HIIT questions

I woke up this morning and had to talk myself into getting on the treadmill for my HIIT session - I knew the pain that would directly ensue......geez.

It's 30 mins  - but - my heart feels like it's going to explode and I instantly break a massive sweat (from a girl that only "glizzens"...LOL)  My legs feel like they might literally fall off and everything in me is screaming. 

This is session #2 - I've been reading about this and I don't know if I'm doing it right - but something is working.  I ran as hard as I could on a slight incline (#3)  for barely 30 seconds -  I mean barely 30 seconds - I had to rest for more than 60! Pathetic really, but I'm just starting. 

This program says the 1st week you do 6 of these sprints for 30 seconds and 6 rests for 90 - so I guess I'm doing it right?  During the rest I have to slow down the treadmill to about 3 mph or so - sometimes 3.5 after I've caught my breathe!  Then I turn it up again to 7 mph or 7.3 (as of late).  All this for 30 mins- sometimes 25 if I feel like I'm going to die.  I did a light jog (4 mph) for the remaining 5 mins - is that the right kind of cool down?

Any suggestions?  Has anyone seen great success doing this?  I'm new at it and want to make sure I'm getting the right bang for my buck.

On days I don't do HIIT and sometimes days I do - I usually do the circuit training or free weights - is that ok to do?  I'll have 1 rest day a week - meaning no exercise.  I'm watching my diet and counting calories.

What's your success routine?

HIIT is brutal when done correctly. Sprinting is an excellent HIIT activity. It takes time to build up. This is how I do it. I sprint on the treadmill. I warm-up at 4.1-.4.3 for 2-4 minutes. Then I run at 7.5 for 30 seconds. Then sprint at 8.8 for 40 seconds. Bring it back down to 4.3 for 1 minute and then repeat 6 times. After the first 6 I do 4 more, not waling first I just sprint at 8.8-8.9 for 60 seconds. This takes me about 15-20 minutes. I follow with 20-25 minutes of fast paced walking.

I do that 3 times a week. Normal cardio 3 other days. I lift 3 times a week for an hour. Opposite days of HIIT.

HIIT and lifting are both excellent fat loss activities. They are two of the only types of activities that keep your metabolism reved for days after and keep burning calories for hours after the activity is complete. Unlike regular steady state cardio which burns calories while you are doing it and for a very short time after. HIIT is much better for fat loss than steady state cardio. But steady state has its place and I believe a mix of the two is best for overall health. You don't want to do HIIT training or lifting 2 consecutive days. You must allow for recovery time. When you lift you tear your muscles. If you don't allow for recovery you will make yourself sick and definitely not see the results you want. Muscles actually grow during recovery. Not during the actual activity. HIIT works pretty much the same way.

HIIT and lifting are also two of the only activities that naturally increase HGH (Human growth hormone) It is an essential hormone that we have a lot of when we are young. It is considered the aging hormone. As we age the this hormone declines it leads to weight gain, fat gain, fatigue, bone loss, muscle loss and decreased stamina.

When you regularly engage in HIIT type activities it increases that hormone level naturally so that is just an added benefit.

HIIT training is excellent for people who are in good health, If you have any health problems you should get an ok from the Doctor before doing HIIT.

 Appreciate the response.  I'm sure after doing this for a consistent amount of time that I will build up the endurance I seek and loose fat in the process.  It's just Hell ...lol.

I try to do cardio at least 5x week - whether it's elliptical or treadmill...between 30 - 60 mins.  I will incorporate lifting on alternate days from HIIT and see where that gets me.

I read that HIIT will shed fat faster than anything else - as you cited that they burn calories long after you've completed the activity.

How long before you've seen success?  I've been working out for about a month now - tweaking things here and there and tweaking calorie levels as well - but I'm wondering why I haven't seen a significant decrease - especially in clothes, not so much what the scale says - I understand that building muscles weighs more than fat etc etc....but I would like to drop a pants size!

I have read about people doing this mysterious "HITT" .... what does it stand for? What is it?

Original Post by lizzziekins:

I have read about people doing this mysterious "HITT" .... what does it stand for? What is it?

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) or sprint interval training.   It's a routine or strategy that improves performance with short training sessions that are beneficial to burning fat in a short and intense workout. 

And I see littleshelly again!  I'm soooooo envious of her guns!  If HIIT, along with weight training, can get me a set of those, I'm all for it!

Try building up gradually... you can't very well stay on the program if you hurt yourself

http://www.intervaltraining.net/HiitTraining- 30.html

Any idea how many calories it actually burns in 30 mins?  I know it probably differs depending on intensity - but in general?

From what I have read.... HIIT should start off fairly easily so you DON'T dread it and quit or get an injury. The suggestion I have seen is....

Week 1 (do 2-3 times during the week)

warm up--2 minutes at your level 3 (either a bike, eliptical, or whatever)

1 minute at your level 5

2 minutes level 3

1 minute level 5

2 minutes level 3

1 minute level 5

2 minutes level 3

1 minute level 5

2 minutes level 3

TOTAL = aprox. 14-15 minutes 

Week 2 --same but alternate level 5 and level 6 on your high intensity

Week 3--same but try for all level 6

Week 4-- same but try to increase intensity a LITTLE bit (occasional level 7)

Hopefully, you get the idea. The first week or two, the intensity increase is moderate! Then every week or so, increase the difficulty of the intensity -- just a little bit. The theory is that if you start "all out" you will burn yourself out and quit! Just like you are feeling now! The book said you only needed to do 15 minutes 2-3 times a week. You have to be the judge of what a "level" is. If you are using a HRT, my understanding was that your low level was at 70% of max. Your upper level should move toward 85%, (maybe starting out at only 80%) and eventually get closer to 90-92%. Again, the idea is to get your body used to the workout. You have to train your body... you will get very discouraged if you rush this kind of training.

Good luck!

As littleshellys said it is a great activity for losing weight and increasing your fitness level.  I believe it is pointless in just losing weight if you are not increasing your fitness level. 

I have been doing HIIT for nearly 8 weeks, with weight training and other cardio work and have lost 11 kgs or 24lbs in that time.  But more than the weight loss I feel and am starting to look like an athlete.

It is hell, but pain is aprice that must be payed for happiness.

Good luck and stick with it, it is well worth it.

It is a process and tweaking and finding out what works for you is a great idea. I do that too. Once I really got into heavy lifting and HIIT I saw a lot of fat loss. Not so much weight loss but fat loss and muscle gain. I don't need to loose any more weight so I maintain now. You are doing fine. Keep up the good work. Alternate the weight days and HIIT. Eat clean/balanced. Make sure you are getting proper nutrition and using food as fuel and you will see results. Drink plenty of water it really helps.

Original Post by mellisaann:

Any idea how many calories it actually burns in 30 mins?  I know it probably differs depending on intensity - but in general?

 

 

It's not really about the calories burned in the amount of time you're actually doing HIIT (which, by the way, should only take about 10-20 minutes TOPS because it's extremely intense), but about how it enables your body to burn up to 9 times more fat over the next 24 hours (give or take, that's supposed to be an average).

And a word about how long or often you do true HIIT - like I said, it's actually dangerous to go longer than 10-20 minutes because of the impact on your heart. You're raising & lowing your heartrate so drastically, that it's best to do HIIT 2-3 times per week. Now, I'm speaking of true HIIT - which entails pushing yourself (regardless of what kind of exercise it is) almost to the point of falling over, for only 20-30 seconds, then a recovery period of 1-3 minutes. If you can do the intense part for longer than 30 seconds without feeling like your head or heart will explode, you aren't doing true HIIT. BUT, the upside is that you don't waste 45 minutes of your life, 4 days a week, on a cardio machine and you burn WAY more calories overall.

THAT's what I want to hear! - I spend a great deal of time on the elliptical - roughly an hour 4-5 x week.  

I'm not doing this just to lose weight - although that is #1 reason.  But, I want to run a half marathon eventually.  I'm starting basically from scratch here - need to build endurance and train like an athlete.  I'm not looking for a quick fit to weight loss but I'm looking to re-shape everything about my physical and increase performance/endurance.

I think I pushed it to hard the first few times - I pulled a muscle (slightly) in my left leg and it's been nagging me.  But - I'll remain faithful to the training even if I have to repeat week 1 all over again.

Thanks for the great responses!  Been really helpful!

Original Post by littleshellys:

It is a process and tweaking and finding out what works for you is a great idea. I do that too. Once I really got into heavy lifting and HIIT I saw a lot of fat loss. Not so much weight loss but fat loss and muscle gain. I don't need to loose any more weight so I maintain now. You are doing fine. Keep up the good work. Alternate the weight days and HIIT. Eat clean/balanced. Make sure you are getting proper nutrition and using food as fuel and you will see results. Drink plenty of water it really helps.

 Thanks for this!  When you do 'heavy lifting' - is this free weights or circuit? How much weight do you lift and how many reps?  

Could you share your stats? - how many calories do you eat while doing this training?  I found I was starving after the 1st session! Not initially - but that day I was starving.

Original Post by mellisaann:

Original Post by littleshellys:

It is a process and tweaking and finding out what works for you is a great idea. I do that too. Once I really got into heavy lifting and HIIT I saw a lot of fat loss. Not so much weight loss but fat loss and muscle gain. I don't need to loose any more weight so I maintain now. You are doing fine. Keep up the good work. Alternate the weight days and HIIT. Eat clean/balanced. Make sure you are getting proper nutrition and using food as fuel and you will see results. Drink plenty of water it really helps.

 Thanks for this!  When you do 'heavy lifting' - is this free weights or circuit? How much weight do you lift and how many reps?  

Could you share your stats? - how many calories do you eat while doing this training?  I found I was starving after the 1st session! Not initially - but that day I was starving.

 I see more benefit from free weights but I also use the nautilus equipment at the gym. I use free weight first. 10-20LB depending on what I am doing. Machines anywhere from 40-60LB. I do 4 sets. 10 reps each most of the time. I also do a lot of push-ups, sit-ups, squats, lunges, crunches and other ab work and planks. I am hungry after I am done. I eat 1700-2100 calories a day. I eat clean/balanced.