Critique my technique - HIIT treadmill

Amzing_amy

Hi everyone. Hoping somebody can advise me on this. I'm doing a hiit treadmill workout about 3 times per week. Just wondering if I'm doing it right. I do it as follows

2 min warm up at incline 5 speed 3.6(kmph)

Ten mins on incline 5; speeds on 5-6-5-7-5-6-5-7-5-6 X3

Five mins of 3-5-3-5-3

Five mins on incline 3 speed 4.

Am I doing it right? Speed 7 is running speed. Also I feel like death by 15 mins in. I feel fine after the warm down. The treadmill says it's a 250 cal burn and I don't get off till the clock hits 41.

Thanks for reading

Amy

JoRocka

I'd call that interval training more than HIIT.

but yeah looks fine- what's the goal?

Amzing_amy

To not be a couch potato I don't have much time so trying to maximise the minutes I have. I have a good bit of belly fat to lose. What would you suggest to move closer to hiit?

Thanks for replying

JoRocka

Interval training is just fine- no need to switch if you are enjoying what you are doing now.

Well- I don't do HIIT on a treadmill- I would only do intervals- mostly b/c I like doing my hiit in 50 seconds on 10 seoncds off splits- and doing that on a treadmill is nasueating.

If I do HIIT I tend to either do sprints or body weights- mostly because that's what I prefer. (bodyrock.tv/dailyhiit.com, zuzka light on youtube- lovingfit.com- all great places to check for specific hiit style workouts you can do at home with min equipment)

There is no "right" way to do HIIT- do what you prefer. If you are enjoying the intervals- and you're working out- it's "RIGHT" for you.



As far as your goals- you're achieving the "not being a coach potato" aspect so win!!!
in terms of maximizing- you're doing fine.

as far as losing fat- well- you can't lose fat from any where specific- fat leaves in it's own way/method- there is no spot reducing.

secondly- what is needed for fat loss is a calorie deficit- so as long as your diet is under control and at a moderate calorie deficit- you'll lose fat.

doing cardio and weight training help maintain/strengthen and make sure as you lose weight you're maximizing fat loss and minimizing muscle loss. (because muscle loss is bad!)

Amzing_amy

Perfect! Thank you, that was exactly what I needed to hear. I've cut my calls from approx 2500-3000 a day, and honestly, I'm not exaggerating when I say 1500-2000 of them came from chocolate and alcohol. I've added veggies to every meal and Im staying in the region 1200-1500 without too much effort. I don't drive so I'm doing a few kms of walking every day too, but I've always done that.

Thanks again for getting back to me!

JoRocka

no worries.

LOL- I do like youre source of extra calories- chocolate and alcohol- Jo-Approved!!!!

looks like you're moving in the right direction! Best of luck!

belgerian

I would suggest getting a Heart Rate Monitor that would be a better number to look at when getting your HR up there. As you continue to condition yourself you will have to be bumping up your numbers on the treadmill. A HR monitor would give you a better idea on when to up your speed to maintain or get to the the desired HR. It also would be a closer estimate on your calories burned.

amusedmonkey

That looks more like interval training than actual HIIT, which is great and burns nice calories while eliminating boredom.

HIIT stands for high intensity interval training. High intensity means that your heart rate should be at around 90% of your max heart rate during high intensity intervals, followed by active rest intervals where your heart gets to recover a bit, before going high intensity again. Your second phase (the 3-5-3-5 one) looks more like the classic HIIT, provided you are at 90% of your heart rate when you go at speed 5.

amusedmonkey

By the way, if performance or increasing your aerobic fitness quickly is not your goal, and your biggest goal is to burn calories, you are better off doing steady state at a moderate/high heart rate (80%-85%). You can sustain this level for the whole 40 minutes, not feel like death by minute 15 (your aerobic system is not as fatigued) and burn the same (likely even more) calories.

On the flip side, the running portion increases your fitness faster so you will be able to do steady state at a higher intensity for a bigger calorie burn.

If boredom is not an issue, for pure calorie burn I suggest going speed 3.5 (for example - adjust according to your fitness) incline 15 for the whole 40 minutes. It's more low impact, so it feels less tiresome even though it burns more calories. If you don't have a heart rate monitor whatever speed that gets you breathing quite hard, but not to the point where you need to rest 15 minutes in is your goal speed.

You could do your interval routine twice a week and steady state once a week for a slightly larger burn.