Does Swimming = HIIT ?

paulbsr

Hi,

I use a MIO Fuse HRM connected to the iCardio App on my mobile to track my HR.

In our 25m pool I have worked my way to being able to:

Swim 4 x 25m lenths (4 x 30 secs = 2mins)
HR up to 140bpm (80% of MHR)
60 sec break (HR drops to about 100bpm)
10 times = 1km = 30mins

So my question becomes this:Could this be classified as HIIT training?
I see many videos where guys would do 30 secs High Knees + 30 secs Mountain Climbers + 30 Skip Rope + 30 Secs sprints and then rest for 60 secs and repeat many times with teh objective to chase the Heart Rate up and down for 20 - 30 mins.

Do you reckon swimming achieves similiar goal??

Paul.

rankinsect

Yes, you can do HIIT via swimming - or via any cardio, really. The key with HIIT is a schedule that combines maximum effort bursts with periods of slower active recovery. So for swimming, bursts where you sprint as fast as you possibly can separated by periods where you swim at a more modest pace.

Also, ones that do a wide variety of exercises are more correctly called circuit training, although they have many of the same benefits of HIIT. The classic HIIT was a single type of cardio (typically either cycling or running) with a schedule of alternating high and low intensities (or low, medium, and high intensities).

hill8570

What is your resting heart rate? One of the published forms of HIIT involves intervals at 90-ish % of heart rate reserve (hrr = max hr - resting hr) alternated with rest intervals. I'd have a lot of difficulty maintaining that intensity for a full two minutes, but everyone is different.