I tried HIIT for the first time this weekend. I did it both on the treadmill and the stairmaster. In both cases, I first did an initial 30 minute "regular" routine and then a 15 minute HIIT routine. It was great, other than having to manually adjust the speeds, I wish at the gym I go to that you caould automatically input the times and speeds so that you dont have to do the speed adjustments. Also, I think I scared the people next to me at first, given that I am 6'2" 205 and during my 30 minute averaging 7.1 mph on the treadmill then going to a walk of 4.3 mph and then up to 11 mph on an alternating basis probably scared them a bit, with my IPOD on I could not tell if I was making any noise.
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High Intensity Cardio Training.
- Thread starter davidjr74
- Start date
Misconceptions about HIIT
It isn't HIIT if you can maintain the run/sprint for over about 20 seconds. It should be REALLY hard. It hits the top of your heart rate level in short time. Your recovery should be something like jogging--not easy, like walking. You should repeat about 15 times, but it should be in a ratio of 1:2 sprinting to jogging, e.g.:
5 min. warm-up
20-30 second sprint
1 minute jogging
20-30 second sprint
1 minute jogging
Repeat 13 more times, then 5 min. cool-down.
*This is EXHAUSTING for athletes.
You should only do HIIT if you can *really* handle it (this is more for athletes to maximize their endurance). Do "regular" intervals if you aren't. There is nothing wrong with this. Most of what has been described in this thread are actually normal intervals. Intervals of any kind are great for fat-burning, especially when used in conjunction with heart-rate monitoring.
You should know what your anaerobic threshold is. You can read about this online, but it's better if you get it measured by a trainer. Mine, for example, is from 150-160 or so. With intervals, the goal is to get my heart rate higher than my AT and to get going again, when it drops below. And example of this is:
5 min. warm-up
1 min. jog at 6.0 mph
1 min. fast walk at 4.0 mph
30 second sprint at 8.5 mph
1 min. walk at 3.8 mph
1 min. run at 7.0 mph
90 second walk at 3.5 mph
30 second sprint at 9.0 mph
&etc.
You vary for each one, rotating faster jogs and runs with sprints. You can achieve a similar result by varying the incline as well. I will throw these in if I'm having shin problems or muscle spasms. I will take slightly shorter walks (or longer ones) according to my heart rate, as I do intervals for 45 minutes--1 hour, depending.
Intervals are great for everyone, especially when used in conjunction with a monitor. You will sweat like crazy! They are fantastic for improving recovery time (which in turn helps for weight lifting, as you can move quicker between exercises without being as tired) as well as burning lots of fat.
Just wanted to clarify between HIIT and Intervals here. In my opinion, you should only be doing HIIT (if you do it) once per week, varied with steady-state cardio and low-intensity/long duration cardio and about 3 weight work-outs. I wouldn't advise doing 3 HIIT sessions and 3 cardios in one week. That is WAY too much. With that much stress on your body, chances are you'll develop a stress fracture or overtrain.
It isn't HIIT if you can maintain the run/sprint for over about 20 seconds. It should be REALLY hard. It hits the top of your heart rate level in short time. Your recovery should be something like jogging--not easy, like walking. You should repeat about 15 times, but it should be in a ratio of 1:2 sprinting to jogging, e.g.:
5 min. warm-up
20-30 second sprint
1 minute jogging
20-30 second sprint
1 minute jogging
Repeat 13 more times, then 5 min. cool-down.
*This is EXHAUSTING for athletes.
You should only do HIIT if you can *really* handle it (this is more for athletes to maximize their endurance). Do "regular" intervals if you aren't. There is nothing wrong with this. Most of what has been described in this thread are actually normal intervals. Intervals of any kind are great for fat-burning, especially when used in conjunction with heart-rate monitoring.
You should know what your anaerobic threshold is. You can read about this online, but it's better if you get it measured by a trainer. Mine, for example, is from 150-160 or so. With intervals, the goal is to get my heart rate higher than my AT and to get going again, when it drops below. And example of this is:
5 min. warm-up
1 min. jog at 6.0 mph
1 min. fast walk at 4.0 mph
30 second sprint at 8.5 mph
1 min. walk at 3.8 mph
1 min. run at 7.0 mph
90 second walk at 3.5 mph
30 second sprint at 9.0 mph
&etc.
You vary for each one, rotating faster jogs and runs with sprints. You can achieve a similar result by varying the incline as well. I will throw these in if I'm having shin problems or muscle spasms. I will take slightly shorter walks (or longer ones) according to my heart rate, as I do intervals for 45 minutes--1 hour, depending.
Intervals are great for everyone, especially when used in conjunction with a monitor. You will sweat like crazy! They are fantastic for improving recovery time (which in turn helps for weight lifting, as you can move quicker between exercises without being as tired) as well as burning lots of fat.
Just wanted to clarify between HIIT and Intervals here. In my opinion, you should only be doing HIIT (if you do it) once per week, varied with steady-state cardio and low-intensity/long duration cardio and about 3 weight work-outs. I wouldn't advise doing 3 HIIT sessions and 3 cardios in one week. That is WAY too much. With that much stress on your body, chances are you'll develop a stress fracture or overtrain.