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.

You can do HIIT on your lifting days. Just make sure you give yourself enough time in between. The recommended amount of time is 6-8 hours. So you could do your HIIT in the morning and lift at night, or vice versa.

I think the main reason why people like to do HIIT on seperate days is so that they don't have to make multiple trips to the gym in the same day. I have been getting good results doing my sprints in the morning and lifting at night.

Original Post by trikki:

Also, PENKWIN....

I don't recall what your stats are at the moment, but I am 5'7" and 151 lbs. Within the last month or so I have upped my calories to 1800 and it has been working wonders for me. I have been steadily losing 1lb per week versus my usual .5lb/week for the 4 or 5 months previous to switching.

 

Hey trikki, my stats are 5'5", 154 lbs, 23F. I hit the gym pretty much every day, but I put myself in the moderate category when I did the equation, cause I'm not always super vigorous, though I do work hard. 

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )

Me: BMR = 655 + ( 670 ) + ( 305 ) - ( 108 ) = 1522 x 1.55 (activity) = 2359 - 500 (cause I want to lose) = ~1850.

That just seems like, too good to be true. I've been eating 1500 and feeling slightly on the hungry side, but I thought I was still adjusting. Sorry for the posting spam in here, but I'm confused about HIIT works in terms of calories in calories out. Like, my burn meter is not as high as when I do my hour of cardio, but I will lose more/faster this way, if I really push on those intervals?

With HIIT, you end up burning more calories through out the day after you are done because of how much your metabolism is raised. With regular cardio, your metabolism returns to normal after a few hours. With HIIT, it is raised for 12-24 hours after you finish because of how intense it is. So while you may not burn as many calories during the exercise itself, you do end up burning a good amount over the course of the day. This is what you want because you spend more time out of the gym, then you do in.

Definitely increase your calories to 1800 per day, and on days that you workout you can eat more than that.

Now that I've made it a habit to get to the gym at least 4 times a week, I'm trying to come up with a realistic routine.

I started doing HIIT (stationary bike).  I'm up to a 20 minute workout (including warm up/down). It kicks my butt!  I definitely can't do HIIT two days in a row... but from a calorie deficit standpoint, I want to do more.  Is it too much to continue intervals on non HIIT days? 

I'm thinking something like this:

M: rest, maybe some stretching (ballet style/barre or modern workout)
T: HIIT & yoga or pilates
W: Cycle or Elliptical for 30 minutes (interval) & 30DS or calisthenics
R: HIIT & yoga or pilates
F: Cycling or Elliptical for 30 minutes (interval) & 30DS or calisthenics
S: HIIT & 30DS or calisthenics
S: Cycling or Elliptical for 30 minutes (interval) & maybe a dance stretch type workout

For reference: calisthenics = the 100 pushup/200 situp/200 squat challenge + PT exercises for my knees with a swiss ball (a lot of ab and knee stabilizer muscle work), usually with some dance style stretching thrown in

I work a desk job now, until classes start Sept. 21st.  Then, I will be taking 2 dance classes (6 hours/week), and will be walking all over campus in addition to a new workout routine. I'm totally interested in NROLFW (I just ordered the book), but want to wait until winter term starts in January so I can lose more fat first.  What do you guys think?

Original Post by mkl39:

I'm totally interested in NROLFW (I just ordered the book), but want to wait until winter term starts in January so I can lose more fat first.  What do you guys think?

Just wanted to respond to this portion of your post (good job getting started on HIIT!).  After diet, heavy lifting is the best way to lose fat, so don't wait to start a lifting program if your goal is losing fat and maintaining muscle. 

On a personal note, I did HIIT by sprints outside for the first time this morning.  Holy cow was it hard - much more challenging than the treadmill version and even the arc trainer versions I've been doing.  Will definitely be incorporating more of the outside sprinting into my routine! 

Thanks

I know that lifting is supposed to be great for fat loss, but I didn't know if I was actually ready to go to the weight room yet - basically, I have never done anything but use machines, and am not that confident in the free weight room (more embarrassed, really...).

In particular, I am concerned about my knees (I have TWO torn ACLs and a cartilage deficiency... I have been rehabbing them for a long time.)  I can't do a full squat yet - I go to just below 90 degrees in the knees. My logic was that I should work up to a proper squat before I add weights, hence the calisthenics/30DS. Do you think I should just go for the NROLFW instead?

I think you could start NROLFW but omit the squats or just do bodyweight squats at the same # of reps recommended in the book.  For that kind of injury, you definitely want to take it slow! 

As far as being intimidated in the free weight room - don't be!  Lots of people, particularly women, are scared because they just don't know what to do.  NROLFW will give you pretty good instruction, and if you still want more, I've read in other posts that exrx.net has videos showing the movement so you can see proper form.  Starting strength is another good book about some of the basic movements (squats, bench press, deadlift etc) but might be too much detail to start with - it's literally 60 pages on squats alone!

We've got special stationary bikes for spinning at my gym. They are slimline, no thrills with a narrow saddle and most importantly - straps on the pedals.  These 'spinning' bikes are far better than the regular exercise bikes in my gym which are chunky, clumsy affairs with big-ass super wide and huge saddles and digital screens and all this distraction. 

There's no way I could do an effective HIIT or a spinning class on the regular gym bikes.  I would ask your gym if they have exercise bikes designed for 'spinning' that you can use, not the ones you see people sitting on reading magazines and watching the telly doing about 60 rpm with no resistance...(BTW - what's all that about?)  lol

Anyhoo - just wanted to draw attention to the fact that there are different kinds of exercise bike out there with some better suited to HIIT....

Original Post by wildizer:

We've got special stationary bikes for spinning at my gym. They are slimline, no thrills with a narrow saddle and most importantly - straps on the pedals.  These 'spinning' bikes are far better than the regular exercise bikes in my gym which are chunky, clumsy affairs with big-ass super wide and huge saddles and digital screens and all this distraction. 

There's no way I could do an effective HIIT or a spinning class on the regular gym bikes.  I would ask your gym if they have exercise bikes designed for 'spinning' that you can use, not the ones you see people sitting on reading magazines and watching the telly doing about 60 rpm with no resistance...(BTW - what's all that about?)  lol

Anyhoo - just wanted to draw attention to the fact that there are different kinds of exercise bike out there with some better suited to HIIT....

 My gym doesn't have stationary bikes, so I have to do my HIIT on a regular gym bike. I started doing HIIT on the treadmill, which I didn't find very beneficial, as there is a delay when you change speeds. I started doing HIIT on the bike a few weeks ago, and I find it way more effective than the treadmill. Yeah, the stationary bike may be more desirable for this type of exercise, but there is nothing wrong with doing it on a regular bike. Just wanted to throw my two cents in there.

Original Post by cardioqueen1227:

Original Post by wildizer:

We've got special stationary bikes for spinning at my gym. They are slimline, no thrills with a narrow saddle and most importantly - straps on the pedals.  These 'spinning' bikes are far better than the regular exercise bikes in my gym which are chunky, clumsy affairs with big-ass super wide and huge saddles and digital screens and all this distraction. 

There's no way I could do an effective HIIT or a spinning class on the regular gym bikes.  I would ask your gym if they have exercise bikes designed for 'spinning' that you can use, not the ones you see people sitting on reading magazines and watching the telly doing about 60 rpm with no resistance...(BTW - what's all that about?)  lol

Anyhoo - just wanted to draw attention to the fact that there are different kinds of exercise bike out there with some better suited to HIIT....

 My gym doesn't have stationary bikes, so I have to do my HIIT on a regular gym bike. I started doing HIIT on the treadmill, which I didn't find very beneficial, as there is a delay when you change speeds. I started doing HIIT on the bike a few weeks ago, and I find it way more effective than the treadmill. Yeah, the stationary bike may be more desirable for this type of exercise, but there is nothing wrong with doing it on a regular bike. Just wanted to throw my two cents in there.

Hi - just to confirm- it is a regular gym bike  - just without the big chunky saddle, frame and TV/Screen thing attached.   THIS ONE

http://www.inspire-fitness-reviews.co.uk/prod uct.php?xProd=1168 as opposed to these stupid big-assed things........

http://www.gymworld.co.uk/prodpage.asp?ProdID =5942   

hope the links work. 

And yes - I wouldn't replace my barracuda mountain bike for anything PERFECT for HIIT - especially off-road  YEY!

I am interested in starting an HIIT routine because I feel steady-state cardio is not helping me burn fat.  I have read the entire thread and it has been a wealth of information, but there was one point that confused me.

vyperman, I noticed several times in this thread that you advised people to make sure they do their selected activity as fast as they can, rather than upping the resistance on the machine.  You say to do this because the goal is to get your heart rate up as high as possible during the periods of high intensity.  However, this confused me since I thought that increasing resistance on a machine still increases the intensity of your workout and raises your heart rate.  I don't have a heart rate monitor but when I walk on the treadmill at a steep incline while maintaining my speed, I feel my heart racing.  I see why on a machine like a bike, increasing the resistance might not be good, because there is nothing forcing you to maintain your speed and you might find yourself slowing down and not getting the most out of your intervals.  However, for a treadmill, especially for someone who can't tolerate high-impact exercise, raising the incline seems like a great option to get up your heart rate because you can leave the speed as it is and force your rate up as you are walking on this steep incline.

I would be interested to hear your take on this, or anyone else experienced in HIIT.  Thanks!

Personally, I always up my resistance when I do HIIT (usually around level 12)on the elliptical just because I find if I keep it too low the momemtum helps me along too much and I don't get my heart rate to where i want it to be (usually about 90%). 

Phillygirl: if you want to start HIIT (and I encourage you to do it, it's terrific--although while you are doing you'll probably be screaming MOOOOOMMMYYYY--I know I am!), you should get a heart rate monitor. Get a basic one, but a good, accurate one (Polar). It's the only way to make sure you really are working as hard as you think you are.

As for resistance, in my experience, on a stationary bike increasing resistance will bring my HR up, but only to a point (80-85%). When I bring it down to 2, my feet fly and so does my HR (to 90-95%, as it should). I tried on an elliptical trainer, with minimal resistance, but I couldn't keep my balance, so maybe Trikki is right and a bit more resistance is needed.

Phillygirl : The reason why I recommended keeping the resistance somewhat low (level 5) on the bike is because it allows you to pedal faster. The faster you pedal, the higher the rpm's and the faster your heart rate goes. Think of it this way. If you are doing sprints on a track outside, are you going to sprint faster with or without ankle weights on? Doing HIIT on a piece of cardio equipment with high resistance is like trying to sprint with ankle weights on. You simply can't go as fast or get your heart rate as high as you could if you went faster at a lower level of resistance. You want a little bit of resistance on the machine to keep things in line and to ensure that you keep your balance. However, you don't want too much. When you use too much resistance, it starts to become more of a resistance training session for your legs than anything else.

Man, tonight I had a mean session of HIIT. I started out by using a jump rope going all out @ 100% for 20 seconds, and only taking 40 second breaks. Usually they recommend doing a ratio of 1:3 (20/60). I was through six intervals when my jump rope broke. So I rushed outside, and did the rest of it with sprints outside. By the end, I was TOAST. I was already feeling burned from the rope, and then having to add sprints on top of that was so hard. Lately I have been lifting in the AM and doing HIIT in the PM on the same day to get a full day of recovery in between lifting sessions. Trying to do HIIT with sore legs is close to impossible..LOL  I did heavy deadlifts this morning so my abs were already a bit sore, and now it is even worse after sprints. Sprinting is one of the best overall ab exercises you can do because of how much tension you have to put on your core to sprint.

Vyperman: I took your advice and tried HIIT with a lower resistance on the bike. I had been doing it at a higher resistance for quite some time, and I felt like I wasn't benefiting from it much. Anyway, I put the resistance on 5 all the way through, and what a difference that made! My rpm's were pretty high, and overall, I felt this workout was much more effective. Thanks for your advice!!

Original Post by cardioqueen1227:

Vyperman: I took your advice and tried HIIT with a lower resistance on the bike. I had been doing it at a higher resistance for quite some time, and I felt like I wasn't benefiting from it much. Anyway, I put the resistance on 5 all the way through, and what a difference that made! My rpm's were pretty high, and overall, I felt this workout was much more effective. Thanks for your advice!!

I am glad to hear it! Yeah people seem to think that they need to bump up the resistance level really high. However, if you have too much resistance, it slows down how fast you can pedal, and it becomes more of a leg workout at that point.

Hopefully you continue to have good HIIT workouts. Now me personally, I am on a jump-rope cycle right now with HIIT. The jump-rope gives a great burn, and it feels like it works my whole body from my abs and shoulders all the way to my calves.

Original Post by vyperman7:

Original Post by cardioqueen1227:

Vyperman: I took your advice and tried HIIT with a lower resistance on the bike. I had been doing it at a higher resistance for quite some time, and I felt like I wasn't benefiting from it much. Anyway, I put the resistance on 5 all the way through, and what a difference that made! My rpm's were pretty high, and overall, I felt this workout was much more effective. Thanks for your advice!!

I am glad to hear it! Yeah people seem to think that they need to bump up the resistance level really high. However, if you have too much resistance, it slows down how fast you can pedal, and it becomes more of a leg workout at that point.

Hopefully you continue to have good HIIT workouts. Now me personally, I am on a jump-rope cycle right now with HIIT. The jump-rope gives a great burn, and it feels like it works my whole body from my abs and shoulders all the way to my calves.

 I keep hearing good things about jump rope HIIT. I may try it sometime, as it sounds like it's pretty effective. Do you prefer that or HIIT on the bike??

HIIT on the bike always did give me a good workout. However, I feel like the jump rope mixes better with my lifting program that I am on. I lift on a full body routine, where I am squatting multiple times per week. The bike puts a lot of stress on the legs. Especially when you are doing HIIT. When you combine 2-3 squat sessions a week with 2-3 HIIT sessions on the bike, my legs start to feel like they are being overtrained.  Jumping rope allows me to get a great HIIT workout, without putting too much stress on my legs. I do feel it in my legs (particularly in my calves), but not like I would riding the bike. Plus using a jump rope forces you to keep your abs tight and it works your upper body as well. As a whole, it feels like I get more of a total body workout when I am using it.

Right now I am doing 15 intervals at 15 seconds sprint and 45 seconds recovery. I am going to work my way up to 20 intervals of 15/45 so I can go for 20 minutes. Then when I reach that, I will start doing 15/30 intervals. Also in case you are wondering, you are not jumping rope during the recovery periods. You march briskly in place. The only time you are jumping rope is during the sprint.

Original Post by vyperman7:

HIIT on the bike always did give me a good workout. However, I feel like the jump rope mixes better with my lifting program that I am on. I lift on a full body routine, where I am squatting multiple times per week. The bike puts a lot of stress on the legs. Especially when you are doing HIIT. When you combine 2-3 squat sessions a week with 2-3 HIIT sessions on the bike, my legs start to feel like they are being overtrained.  Jumping rope allows me to get a great HIIT workout, without putting too much stress on my legs. I do feel it in my legs (particularly in my calves), but not like I would riding the bike. Plus using a jump rope forces you to keep your abs tight and it works your upper body as well. As a whole, it feels like I get more of a total body workout when I am using it.

Right now I am doing 15 intervals at 15 seconds sprint and 45 seconds recovery. I am going to work my way up to 20 intervals of 15/45 so I can go for 20 minutes. Then when I reach that, I will start doing 15/30 intervals. Also in case you are wondering, you are not jumping rope during the recovery periods. You march briskly in place. The only time you are jumping rope is during the sprint.

 That is awesome, vyper! I am currently doing 30/60 on the bike, and you are right, it does put a lot of stress on the legs. I think I am going to buy a jump rope this weekend and give it a try. Thanks!!

The cool thing is that you can get a good jump rope for a cheap price. I got mine online for 9.99.  Here is a link - http://www.boxingdepot.com/jumpropes.html

It is the Harbinger Speed Rope. It tells you in the description which size rope to buy based on your height.

** One piece of advice on your intervals. You may want to drop your sprints to 15-20 seconds. I have read on multiple web sites that a person can only sustain 100% during a sprint for up to 20 seconds. After that the intensity starts to drop.