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.

Original Post by prinzessin_naseimbuch:

 

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.

I use a program called direct MP3 joiner and direct MP3 splitter

I find a fast song then split the whole song into 30 second intervals

I do the same with a slow song but with 90 second intervals (you may want to use 2 or 3 different slow songs for variation but I just repeat)

and then use the joiner to add the warm up song - 30 sec - 90 sec - 30 sec - -90 sec etc and then finally add the cool down song, all with no gap between

I will post a link to mine, bearing in mind that different people like different tastes, mine is quite mainstream dance music, but it works quite well, I will make others when I have more time but this does for me at the moment, and I put this together real quick.

http://rapidshare.com/files/251034029/HIIT_2. mp3 ; Just click on the free option to download

Original Post by lindinig:

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.

I tried jump rope HIIT but I kept on tripping every five seconds that I don't think it was a real full sprint. I'll try again since I won't be running ( I can't do runnint in HIIT, it's so hard!). Hopefully I will get better at jump rope so I won't trip often? Do you rest after sprint or do very light jump rope?

And kev100, thanks for the mp3 and the software suggestions, this is going to be very handy!

Original Post by fruit_tart:

Original Post by lindinig:

And kev100, thanks for the mp3 and the software suggestions, this is going to be very handy!

No Probs .. and if you make any MP3's try share them here :)...

HIIT--was coined maybe 14 years ago. I was one of those obsessive workout types looking for the next cutting edge workout. Muscle Media, the now defunct health magazine helped popularized it. However, interval training has been around foreover

Play a pickup basketball game when you usually don't, not only will you "train" at intervals but you won't cheat by cutting yourself some slack, unless you are lazy and don't play defense. So go play a sport you usually don't --and play competitively, short bursts of high intensity followed by a short rest. I saw some ultimate Frisbee at the park the other day--intervals no doubt. Same goes for soccer, or touch football.

Throw some intervals in your swim, on your runs, when using cardio machines, in the weight room, etc. All workouts get boring, so I would just be mindful of making sure you use intervals from time to time. And let your body recover from one session and then go on to another. I think you will get good results from trying to keep your interval training as random as possible and frequent rather than creating a wind sprint workout over the course of 12 weeks that you will eventually tire of and then end up dumping the so called HIIT routine.

Original Post by segundoii:

 

Play a pickup basketball game when you usually don't, not only will you "train" at intervals but you won't cheat by cutting yourself some slack, unless you are lazy and don't play defense. So go play a sport you usually don't --and play competitively, short bursts of high intensity followed by a short rest. I saw some ultimate Frisbee at the park the other day--intervals no doubt. Same goes for soccer, or touch football.

 

I get this feeling with playing squash that its like a HIIT work out in the sense that I am doing 20 - 30 seconds very intense running around the court, then I am taking 10 - 15 seconds rest in between each point to retrieve the ball (my playing partner wonders why I am taking longer than usual to get the ball lately, little does he know I am in rest period), and then a minute or 2 reat rest between games do rehydrate ..., of course these times vary a little ..

Well it seems like interval training anyway .. :)

Original Post by kev100:

Original Post by prinzessin_naseimbuch:

I use a program called direct MP3 joiner and direct MP3 splitter

I find a fast song then split the whole song into 30 second intervals

I do the same with a slow song but with 90 second intervals (you may want to use 2 or 3 different slow songs for variation but I just repeat)

and then use the joiner to add the warm up song - 30 sec - 90 sec - 30 sec - -90 sec etc and then finally add the cool down song, all with no gap between

I will post a link to mine, bearing in mind that different people like different tastes, mine is quite mainstream dance music, but it works quite well, I will make others when I have more time but this does for me at the moment, and I put this together real quick.

http://rapidshare.com/files/251034029/HIIT_2. mp3 ; Just click on the free option to download

Thanks for the info and the link.  I'm downloading your music routine.  Unfortunately the software you mentioned is not mac compatible. Do you happen to have any idea what the ideal range of BPM is for a "fast song" or a "slow song"?  I find it's easier to keep on track with speed if I can make my feet hit the ground -roughly- on the beat...at least aim for that.  The beat tracker programs are also anti-mac...hmph.

Original Post by prinzessin_naseimbuch:

Thanks for the info and the link.  I'm downloading your music routine.  Unfortunately the software you mentioned is not mac compatible. Do you happen to have any idea what the ideal range of BPM is for a "fast song" or a "slow song"?  I find it's easier to keep on track with speed if I can make my feet hit the ground -roughly- on the beat...at least aim for that.  The beat tracker programs are also anti-mac...hmph.

Not too sure .. I just went through some of my music and imagined myself running to it and it worked out just about right for me ..

If you want to email me some MP3's I will make a HIIT MP3 for you, just tell me which ones you email  you want as warm up - cool down - slow and fast, what intervals you want and how many reps of the intervals ..

Original Post by prinzessin_naseimbuch:

Thanks for the info and the link.  I'm downloading your music routine.  Unfortunately the software you mentioned is not mac compatible.

Here is a music splitter for the mac

http://www.videoconverterformac.net/mp3_split ter_mac.html

And a joiner

http://www.videoconverterformac.net/mp3_joine r_mac.html

But they are a little expensive .. and I didnt try them but they seem to do the job

Try google MP3 joiner for mac and MP3 splitter for mac and you may be able to find some free software

Edit -

just found a free splitter

http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Audio/JSplitterM p3.shtml

and a free joiner

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/about/

Again I never used these so dont know how good they are

I already have audacity and have used it.  It's decent.  Actually when I found that most of the mp3 splitter/joiner programs were mostly for windows I started thinking that I could use audacity or even quicktime to do the same thing.  Thanks for all the help. :)

Melkor,

Can we get this thread stickied to the top of the forum? It would just make things easier because people would see the thread a lot better and know to direct all their HIIT posts to this thread.

Thanks man..

Thanks vyperman7, Yo that's all good advice. Just another thought though you say your body needs time to recover is that because HIIT is more of a all over muscle workout as well as cardio because

I did do HIIT training last night and the night before that. Here is what I did: 5 Min Jog - then lots of stretching - then I jog 100 meters then sprint back the 100 as fast as I can, then walk around on the spot for 60 - 90 seconds depending on how I feel to get my breath back then repeat process 6 to 8 times with a cool down jog on my way home.

My ability to do it on the first night was no difference to how I did it the second night like I know I wasn't slower in the sprint.

Can you over do it with HIIT like you can with weight lifting like I know if you train your arms every night you wouldn't get bigger because they need that rest time but with HIIT am doing it to lose my hips and the last bit of stomach fat on me. The workout is surely not counter productive there. Can you see where am coming from? Slater8486

Hi Kev just downloaded your Music haven't had chance to listen to it because am at work but can't wait to have a go at it. Not tonight though as I did HIIT last night.

Thanks!!

Original Post by slater8486:

Can you over do it with HIIT like you can with weight lifting like I know if you train your arms every night you wouldn't get bigger because they need that rest time but with HIIT am doing it to lose my hips and the last bit of stomach fat on me. The workout is surely not counter productive there. Can you see where am coming from? Slater8486

Yes, you can absolutely over do it with HIIT.  You're probably ok to do two nights in a row if you don't have adverse effects, but you should pay very close attention to your body and your energy level.  Just because you could do two nights in a row one time, doesn't mean you can/should every time.

Also one additional note - you stated you jog back after your sprint and then walk around in place for 60-90 seconds - so how long is your total recovery time from the sprint?  If your fitness level allows, you might just cut out the walking part and have the jog be your recovery.  (I'm definitely not there yet, but hoping to be someday!)

Slater,

The first thing I would say is that you should do your stretching FIRST before you do running of any kind (jogging or sprinting). Doing the jog first and then stretching is counter-productive in a way because you get yourself warmed up and then have to stop and spend time stretching. You could also pull a muscle if you are not properly stretched out before you start. I learned that the hard way. I did HIIT sprinting sessions 3 times a week for 2 months straight and I suffered a quadricep strain from not stretching enough before hand. Stretching is extremely important and should always be done first.

Also, you are taking too much time to recover between intervals with doing a jog and a walk. The best thing, is do your sprint and then use the recovery time to walk back to where you sprinted from. Then once you get back to where you were for the sprint, you sprint again. By doing a sprint, then doing a jog, that just adds extra time onto the time you are spending walking around.

Now you may have been able to do it two nights in a row. However, it is not something I would recommend you do on a regular basis. Whether you feel like you do or not, your body really does need that day in between to recover. Trust me. If you take the day, your next HIIT workout will be that much better for it, and you won't end up being injured or overtrained in the long run.

I just tried out my first HIIT session today, and I am not entirely sure I did it right.  Since I can't belong to a gym yet (living in a different country and waiting on being enrolled in universal health care...it is obligatory to get a doctor's permission to go to a gym here), I am using a jump rope.  I live in a city and all of the parks are nowhere near my house, so I can't run.  The sidewalks are always cluttered with tables from outdoor restaurants. 

Basically, I don't know if I hit my target heart rate because I don't have anything to monitor it with.  However, as I was doing my "sprint" interval, it would have been impossible to carry on a conversation. 

It was kind of annoying having to look at my watch, but my husband says that my interval timer arrived at his work today, so for my next HIIT workout I will at least have that to help me out. 

Original Post by vyperman7:

Slater,

The first thing I would say is that you should do your stretching FIRST before you do running of any kind (jogging or sprinting).

Be careful with over-stretching though, I was going to do my HIIT running yesterday and decided to stretch (for the first time, I usually just jog for 5 mins to warm up), when I got outside to run I found I had great pain in both my calf muscles and found I could hardly walk let alone run, so much for my exercise yesterday .. still in a little pain now but its going away .. should be ok to run tomorrow, but will stretch a little less intensive ..

today was my HIIT day.  Here's what I did:

5 minute brisk walk warm-up 

15 minutes of:  7.5 running for 30 secs to 3.0 walking for 60 secs recover

20 minutes of:  90 stair/srep rate for 40 secs to 30 stair/step rate for 40 secs recover.

I'm sweaty, slightly sickish-  fuzzy??  Anyone get forgetful after HIIT?  I almost walked out of the locker room with my dress upnzipped on the side.  that would have been.......disasterous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I listened to dj tiesto, sean kingston, LMFAO and sylvia tosun today of limewire.

I tried HIIT again last night (after an uncessful attempt on the stationary bike - feet kept slipping off the pedals in the fast period).  I wasn't so sure I did it right the last time but I am pretty sure I did it right this time lol.  I FELT it for sure and I sweated like crazy.  I don't think I have ever sweated that much at the gym before.  I was soaked.  I had to take a 5 min cooldown before the last 5 min cooldown but I figure it was my first time, so I need to get used to it.  Not goign to beat myself up for it.  Including 3 5 minute cooldowns, I went for 50 minutes.  I did it on the treadmill this time.  It was annoying to keep pumping the speed up and down but I was able to push myself this time where I couldn't on the bike, because of the aforementioned pedal problem hehe. 

Original Post by kev100:

Original Post by vyperman7:

Slater,

The first thing I would say is that you should do your stretching FIRST before you do running of any kind (jogging or sprinting).

Be careful with over-stretching though, I was going to do my HIIT running yesterday and decided to stretch (for the first time, I usually just jog for 5 mins to warm up), when I got outside to run I found I had great pain in both my calf muscles and found I could hardly walk let alone run, so much for my exercise yesterday .. still in a little pain now but its going away .. should be ok to run tomorrow, but will stretch a little less intensive ..

 did you warm up before you stretched? stretching cold muscles is never a good a idea. there are even some articles out that they say to do dynamic stretching before you exercise and do static stretching afterwards. supposedly static stretching decreases muscle strength for the time being just before you start on your workout. the article (somewhere, im sure you can google it) goes into more scientific details then that but that's the jist of it.

Original Post by jonathius2:

I tried HIIT again last night (after an uncessful attempt on the stationary bike - feet kept slipping off the pedals in the fast period).  I wasn't so sure I did it right the last time but I am pretty sure I did it right this time lol.  I FELT it for sure and I sweated like crazy.  I don't think I have ever sweated that much at the gym before.  I was soaked.  I had to take a 5 min cooldown before the last 5 min cooldown but I figure it was my first time, so I need to get used to it.  Not goign to beat myself up for it.  Including 3 5 minute cooldowns, I went for 50 minutes.  I did it on the treadmill this time.  It was annoying to keep pumping the speed up and down but I was able to push myself this time where I couldn't on the bike, because of the aforementioned pedal problem hehe. 

You say you went for 50 minutes? Now I realize that you included all the cool down time you took in this. However, an HIIT session should never go over 25 minutes. You do a 3-5 minute warm up, 15-20 minutes of fast/slow interval, and a 5 minute cool down. That is it. The reason why it is shorter in duration is because the sprint intervals are so intense, that it wears you down too much to go for an extended period of time. So make sure that the next time you do it, you push yourself as hard as you can @ 100% on the sprints, and that the whole workout does not exceed 25 minutes.