What is a common duration for high-intensity intervals in HIIT?

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) typically emphasizes short bursts of intense activity followed by rest or lower-intensity periods. The most common duration for these high-intensity intervals is around 30 seconds to 1 minute.

While the choice of 1-2 minutes is occasionally used for longer intervals in some HIIT programs, it becomes less effective for maintaining the high intensity that HIIT is known for; longer intervals usually lead to fatigue that can diminish the performance quality.

The duration selected for intervals in HIIT should effectively challenge the participant while allowing sufficient recovery between efforts to maintain high intensity across the workout. Thus, while high-intensity intervals can extend slightly beyond 30 seconds, they typically do not reach the longer durations found in other workout formats. Therefore, the option indicating 1-2 minutes represents a less common approach for the high-intensity aspect of HIIT.