen, making each session more competitive and immersive.

Piolo Pascual

Actor Piolo Pascual swears by the benefits of HIIT

Award-winning actor Piolo Pascual loves HIIT—and that’s no rumour. In an interview, he says that HIIT “works so well because it’s like being in a sauna and there’s a time element, but you don’t have to lift heavy…it’s better for agility especially when you’re getting old.”

During the interview, Piolo demonstrated one HIIT move he likes to do: battle ropes. This deceptively simple exercise involves picking up a length of heavy rope and vigorously waving it up and down, but it can torch an astonishing 10 calories per minute. To ease clients into this novel exercise, here’s a simple-to-follow routine:

•Wave the ropes up and down for 30 seconds, then rest for another 30 seconds. Repeat for 15 minutes.

Hugh Jackman

The Wolverine loves F45, a training method based on HIIT

If you’ve seen any of the Wolverine movies, you know how jacked Hugh Jackman is. The secret to his ultra-fit body? A new fitness trend called F45. Short for Functional 45, F45 is a training method based on HIIT and involves completing a circuit of 27 different exercises all in exactly 45 minutes. The workouts also change on a daily basis, so the body never gets used to any one routine.

While the complete workout is proprietary (read: membership required), it does incorporate some functional movements that can be given an HIIT twist:

•Weighted Squat Jumps or Mountain Climbers: Do as many as possible in 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds. Repeat for 3-4 sets.

Scarlett Johansson

A-List Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson practices Tabata training

Wolverine isn’t the only superhero who’s a fan of HIIT; Black Widow is, too. Scarlett Johansson likes to practice a variant of HIIT called Tabata, which was developed by Professor Izumi Tabata and his team at the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo. Workouts follow a 20-10 pattern: 20 seconds of all-out exercise, then a 10-second rest, and so forth. This principle can be applied to any number of bodyweight exercises, like:

• Squats (4-minute Tabata)
• Pushups (4-minute Tabata)
• Burpees (4-minute Tabata)

Of course, HIIT is meant to complement rather than replace regular workouts. By incorporating HIIT into a client’s exercise routine, however, you can help them reach their wellness goals faster.

Luckily, Technogym, the world’s leader in wellness technology, has products like the SKILLMILL and the OMNIA suite that are compatible with many HIIT workouts. To learn more about them, just send us an e-mail at info@esports.ph.