Review: Author Does Not Know HIIT!
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 02 7, 2013
I bought this book because of the good reviews, reviews after having read the book I can only assume are friends of the author.Firstly, the most detailed part of the book was the contents page and my kindle reader said I was 10% of the way through the entire book by the time I reached chapter 1. By the time you get through chapter 2 you have already read three separate disclaimers, telling you to get clearance from a doctor before taking part in HIIT. While this is good advice, it sure does get repetitive.Once the book starts properly, I became confused by, "Thus, HIIT with anaerobic exercise will produce more results than HIIT with aerobic exercise." I've read over that line several times and I still don't know what is meant? It is not explained. HIIT is exercise with both anaerobic AND aerobic, not either/or.It was actually an irritating read due to the amount of times it repeats; warm up and cool down, warm up and cool down, over and over again. Yes, good advice! But how many times do you need to provide filler content?I was interested in reading about the Little Method, which was new to me. However this only lasted for about a page and by the end of it, I was not the wiser. I give you two stars instead of one because you have pointed me in the direction of this method, which I shall research.The book does indeed emphasize the concept of post exercise fat burning which it hammers home reasonably well, but the book does not mention any of HIIT's other benefits like increased VO2 max, improved athletic performance, endorphin levels and improved anaerobic threshold, or if it did, then it was so short that I missed it. The book also fails to mention Fartlek training at all and considering the depth it goes into describing Tabatas, I find it hard to believe.In the middle of the book you are told that HIIT should not be performed any more than twice a week and then at the end you are told that three times a week or every other day is fine. As somebody who has read studies on HIIT I can tell you that cardiac patients have no problems performing HIIT three times a week and my clients certainly manage every other day.Finally, the real kicker for me was in the advanced section where you're advised to sprint for 60 seconds, rest for 30 and then repeat 10 or 12 times. I've been doing my own HIIT sessions for ten years and I can tell you, despite being 33, you cannot possibly sprint for 60 seconds. It's IMPOSSIBLE! In fact if you look anywhere on the internet for anybody at all who does HIIT regularly, the most advanced anybody ever does is the 30/30 splits. Which is advanced! This 2:1 ratio with a 60 second sprint bout would be impossible for even the most physically fit specimen in history.Conclusion: Do not buy. This is not an author who knows his subject.