Aerobic workout between HIIT/Interval workouts?

Does anyone have any input on what to do between HIIT sessions?  Right now I am focused on losing weight and have just shifted from an hour long walk/jog to 30 mins of HIIT.  Do you think it is ok to do a 30 min aerobic workout in between those sessions?

Have you tried the HIIT yet? I regularly run three miles and I just did my first HIIT session of only FOUR LITTLE SPRINTS. I'm dying. DYING.

How the hell are you doing 30 minutes of HIIT, or are you doing more like intervals?

Agreed with spiro - if you are just starting off and doing 30min of HIIT... you aren't doing HIIT.

http://musclemedia.com/training/hiit.asp gives some good information.

And I'd say between the HIIT sessions, you should do weight lifting.

I just did one session so far, from what I read, you should start at the 30 second work/ 90 second rest, and work your way up from there.

And yes! I was just about dying after.

Its 30 minutes counting a 5 min warm up and 5 min cool down, if i did the sprints for 30, I wouldn't be able to type this....I'd be dead.

I've read other articles that advised to ramp up to the 30 sec on, 30 sec off, like the one you linked to above

I do other cardio w HIIT...I have one day where I do a 30 min video or 30 mins of regular on elliptical, and one day where I run (about 60 mins), but I never back to back those days, it's just too hard on my legs ! But I'm mainly focused more on losing by lifting, so cardio has taken a backseat!

Original Post by spirochete:

Have you tried the HIIT yet? I regularly run three miles and I just did my first HIIT session of only FOUR LITTLE SPRINTS. I'm dying. DYING.

How the hell are you doing 30 minutes of HIIT, or are you doing more like intervals?

 Spiro - from what I remember, you are doing NROLFW.  How often are you doing the hitt sessions?  I just started incorporating some HIIT too.  I would like to do 3X a week on non-lift days.  Not sure if it is a good idea or not!

What are your goals?

* Is your main goal fat loss and body appearance? Then HIIT 2-3 x per week may work for you, without any extra cardio

* Do you have other recreational goals requiring cardio endurance -- do you want to go for long hikes or cross-country skiing or dancing for hours? In that case you'll want to add some time/distance conditioning.
* Do you have sport-specific goals like running a 10K? In that case, use HIIT as part of the mix of your sport's training

There is no one right answer, it depends on what you're training for.

Yogagirl:

I've been doing 15 minutes of interval work, one day HIIT (1 minute high intensity; 2 minutes recovery), one day Tabata intervals (two four minute work segments of 20 seconds hard, 10 seconds easy separated by 5 minutes of moderate paced work, works out to 15 minutes with 1 minute to get muscles warm and one to bring my HR back to earth -- these are brutal), and one day of 1:1 intervals for 15 minutes after each NROLW workout.  I do this because of my crazy schedule -- I can only get to the gym 3 days per week.  On my off days during the week, I teach yoga or talk long walks for relaxation.  My weekends are packed with chores, family and studying, so I rarely have time for a formal workout on the weekends outside of my morning yoga practice, which I do religiously for my sanity.  I have not noticed any detriment to my lifting from this.  I do it after the lifting to be sure I don't fatigue my muscles before I lift.  It DOES make it harder to perform well on the intervals, but since my main goal is to lean out by building more muscle, my priority is on the lifting.  It's been working well.  I'll usually do the Tabatas on the bike; the HIIT on the treadmill  and the 1:1 on the elliptical, just for variety's sake.