The HIIT thread - Post all questions, routines, and experiences here

Now I know I am not a moderator. However, it seems like we always have at least 1 or 2 new threads dealing with HIIT popping up. People either want to know what HIIT is, if they are doing it right, or the various ways HIIT can be done. I say that instead of clogging up the board with all of these HIIT threads, we limit it to one thread. I will leave it up to Melkor whether or not he wants to sticky this thread at the top with the others.

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How HIIT is Done : HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) mixes fast short bursts going as hard as you can with recovery periods. The "sprint" intervals where you go all out as hard as you can, usually go for 20-30 seconds and the recovery intervals usually go for 60-90 seconds. You start out with a three to five minute warm up, and then for 15-20 minutes, repeatedly go back and forth between your sprint and recovery intervals. Then finish with a 5 minute cool down. It is recommended that you only do HIIT up to three times per week on non lifting days or if you do it on a lifting day, wait 6-8 hours after your lifting session.

The Benefits : HIIT has become an extremely popular method of cardio due to the fact that it gets amazing results in a considerable less amount of time than regular cardio does. You only have to spend 20-25 minutes three times per week doing it. It specifically targets bodyfat, spares muscle, and raises metabolism for up to 12-36 hours after you are done. It also gives you an unbelieveable cardiovascular workout because you are working your heart at two different speeds (90-100% in the sprint intervals and 60-70% in the recovery intervals).

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Use this thread to post any articles you have found on HIIT, any routines you want to share, or overall experiences with HIIT and the results you have gotten from it.

dana it is pronounced hit 

when I do my intervals I definately push myself hard enough that I can't talk- heck I can barely breath!!!

How much should you eat on HIIT days...I dont know how much to eat back...

if you're trying to lose weight then you want a deficit so don't eat more than usual.  If you're trying to maintain then eat a couple hundred extra calories.

Original Post by vyperman7:

In all honesty, it seems like you have just been doing regular interval training and not HIIT. The whole point of doing HIIT is to go all out on every single sprint interval. That is why it is much better to do HIIT on a stationary bike because you don't have to worry about changing speeds. It is simply a matter of pedaling as hard as you can for the sprint intervals and then dialing it back for the recovery intervals.

A great way to work up on HIIT is to do 15 minutes of 30/90 intervals(100% effort on the 30's) the first week and then to add a minute to the HIIT porition every week after. So 16 minutes of 30/90, then 17 minutes, etc.. After you get to 20 minutes of 30/90 intervals, start to take time off the recovery intervals until you can do 20 minutes of 30/60's.

Ok, so I gave HITT on the exercise bike today a shot after doing intervals on the treadmill for the last couple weeks. Not quite sure I am doing it right though...I was doing 30s at 100% effort and then 60s at probably 50% effort. My legs were definitely fatiguing during the 30's but my heart rate never got over 150 (according to the bike), I usually see it hover around 165 on the treadmill. I did 17 cycles (25.5 minutes)...with a 5 minute warmup and cooldown.

Original Post by nsquires:

Ok, so I gave HITT on the exercise bike today a shot after doing intervals on the treadmill for the last couple weeks. Not quite sure I am doing it right though...I was doing 30s at 100% effort and then 60s at probably 50% effort. My legs were definitely fatiguing during the 30's but my heart rate never got over 150 (according to the bike), I usually see it hover around 165 on the treadmill. I did 17 cycles (25.5 minutes)...with a 5 minute warmup and cooldown.

How high did you have the resistance on the bike? If you had the resistance up too high, it could affect how high you are able to get yoru heart rate up. The secret to getting your heart rate up on the bike is to get the rpm's as high as possible. The higher the resistance, the lower the rpm's because you end up pedaling slower. When I use the bike, I select manual, and then put it on 5 out of a possible 20. When I go all out on my sprints, I get the rpm's up into the high 150's to low 160's which puts my heart rate in the 180's-190's.

So make sure that when you do use the bike, that you have the resistance set to a lower level so you can pedal faster.

Obviously, but i mean to say I have a certain net intake in mind everyday and when I'm on machines i can approximate how much I burn from the calorie burn counter on the machine so I know how much to eat back but HIIT from what I've heard continues to burn calories throughout the day as well as I don't know exactly how fast I run so I can't log it in the activity log or dip below 1200

I intergrated hiit into my program about two weeks ago.

I do 10  sixty yard windsprints(walking back to my starting point each time)

and i have been totally stoked with my results.  My overall fat loss and definition have improved dramatically in a short period of time. if you want that "ripped" look in as short of time as possible this is the way!  HIIT is all I hoped it would be. ( still resistance train 4 days a week and follow reduced calorie diet)

So I tried running HIIT today.  I've tried it before running up and down my street, but I live in a hilly neighborhood so I'm not sure if it was all that effective.  So I drove to my high school's track, jogged twice around the track (5 min), then stretched.  I only stretched for five minutes because I had an appointment at 3pm and wanted to have time to shower after.  I ran as hard as I could on the straight parts of the track (about the length of a football field), but I don't think it took me 30 seconds to do...I'm thinking 15 (tho I didn't check my watch exactly when I started).  Then I jogged the first curve, went all out the next straight-away, then I had to walk the rest of the curves.  I only did 8 of the "sprints" because it rained while I was out there (forecast was spotty storms) and I needed to go home to check the house/close the windows, before another storm blew through...plus there was my appt.  Now I don't know if I was at 100%...I tried the talk test saying, "Can't sleep. Clowns will eat me." That was my mantra for running fast.  I couldn't say it in one go...more often than not all I could get out was, "Ca-ca-ca."  The way I calculated my speed (800yds=2400ft=0.45mi for ~120sec=2min) makes 13.6mph my sprint speed..don't know if that's accurate. It felt like maybe a speedy clown could have gotten me at the end of the sprint....at about halfway through the straight-away I think I started to slow so I repeated my mantra in my head (tried to say it out loud) and I think I kept the speed up.  At the end of all this  (I think it was somewhere between 10-15 minutes) my legs weren't dead tired but my chest felt like it would explode.  I don't know if that means I am that out of shape, I wasn't breathing right (please someone teach me how), or if it was my allergies.  Maybe it was all of the above.  My abs and shoulders felt slightly sore, and the left part of my rear around the hip joint is sore.  So basically I'm asking if this is a good start.  I really wish I had a good way to exercise indoors...I HATE my outdoor allergies.

I did my first HIIT session today and I"m not sure I did right.  I did it on a stationary bike because of the recommendation that it's tricky to go up and down on the treadmill as easily.  I did a 5 minute warmup at a regular pace, then I did 30 seconds of doing it as hard as I could, then 90 of a regular pace and so on until I got to 20 minutes.  Then I did a 5 minute cooldown at a regular pace. 

I don't really feel much from it.  I was sweating during but not a lot compared to weight training and walking/jogging on the treadmill.  I'm thinking one thing that might have messed me up was that when I went for it in the "power period", my feet would sometimes slip off the pedal and I couldn't really go as fast as I was able.  This could be because I haven't been on a bike in a while or maybe I was going too fast.  Do you think this has to do with why I am not really feeling it?  I've heard people say it's really draining and I am not feeling that so much right now.  I can tell I worked my legs but that could be from the bike alone. 

Should I try it on the treadmill next time or does it sound like I did pretty much everything you're supposed to?

Thanks in advance.

jonathius,

I would recommend finding a stationary bike that has straps on the pedals to make sure your feet stay on the pedals better. Another thing it might be, is that you had the resistance level too high. Some people make the mistake of thinking that they have to jack the resistance way up to get an effective work out. When it is actually the other way around when doing HIIT. For HIIT on a bike, it is all about how high you can get the rpm's. If you have the resistance too high, it affects how fast you can pedal. Now I am not saying you had the resistance too high. That is just one thing that people do sometimes, so I thought I would mention it. When I do HIIT on the bike, I choose manual and then I use level 5 out of 20 for resistance. When I pedal @ 100% I get the rpm's up into the high 150's to low 160's. This really gets my heart rate up.

Now if you still find the bike doesn't work for you, sprinting outside should do the trick.

They did have the staps but I didn't know if I needed them or not.  I'll have to try that next time.  I had the resisttance on 0 actually and I noticed when I bumped it up to 8 or so it was easier to stay on the pedals.  I've never done much cardio on a bike so on a little learning curve lol.  I'll try that next time.

If I do it outside, would I walk in the 60 sec normal period or would I have to jog?  I don't think I could jog/run for a continuous 25 minutes. 

It is definitely fine to walk. I personally never understood how people could do 100% sprints and get adequate recovery in between them by jogging. When I was doing my HIIT outside with sprinting, I definitely walked during the recovery intervals. It was the only way I would have 100% to give on each sprint. So as long as you put everything you have into your sprints, walking is more than fine.

I switched over to the bike a few weeks ago, because I read that you want to cycle HIIT so your body doesn't adapt to it.

okay so I gave it another shot today. i discovered a new piece of equipment at my gym, which is like a stationary bike except you're sitting with your legs in front of you. I like it a lot better than the eliptical or the upright-style bike because it doesn't seem to go faster than my legs. I think I did a pretty good job but I can defiantly improve, so I'm just going to keep at it.

BTW, I'm wondering how long you can do HIIT before it becomes unsafe, and also if its okay to keep up my regular cardio/strength training routine as well. I've become a bit of a workout addict. My gym offers a lot of group cardio classes which I'm addicted to. I'm actually planning on taking one tomorrow, and also going for a jog with my sister (I know I won't be pushing too hard here, I'm mostly doing this to encourage her to get back in shape), and doing my regular strength training, which I do M W F.

I just don't want to get over-trained or injure myself, and end up going backwards instead of forward.

Original Post by prinzessin_naseimbuch:

So I tried running HIIT today.  I've tried it before running up and down my street, but I live in a hilly neighborhood so I'm not sure if it was all that effective.  So I drove to my high school's track, jogged twice around the track (5 min), then stretched.  I only stretched for five minutes because I had an appointment at 3pm and wanted to have time to shower after.  I ran as hard as I could on the straight parts of the track (about the length of a football field), but I don't think it took me 30 seconds to do...I'm thinking 15 (tho I didn't check my watch exactly when I started).  Then I jogged the first curve, went all out the next straight-away, then I had to walk the rest of the curves.  I only did 8 of the "sprints" because it rained while I was out there (forecast was spotty storms) and I needed to go home to check the house/close the windows, before another storm blew through...plus there was my appt.  Now I don't know if I was at 100%...I tried the talk test saying, "Can't sleep. Clowns will eat me." That was my mantra for running fast.  I couldn't say it in one go...more often than not all I could get out was, "Ca-ca-ca."  The way I calculated my speed (800yds=2400ft=0.45mi for ~120sec=2min) makes 13.6mph my sprint speed..don't know if that's accurate. It felt like maybe a speedy clown could have gotten me at the end of the sprint....at about halfway through the straight-away I think I started to slow so I repeated my mantra in my head (tried to say it out loud) and I think I kept the speed up.  At the end of all this  (I think it was somewhere between 10-15 minutes) my legs weren't dead tired but my chest felt like it would explode.  I don't know if that means I am that out of shape, I wasn't breathing right (please someone teach me how), or if it was my allergies.  Maybe it was all of the above.  My abs and shoulders felt slightly sore, and the left part of my rear around the hip joint is sore.  So basically I'm asking if this is a good start.  I really wish I had a good way to exercise indoors...I HATE my outdoor allergies.

You may find it better to make yourself an MP3 with fast/slow music for the sprint/walk parts of your routine, its better than keep looking at your watch or estimating the times, I made one and its perfect for my routine and helps me alot.

Maybe it would be a good idea for us all with HIIT MP3's to share them here, I tried to find some by google and couldn't find any suitable thats why I made my own.

Original Post by danaofdoom:

okay so I gave it another shot today. i discovered a new piece of equipment at my gym, which is like a stationary bike except you're sitting with your legs in front of you. I like it a lot better than the eliptical or the upright-style bike because it doesn't seem to go faster than my legs. I think I did a pretty good job but I can defiantly improve, so I'm just going to keep at it.

BTW, I'm wondering how long you can do HIIT before it becomes unsafe, and also if its okay to keep up my regular cardio/strength training routine as well. I've become a bit of a workout addict. My gym offers a lot of group cardio classes which I'm addicted to. I'm actually planning on taking one tomorrow, and also going for a jog with my sister (I know I won't be pushing too hard here, I'm mostly doing this to encourage her to get back in shape), and doing my regular strength training, which I do M W F.

I just don't want to get over-trained or injure myself, and end up going backwards instead of forward.

It is definitely a good idea to continue with your other training.  HIIT is just one tool in the arsenal. 

I've also heard that true HIIT training is very taxing on your central nervous system, and it should only be done 1-2 times per week.  I've also heard that it may be most beneficial if you do it for 4-6 weeks, and then give yourself a break from it for several weeks. 

--- I tried to look to find where this had been said before in the forum (I think Melkor was the one saying it),  but there are so many HIIT threads that I can't locate it. 

Original Post by karozel:

I've also heard that true HIIT training is very taxing on your central nervous system, and it should only be done 1-2 times per week.  I've also heard that it may be most beneficial if you do it for 4-6 weeks, and then give yourself a break from it for several weeks. 

--- I tried to look to find where this had been said before in the forum (I think Melkor was the one saying it),  but there are so many HIIT threads that I can't locate it. 

 

 

 lol, well thanks for trying anyway. I'll start with 3 days a week and see how that feels.

Oh man! I did my jump rope HIIT routine last night and I felt like I could go on forever! Since this was my 3rd HIIT, I'm afraid of pushing myself over the edge, but I did push myself to do more than the other day. I could only manage to jump at a high intensity for about 20 seconds, before my feet tripped on the rope. If that didn't happen, I definitely could have done the whole 30 seconds or longer. I rested for 90 seconds, but the rest seemed too long, which told me that I probably wasn't working hard enough during the sprint. I did 5 sprints. The entire routine took 10ish minutes, including a 2 minute warm-up. I was winded after each sprint, but I felt like I could still carry on a complete conversation, whereas the other day, I could barely talk at all, and I only did 3 sprints of 15 seconds each.

Has anyone ever tried HIIT on a rowing machine?  I don't know if it would be too hard on my back/arms, but I have one at home and I hate running, so I thought I might try it.  Any thoughts or suggestions?

After a very tough HIIT workout earlier tonight, I have one piece of advice - NEVER DO HIIT if you are hungry. Even only slightly hungry. Make sure you get a good portion of carbs and protein 60 minutes prior.

Let me explain..

I used to do the standard lifting on Mon/Wed/Fri and HIIT on Tues/Thurs/Sat taking every Sunday off. However, I continue to read more and more about the importance of recovery and taking days off to avoid overtraining. So, what I have been doing is legs on Monday, and then Wed/Fri/Sun I will lift in the AM and do my HIIT sessions in the PM on the same day. I have read in several places that HIIT is fine to do on lifting days as long as you lift first and do HIIT 6-8 hours later. That way I am getting three days off per week as opposed to one.

I have been able to do this because I work at a gym and I do my HIIT after I get off my shift @ 6PM. I had eaten on my break @ 4PM. So when 6:00 hit,  I was only slightly hungry. I knew that I should eat and do HIIT in an hour. However, I just wanted to get the hell out of there. So ignoring the rule, I just went ahead and did it. About 5 minutes into my HIIT portion, I could already notice a huge difference. My legs were slightly sore still from my leg workout on Monday, and the hunger only made things that much harder. I really had to struggle to make it through. Afterwards, I felt like crap. Luckily, I had brought food with me, and I was able to eat right away. I am never doing HIIT hungry again.

Original Post by kev100:

Original Post by prinzessin_naseimbuch:

So I tried running HIIT today.  I've tried it before running up and down my street, but I live in a hilly neighborhood so I'm not sure if it was all that effective.  So I drove to my high school's track, jogged twice around the track (5 min), then stretched.  I only stretched for five minutes because I had an appointment at 3pm and wanted to have time to shower after.  I ran as hard as I could on the straight parts of the track (about the length of a football field), but I don't think it took me 30 seconds to do...I'm thinking 15 (tho I didn't check my watch exactly when I started).  Then I jogged the first curve, went all out the next straight-away, then I had to walk the rest of the curves.  I only did 8 of the "sprints" because it rained while I was out there (forecast was spotty storms) and I needed to go home to check the house/close the windows, before another storm blew through...plus there was my appt.  Now I don't know if I was at 100%...I tried the talk test saying, "Can't sleep. Clowns will eat me." That was my mantra for running fast.  I couldn't say it in one go...more often than not all I could get out was, "Ca-ca-ca."  The way I calculated my speed (800yds=2400ft=0.45mi for ~120sec=2min) makes 13.6mph my sprint speed..don't know if that's accurate. It felt like maybe a speedy clown could have gotten me at the end of the sprint....at about halfway through the straight-away I think I started to slow so I repeated my mantra in my head (tried to say it out loud) and I think I kept the speed up.  At the end of all this  (I think it was somewhere between 10-15 minutes) my legs weren't dead tired but my chest felt like it would explode.  I don't know if that means I am that out of shape, I wasn't breathing right (please someone teach me how), or if it was my allergies.  Maybe it was all of the above.  My abs and shoulders felt slightly sore, and the left part of my rear around the hip joint is sore.  So basically I'm asking if this is a good start.  I really wish I had a good way to exercise indoors...I HATE my outdoor allergies.

You may find it better to make yourself an MP3 with fast/slow music for the sprint/walk parts of your routine, its better than keep looking at your watch or estimating the times, I made one and its perfect for my routine and helps me alot.

Maybe it would be a good idea for us all with HIIT MP3's to share them here, I tried to find some by google and couldn't find any suitable thats why I made my own.

 

Yes, please do share your MP3 HIIT routine.  I currently use my iPod tunes (they're all pretty fast) and usually walking to the beat of them keeps me between 3.5 and 5 mph.  Do you use snippets of songs? Because there is no way I could sprint for an entire song.  I've jogged to "Hey Mickey," "In the Middle," and "What a Feeling" for the duration (walking in between to slower bpm songs...lucky shuffle) but that was my limit.