Some health experts are urging caution for those taking up high intensity workouts.
In the past two years, there have been more than 500 new high intensity interval training (HIIT) related ACC injury claims.
Data from ACC shows new (279) and active (336) HIIT related injuries from 2020 - 2021 cost $178,254.
The previous year there were 228 new and 270 active claims totalling $135,394.
The vast majority of claims are for soft tissue injuries.
Sports physio Bradley Jones says his Auckland clinic is definitely seeing an increase in gym-related injuries.
Jones told 1News this is partly due to the growing popularity in high intensity workouts.
"High intensity certainly has its place but it's certainly become more popular in the modern world where people are more time poor and trying to get more bang for their buck with exercise.
"Trying to fit more exercise into a shorter amount of time fits with the modern lifestyle and I think that's partly why it's become more popularised."
He said while there are many known benefits of high intensity workouts, it comes with risks.
"A lot of it is about adaptation about whether you are used to and highly adapted to that type of exercise.
"People become more injured when they're doing something which is too much too soon."
Orthopaedic surgeon Mark Clatworthy says people do get caught up in fitness fads but, he doesn't necessarily think it's a bad thing.
He said injury often happens when people get swept up in fitness and do more than what they've trained for.
"There is certainly in the trainer world a sort of belief that you need to go harder to make it better.
"There’s such a massive variability in people’s fitness, the state of their health, tolerance levels and responses to injury."
Clatworthy said the mentality of "no pain no gain" is wrong and will cause injury eventually.
But, personal trainer and owner of Playground Fitness Rhys Jolly says the HIIT method isn't the problem, the exercises being prescribed are.
"Most of the time the HIIT related injuries are coming from an environment where head office is prescribing the workout that needs to fit into any category of person, motivational with the sense of being new and exciting whilst being delivered on a TV monitor.
"This is a perfect storm of throwing either an advanced exercise with no ability to regress, adaptation to the person or an exercise that has 74 different exercises in one that should be seen at the circus," he said.
Jolly says in general, New Zealand needs a much greater focus on health and wellbeing with accessible education from professionals.
SHARE ME