Peripheral Heart Rate Action Training (PHA) - The Anti HIIT Workout

Following on from my last blog about the risks associated to HIIT , I want to focus this blog on an alternative form of training called peripheral heart rate action training (PHA). PHA provides a lot of the benefits HIIT does, but with fewer risks of injury, and it can be done efficiently from the comfort of your home.

Let’s learn more about PHA to understand how it’s different from HIIT and how you can create your own workout.

 The Difference Between PHA and HIIT

Peripheral heart rate action training is a workout designed to keep your heart rate elevated at a constant level while you alternate between upper body to lower body exercises. It can help build muscle and increase cardiovascular stamina, and achieve similar metabolic adaptations, but unlike HIIT, your heart rate is constantly in the aerobic zone, or 70–80% of your maximum heart rate.

The benefit of staying in this heart rate zone is that you do not start to lose form because of fatigue. HIIT, on the other hand, pushes your heart rate to the extreme with a round of intense workouts that are followed by low-intensity rest periods to bring your heart rate back down. 

With PHA training, you work for longer before you get rest periods, to avoid localized fatigue, you’re constantly switching your exercises from upper body to lower body, which gives your worked muscles a chance to relax but still keeps your heart rate elevated. There is also a balance between push vs pull exercises to prevent you from overworking any one muscle group. By switching from the top half to the lower half of your body, you’re also encouraging blood flow throughout your circulatory system. Your recovery period is extremely important for both HIIT and PHA training.

Compared to a 10-20 minute HIIT workout, the benefits of PHA training may be higher.

The Ideal Workout

 PHA workouts can be accomplished at home using weights and exercises you know you can do accurately. The focus isn’t to go flat out, it’s to allow the amount of time you spend working to build the overall challenge. Depending on your fitness level you might start with 5 exercises, remember the idea is to switch from upper and lower body workouts as well as alternating your exercises that focus on pushing and pulling movements, and for a complete workout, don’t forget to add core exercises. Select a rep range you can manage based on your own level (between 6-12 reps per exercise) and work through the exercises 2-3 times before resting for 30-60 seconds and repeating the circuit between 4-6 times. As you get used to the system, by all means add exercises, up to no more than 10 (2 lower push, 2 lower pull, 2 upper push, 2 upper pull and 2 core exercise). As always make sure to properly warm up before diving into your circuit.

Here is a blueprint of what your routine may look like.

1. Lower Body Push Exercises

• Lunge variations
  • Reverse lunge
  • Walking lunge
  • Lateral lunge
• Squat variations
  • Dumbbell squat
  • Goblet squat
  • Split squat
• Step ups / Step downs

2. Upper Body Push Exercises

• Push-up variations
  • Push ups
  • Close-grip push-up
  • Incline push-up
• Shoulder presses
  • Dumbbell shoulder press
  • Push press
  • Pike push ups
• Dips

3. Lower Body Pull Exercises

• Deadlifts variations
  • Single-leg RDL
  • Sumo deadlift
  • Dumbbell deadlifts
• Hip thrusts
• Kettlebell swings
• Bridges
• Band good mornings

4. Upper Body Pull Exercises

• Pull-up variations
  • Jumping pull-up
  • Pull-up
  • Band pull up
• Row variations
  • Bent over row
  • Gorilla row
  • Upright row
  • Inverted row
• Curls

5. Core Exercises

• Planks
• Hollw holds
• Deadbugs
• Crawl patterns
• Mountain climbers

Before You Start Your At-Home Workout

There are a few things to keep in mind before building your at-home PHA workout. 

Do You Need Jumps?

A PHA routine is designed to keep your heart rate elevated, so ask yourself if you really need jumping exercises. There’s nothing wrong with jumps in general, but you’ll get the benefits without them. If you do choose jumps like jump squats or start jumps, keep them paced and not sprinted. Also note I would not use box jumps in any circuit because of the obvious risks involved.

Watch Out for Pain

If you’ve sustained knee, back, and shoulder injuries in the past, be mindful not to put too much strain on these areas during your workout. Avoid doing similar exercises back-to-back or eliminate some of these exercises entirely. For example for knee pain you might not do forward lunges but reverse lunges instead, and if you have had a shoulder injury in the past potentially don’t pick a shoulder press. For back injuries, don’t do too many exercises that tax the lower back like push ups, bent over rows, KB swings and mountain climbers all in a circuit. 

Be Mindful of Your Technique

It’s important to make sure you know how to do the exercises you choose correctly. Adding movements to your cardio routine that you’ve never done before can lead to injury.

If you’re not sure where to start or you need help getting the right technique, contact me today to learn more about my online personal training.