HIIT

I've heard so much about HIIT and how much better it is. I thought about giving it a shot, but I'm severly overweight. I'm 6'1" and weigh 284 pounds. Is it possible for someone like me to successfully train in that way? Or, should I wait until I have lost a majority of my weight and am more athletic?

Thanks.

Actually HIIT is more beneficial for someone with a lot of fat to lose than someone who is already in decent shape (not that it's bad for once you're in shape!  It's effective at burning fat and at the same time preventing catabolism of lean muscle). 

HIIT is supereffective at burning fat even after you've finished your workout.  For hours afterward, you'll be burning fat.  EPOC, or excess post post-excersize oxygen consumption, rises as intensity rises.  Oxygen is required to burn fat, so the fact that you're consuming more oxygen post workout to recover from the HIIT means you're burning fat longer than just the 15 minuts you're working out.

What I like most about HIIT is you can adapt your workout to include interval training.  Whether you're working out on a track, swimming laps, riding a bike, using an elliptical or treadclimbing, you can do HIIT.  The best part is, a 15 minute HIIT session is actually MORE effective than an hour of your typical cardio workout.

 Once you've warmed up to get your heart rate going, you're ready to up the intensity.  One "set" is one minute, and most people work out at go all out for 30 seconds (really gotta push those last 10 seconds to make sure you're going 90-95% effort).  Go easy the next 30 seconds to complete the set. 

Depending on your training method, a set could also be a lap around the track or in a pool; it doesn't have to be a time.  Also, you could do 15 seconds sprint, 45 easy to begin or do 15 second sprint, 15 easy. 

Beginners should start at 4 sets before beginning their cool down (Make sure you do a cool down!!).  Work your way up to include an extra set every 3rd or 4th workout - and soon, you should be doing 10 minutes of HIIT.  Everything I've read says not to exceed 15 minutes of HIIT a day, although I'm not exactly sure why. 

There's plenty of helpful (if not confusing) literature about HIIT on the web already, familiarize yourself with some of it so you can get a feel for what you'll be doing in a HIIT session.

 Good luck!

I use the stationary bike for my HIIT. What I do is warm up at an easy-ish level (it seems to vary from bike to bike) for 2min, peddling pretty fast, then up the level intensity by 5 and peddle as fast as I can for 30sec, then back down 5 levels for 30sec and slow down the peddling, then after 30sec up the level and peddle like crazy again - I do that 6 times (6x30sec of hard, 6x30sec of easy), then 2 minutes of cooldown, peddling slow and at a really low level.

It is really tiring so you'll have to figure out a level that's good to start at, maybe like ajefx said with 15sec hard and 45min easy, or maybe 30sec hard 1min of easy. Just remember during the high intensity part you really want to work hard, so do what you can :)

Also you don't have to change the level and the speed, for example you can stay at the same level and just peddle really fast for the hard part, it works too.

This applies to elliptical too if you want to do that, of course you can run instead if you want or don't have access to a gym etc. 

Hmm, I may try it then. I won't be getting my treadmill until Christmas and will try it then.

I had another question. I do TaeBo 6 days a week and have read that after a while doing the same exercises, your body gets used to them and it slows down weight loss. I can't go to a gym. I was wondering how to switch it up a bit. I've tried walking, but I know I don't burn anywhere near the calories that I do when I do the TaeBo. So, I find it hard to only walk.

Any suggestions?

I've been reading a lot about HIIT as well, and want to give it a shot, but I don't have access to a bike, or treadmill or anything. Is there something I can apply HIIT to without any machines?

HIIT is a great workout and remember that you don't have to do sprints or high impact to get your heart rate up...you can do incline on your treadmill, or peddle faster...if you don't have a machine you can do jumping jacks for 1 min and then walk for 1 min...you can also jump rope (even fake it) slow then fast as you can...that will really burn some serious calories. Just think of ways that get your heart rate up and you can apply the theory of HIIT to anything.

Try HIIT. It is a fun way to change things up, also remember that you don't need to do it for as long as you do your slow burn cardio.  Try it once a week instead of one of your other cardio days, I bet you will love it.

Running - light jog or fast walk, and then sprint for your high intensity interval

you could also use a regular bike 

ajefx also mentioned swimming, I think various things would work as long as you can do it at a really easy pace and then be able to really up the intensity of it.

momof2kt, I'm not that familiar with TaeBo but it's probably an effective workout.  You say you're worried about your body becoming "used" to to the workout; that doesn't mean if you do the same workout every day it becomes ineffective.  It means that if you do 30, 45 or 60 min of cardio at a steady pace your body will adjust.  Just changing the intensity, which I'm sure you're doing with Taebo, prevents the body from adjusting. 

 

monkey08us, grab a comfortable pair of running shoes and hit the streets/the local track.  This time of year isn't the best for working out outdoors, but HIIT doesn't require a lot of time.  If you go to a track, such as the one at a HS, you might want to try 100m sprints, then 100m easy, 100m sprint, 100 easy etc.  Also, you can get in a pool and swim.  You don't need any special equipment to do HIIT.  If you've got space in your house, you might want to check craigslist for a bike or some other machine in your area.  I got a fantastic deal on a solid stationary off CL that's really helped with my fat loss.

 

Thank you all for the advice and responses. I was afraid to try it at my current physical condition because of an article I read about it recently. It basically said that HIIT is for people who already in fairly athletic conditions and should not be attempted by severly overweight individuals like me. I wish I could remember where I found it. I'd post it and let you all have a look through it. At any rate, I feel much better about it now and will definately try it.

Most of the articles I've seen that say "those who are severely overweight shouldn't engage in HIIT" seem to be referring to running specifically. Their size may stress their joints and cause additional injuries (which may impede working out and thus long term health). You shouldn't have a problem adapting a HIIT routine to a machine that lessens the impact on joints such as a stationary bike.