HIIT (high intensity interval training)

[poofywoofy]

could someone fill me in on this?

can one be too unfit/young to do it since it's high intensity?

 

[Force_of_Will]

I've just started doing H I I T for my cardio to aid in fat loss combined with a weights routine. I don't think you have to be extremely fit, although you should definately have some level of fitness behind you. It's only 'high intensity' relative to your own abilities, so while a high intesity workout for you may not be impressive compared to an athlete, its still high intensity.

Ill explain how I do it:

I do it by doing sprints, but Ive heard of other ways such as skipping rope, or punching bag, or on an excercise bike. I go to a football oval and sprint from one side to the other ( about 120 meters? maybe) this takes about 30 secs, then I walk around the boundary of the field for 30-40 seconds and sprint back across. The basic idea is that you do equal time sprinting (high intensity) as you do on the low intensity portion. I try do as many times as I can, I hope to get to about 15-20 mins of this, but I just started and am not at that level yet.

If you plan on doing sprints I reccomend you do some jogging for a couple of weeks first, otherwise your legs will be very sore if you just go straight to sprints.

good luck!

 

[fitmom]

I prescribe HIIT to almost all of my clients. It does not depend on your fitness level alone. The key word is INTERVAL. During intervals you increase intensity for a period of time and then return to a moderate intensity. These are the intervals. For a person of a higher fitness level, the longer and higher the intesity of the intervals and shorter recovery. for a person of a lower fitness level, adjust accordingly. For a deconditioned individual, a recumbant bike is a good start, or walking intervals.
Build up slowly and stick with it.
Research has only positive feed back on the calorie burning and aerobic benefits of HIIT.

God Bless, J

 

[blessedmomof5]

now this sounds interesting...trying to understand better.....
so you run for 2 mins then walk for 2? or would it have to be longer shorter, is it like getting little bursts of enegry then slowing it down, and that helps you burn more calories?

 

[fitmom]

now this sounds interesting...trying to understand better.....
so you run for 2 mins then walk for 2? or would it have to be longer shorter, is it like getting little bursts of enegry then slowing it down, and that helps you burn more calories?

Yes, basically. J

 

[GabrielAaron]

HIIT is huge in everything from soccer practice to mixed martial arts to "The Biggest Loser" lol it works very well

the strength and conditioning guys over at mma.tv swear by it to get their cardio together for their fights.

i've done HIIT on bikes (stationary and mountain), walk/run and running hills/stairs. best cardio bang for your buck in my opinion

good luck and God Bless

-Gabriel

 

[Trinitylove]

now this sounds interesting...trying to understand better.....
so you run for 2 mins then walk for 2? or would it have to be longer shorter, is it like getting little bursts of enegry then slowing it down, and that helps you burn more calories?

If you're new to fitness that would be a good place to start, but you would want to reduce the time of the intervals and eventually increase the effort exerted.
The 2 minute intervals sounds like basic interval training to me. High intensity interval training is more along the lines of 20 seconds all out no-holds-barred sprinting, and then 40 seconds active rest (walking). This is repeated up to 6 or 7 times.
Hope that helps.

 

[blessedmomof5]

If you're new to fitness that would be a good place to start, but you would want to reduce the time of the intervals and eventually increase the effort exerted.
The 2 minute intervals sounds like basic interval training to me. High intensity interval training is more along the lines of 20 seconds all out no-holds-barred sprinting, and then 40 seconds active rest (walking). This is repeated up to 6 or 7 times.
Hope that helps.

Trinitylove,

actually that was very helpful.....
also i am not new to fitness, so it sounded like something intresting to try. does it have to be done with running and walking only, or are there other ways of getting the same benefits? thank you!

 

[Trinitylove]

Trinitylove,

actually that was very helpful.....
also i am not new to fitness, so it sounded like something intresting to try. does it have to be done with running and walking only, or are there other ways of getting the same benefits? thank you!

you can do it on ellipticals, bikes, stairmasters, etc. very effective. my favorite is on the treadmill.
hope it works out for you!

 

[ImperialPhantom]

Am I supposed to sprint with 100 percent intensity, IE Olympic sprinting? Every time I do that, I can only do about 4 sprints, and I end up sore for 5 days straight - and I am hardly out of shape at all - I lift weights, and can probably run a mile in under 7 minutes if I ran it right now.

 

[fitmom]

Am I supposed to sprint with 100 percent intensity, IE Olympic sprinting? Every time I do that, I can only do about 4 sprints, and I end up sore for 5 days straight - and I am hardly out of shape at all - I lift weights, and can probably run a mile in under 7 minutes if I ran it right now.

How far and how long does it take to do these sprints? Sprinting, weight lifting and endurance running all train different energy systems.

Here is a really great link that explains this: http://www.fun-and-fitness.com/nut-zone/energysys.html

 

[ImperialPhantom]

That question was directed toward people who have experience doing HIIT as it was posted on this thread. It was already explained as 30/30. No offense intended, but I only want people who have done HIIT to answer, because you really need to experience the HIIT soreness to know.

 

[fitmom]

That question was directed toward people who have experience doing HIIT as it was posted on this thread. It was already explained as 30/30. No offense intended, but I only want people who have done HIIT to answer, because you really need to experience the HIIT soreness to know.

Umm, I train my clients and practice HIIT Monday to Friday. I gave you an outstanding answer, you are sore because you are training a different energy system, not because you are out of shape, which I understood you measured by your ability to strength train and run a fast mile?
What makes you think I don't practice HIIT?
See my post on thread # 3.
God Bless, J

 

[christiangal522]

I sorta combined HIIT and circuit training the other day and was I ever sore the next day!!!

I ran one mile at a high intensity, then I did a set of reps for a particular muscle group exercises (3 exercises) (for example, back) then I'd run 3 laps at a moderate-fast pace and do the next set of that muscle group. Then I'd run 3 more laps and do another muscle group. I did my whole body and ended up running 5 miles. WOW, what a workout!!! Of course, i was too sore to run the next day so I think next time I might either break up the muscle groups or use less weight because I was using heavy weights)

(I'm pretty fit so I could get away with this but I dont recommend it for everyone!!)

 

[hermanchauw]

Try to avoid soreness if possible.

If you have just started a training program, the first few days you may have soreness. That's fine.

But if you always have DOMS, then something is wrong with your program. Too fast, too soon. A sure recipe for disaster.

Soreness is not an indication of progress. Ability is.

Try to vary the intensity and/or volume for different workouts.