4x4 Interval Training (CERG/NTNU)

benol1

Hi

I was wondering whether anyone has had any experience with 4x4 Interval Training (as per CERG/NTNU) and what you think of it.
http://www.ntnu.edu/cerg/advice
Just to be clear - my focus is health and fitness - not weight loss alone.
Thanks in advance,

Ben

Chief_Rocka

I've done interval training in the past. You get a lot of work done in a short period of time, so it's a good time-saver compared to steady state cardio

Sarauk2sf

I have not, but tagging so it shows up on my feed.

benol1

Thank you Fire Rock and Sara.
I will let you know how it goes (with my experience).
The information on the CERG/NTNU website is excellent and encouraging.
kind regards,

Ben

amonkey794

Tagging to follow.

benol1

Thank you to those of you who are following this thread.

I've decided that I will begin the 4 x 4 interval training tomorrow (Monday).
I went to the gym this afternoon and completed a 45 minute session on the exercise bike while maintaining my heart rate above HrMax*0.70. The difficulty was getting it really high - I didn't get it anywhere close to HrMax*0.9. During the session, my HR monitor indicated that I burned approx 560 calories. My entire gym visit inc walk there and back home consumed 1055 calories according to the Polar HRM.

Anyway, I'll start giving 4x4 a trial tomorrow and will take my measurements before I commence and let you know how I go.
kind regards,

Ben

Sarauk2sf

Rebumping this as I want to look into it more

heybales

Sounds very similar to many other interval sessions.

Not really HIIT, as you can't go that hard for that long, as you experienced, but still a good program.

Of the recommended 1-2 min for the interval, I'd stick with the 1 min end of the scale, that will allow you to push harder each time, getting a lifting type workout if cardio is the only thing you want to do. Walk for 1st of the 3 min recovery to get HR down fast, then slow log again, below your Aerobic level.

I'd say after doing this for 2 weeks, do a session where you go all out for 15 seconds as the first interval, really hit it as hard as you can. That should be your HRmax almost, call it 5 bpm more for HRmax. Then reset your HRM for that new value. That will improve accuracy of calorie burn decently, and get your HR zones better.

I'd use these HR zones based on resting HR and that better tested HRmax, allows for better workout. Don't use their formula for HRmax since you have better test.
http://www.calculatenow.biz/sport/heart.php?

Make the warmup jog in the Aerobic zone, make the cooldown jog in the Fat-burning zone, along with the recovery periods. Fat-burning zone is actually better called Active Recovery HR zone, and was for years before the fad of fat-burning zone came along.

As you put forth that hard effort, you'll likely see that if this followed a day of lifting, where your body is actually needing to rest to recover and repair as best it can, you'll likely short circuit that, which means you don't get as much out of your lifting as you could have if using the same muscles.
Especially eating at a deficit.

Exercise tears down, it's the rest that builds back up by allowing recovery and repair stronger, if nutrition allows it.

Now, you could also take a lifting session or two a week if you really want to do this, and make it upper body only, and make these intervals your lower workout since it is a lifting type effect on the body - all out anaerobic push with brief recovery before pushing hard again.

I just did that tonight, upper lifting, and hill sprints.