Does HIIT help with endurance? Can I do both endurance and HIIT training?

So I joined the gym about two weeks ago to lose weight and get fitter. Beforehand the only exercise I did was maybe 1-2 hours a day of walking, so I'm not that fit. I started off with doing a bit of cardio on the machines, but I can't really run for too long, so I'd just alternate machines, get my heart rate up etc, but I want to be able to run for like 30 mins.

Last week I decided to start doing HIIT, as it is apparently more effective for weight loss than cardio. I've been doing it on the stationary bike, but I don't really like it so I'm going to try sprints outside.

My question is, if I continue to do HIIT two/three times a week, will it help with endurance, i.e. will I be fitter and able to run for longer, or will I have to train for that separately? I've read that doing any more cardio a week is unnecessary and possibly detrimental, so should I alternate HIIT and simple running? I want to get weight training (2/3x week) in too, is all this too much?

I feel like I'm wasting a day if I don't go to the gym, so I usually get about an hour of walking in on days off.

In case you need to know: I'm 19, 5'4/160cm, 175lb/79kg, GW: 145/65kg. Eat about 1500-1700, depending on how much exercise I do, and I usually do at least 30mins walking a day as well as the gym. Thanks!

I don't see a problem with doing both longer cardio and HIIT as well as weight training since I do them altogether and it seems to work for me. Since you are just starting out it's probably better to start with off slowly and see how you handle everything. You will find that HIIT drains your muscles of glycogen so you will have impaired longer distance cardio for a day or two after each HIIT season, but I've done HIIT right after 5KM runs -- this is not recommended for a beginner tho and it really HURTS.

Since you just joined a gym you might want to talk to a trainer there and get an idea of how to mix all three activities and how to work up your endurance to handle all. You will likely need to periodize the HIIT and slower cardio at first, but as your fitness level increases you should be able to do both the same week. However, having personalized fitness advise by a professional trainer is always a good starting point.

Ok, sounds good. Thanks :)

I also like including a mix of both regular cardio and HIIT. However, I always wondered the same thing myself if HIIT improved endurance. I only used to do HIIT. However, the funny thing is that ever since I started adding in cardio on Tues/Thurs in between lifting/HIIT days, my HIIT workouts have been improving. So endurance work, may have a positive effect on HIIT. Or it could just be pure coincidence and my body is getting in better shape HIIT wise.

What I like to do :

M/W/F - Lift and do HIIT afterward. I like doing body-weight exercises for HIIT like burpees, mountain climbers, squats, etc..

Tues/Thurs -  I do 30 minute sessions of less intense cardio. The reason why I say "less intense" and not steady state is because I don't go at the same speed for 30 minutes. When you do the same speed for an extended period of time, your body can adapt and begin to target muscle. A good workout for me is switching off repeatedly between running and walking.

After a three minute warm up, I will do 6 five minute rounds in which I run for 3 minutes and walk for two. I start out having the runs be @ 7.0 and as I get tired I lower it to 6.5 and eventually 6.0. For the walking portions, I usually go half of the running speed (3.5 for 7's, etc). The running gets my HR up and the walking brings it back down. By constantly varying my HR, my body will have harder time adapting which is what I want. According to the treadmill, 30 minutes of running/walking burns around 400 calories. However, I don't know how accurate that actually is.

Original Post by vyperman7:

I also like including a mix of both regular cardio and HIIT. However, I always wondered the same thing myself if HIIT improved endurance. I only used to do HIIT. However, the funny thing is that ever since I started adding in cardio on Tues/Thurs in between lifting/HIIT days, my HIIT workouts have been improving. So endurance work, may have a positive effect on HIIT. Or it could just be pure coincidence and my body is getting in better shape HIIT wise.

I would say definitely not a coincidence since improving your Vo2Max should help your recovery during your HIIT especially at the end of your routine. Remember that longer duration cardio improves red blood cell utilization and is compatible with HIIT goals as well.

I used to not be able to run for longer than 5 minutes.  I got up to 45 minutes pretty quickly.  I will share with you how I did it.

First I got on the treadmill.  I set the time for 30 minutes and started running at 6.0.  I ran until I couldn't stand it anymore (about 5 minutes).  Then I walked until I felt I could run again.  I started running... etc... until the 30 minutes was up.

I would do this every other time I worked out.  The other days going back to the HIIT on the elliptical.  Very soon I realized my running spurts were getting longer and longer.  All of a sudden one day I did the whole 30 minutes.  The next time I did 45.

You just have to keep pushing yourself and you can do it.

Original Post by vyperman7:

1. However, the funny thing is that ever since I started adding in cardio on Tues/Thurs in between lifting/HIIT days, my HIIT workouts have been improving. So endurance work, may have a positive effect on HIIT. Or it could just be pure coincidence and my body is getting in better shape HIIT wise.

2. M/W/F - Lift and do HIIT afterward.

3. By constantly varying my HR, my body will have harder time adapting which is what I want.

1. Wouldn't doing HIIT regularly make future HIIT sessions easier? I guess endurance training and HIIT would have a positive effect on eachother, both improving your fitness really.

2. You can do HIIT after lifting?! I did some weight training today - weights machines, free weights, lunges, a bit of ab work - trying to target everything, and afterwards I was seriously pooped, there's no way I could've done HIIT. Maybe that's because I'm not THAT fit..?

3. So it's better to vary your heart rate during cardio? I always thought you were supposed to keep it raised over a certain level for it to be effective. How much do you vary it?

Original Post by beaniej:

I used to not be able to run for longer than 5 minutes.  I got up to 45 minutes pretty quickly.  I will share with you how I did it.

First I got on the treadmill.  I set the time for 30 minutes and started running at 6.0.  I ran until I couldn't stand it anymore (about 5 minutes).  Then I walked until I felt I could run again.  I started running... etc... until the 30 minutes was up.

I would do this every other time I worked out.  The other days going back to the HIIT on the elliptical.  Very soon I realized my running spurts were getting longer and longer.  All of a sudden one day I did the whole 30 minutes.  The next time I did 45.

You just have to keep pushing yourself and you can do it.

Yeah see, that's me right now. To be honest I haven't actually tried running til I can't anymore, I just stop when it gets unpleasant and walk on an incline haha. I'll try what you did, because I want to be able to run for 30 mins, I think that's a good achievement. Just for any future times when I may be running around, I don't wanna be the one who gets tired quickly and has to slow down and walk. I plan on doing HIIT with outside sprints so if I make that 20 mins or so it might be easier to run for that long at a constant pace in the future.

Original Post by laur3nmae:

1. Wouldn't doing HIIT regularly make future HIIT sessions easier? I guess endurance training and HIIT would have a positive effect on eachother, both improving your fitness really.

2. You can do HIIT after lifting?! I did some weight training today - weights machines, free weights, lunges, a bit of ab work - trying to target everything, and afterwards I was seriously pooped, there's no way I could've done HIIT. Maybe that's because I'm not THAT fit..?

3. So it's better to vary your heart rate during cardio? I always thought you were supposed to keep it raised over a certain level for it to be effective. How much do you vary it?

1) Doing HIIT would make future HIIT easier down the road. I just find it to be a funny coincidence that my HIIT sessions started getting better when I added in a few sessions of less intense cardio per week. I mean there is a big difference. After lifting, I would only be able to go for 11-12 minutes using a 20/40 interval scheme. However, after adding in the other cardio sessions, I can now go for 15-17 minutes.

2) I won't lie. Doing HIIT after lifting is TOUGH. However, I really like to challenge myself and force myself to dig down deep. Since lifting puts your body in a fat burning state, doing cardio afterward helps to speed up the process and HIIT can help accelerate it even more. Finally, by doing both on the same day, I am getting more recovery time in terms of anaerobic work.

3) If my goal was to build my endurance, then it would be more effective to go for an extended period of time at the same speed. However, my main concern is cardiovascular health and body-fat loss.  If I go for an extended period of time at the same speed, my body is more likely go into a catabolic state and target muscle instead of body-fat. By switching speeds and varying my HR, my body will have a harder time adapting. I guess what I am doing could be considered interval training, but I don't go hard enough to take my HR into anerobic levels.