the right way to do HIIT?

Hi, I recently started to do HIIT on the treadmill.  I read about all the benefits and figured it would be a lot better for me.  What I have been doing is jogging on 6.0-6.6 for 15 minutes to get a steady sweat going than moving the treadmill up to 10.0 and sprinting for 30 seconds and than kind of strattling on the sides for another 30 than sprinting for 30 and so on and I do that 10 times.  Is that considered HIIT training? Im not really sure. Thanks.

straddling the sides of the machine is far too static, imo. it is tougher on a machine to do 30 second intervals as it takes that long to work controls.

either bring the HIIT to the track, where you can be far more free to sprint/jog/sprint/jog or lengthen the intervals so you can work the controls with ease, say jog for 2 minutes, full out sprint for 1.5 minutes and on like that.

 

I believe for true HIIT you need to work your heart all out for the 30 - 45 sec then continue moving but at a bit slower pace.  Like spooky said if you aren't moving inbetween the sprints your really not HIITing it right.  I would also recommend switching to either a machine you can manually control or just do it on a track

I try to get at least three HIIT intervals in each workout. From what I have learned, when you do this you try to maintain your highest speed at the highest intensity you can for at least a minute. Then you slow down, cool down, work your way back up to your normal pace, and when you feel ready again...you go again for another minute! I actually love to push myself and enjoy "kickin' my own butt!"

30 sec full speed 10 jog. repeat for 8-10 intervals.

no you need to be moving at all times!

this is what I do on the elliptical trainer:

5 minutes of warm-up(resistance anywhere from 1 to 4)

1 minute of highest resistance, hardest running i can do (resistance usually 6 to 8)

2-3 minutes of cool down and recovery (resistance of 2, work way up to 3 and 4 eventually)

 --> repeat this for 3 to 5 intervals

5 minutes of cool down (from 4 back down to 1)

 

so once you are done sprinting, turn the speed down and just walk for a bit, then make your way back to running, then sprint again. don't stand at the sides.  

Original Post by 97sbee:

no you need to be moving at all times!

this is what I do on the elliptical trainer:

5 minutes of warm-up(resistance anywhere from 1 to 4)

1 minute of highest resistance, hardest running i can do (resistance usually 6 to 8)

2-3 minutes of cool down and recovery (resistance of 2, work way up to 3 and 4 eventually)

 --> repeat this for 3 to 5 intervals

5 minutes of cool down (from 4 back down to 1)

 

so once you are done sprinting, turn the speed down and just walk for a bit, then make your way back to running, then sprint again. don't stand at the sides.  

Good example. And yes, never "stop".  HIIT training burns more fat...(yay!) And it's really good for your heart.

a lot of mis information on hiit. High intensity work outs do not rapidly burn fat, rather 60% of metabolic rate will. Hiit is great for ramping up your body and heart rate. It should be used to raise your body metoblic rate and to help hold it at an elevated burn rate over time. By the end of a hiit routine your heart ratio should be in the 120s to 130s. Just another spin from a different perspective.Cheers
M

I agree with Iron-Mike about Hiit not rapidly burning fat. Whenever I do hiit, I wear my heart rate monitor which tells me how much fat percentage I actually burned and with hiit, its only 30-40% fat calories, whereas doing low impact actually takes me to the 60-70% fat calories burned.