Views on HIIT training

ricolifee
ricolifee Posts: 30 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm currently training in gym about 5 days a week, just feel like I've got to the point where I'm doing the same sort of exercises and not seeing many results.

I've looked into hiit training recently, thinking about trying it out. Has anyone done it and seen vast results?

Also, thinking about doing it on a treadmill.... and hoping I don't fall off it, any tips?

Replies

  • briggsykim
    briggsykim Posts: 75 Member
    It is very intense. I hired a trainer to show me a few routines. I was very sore and winded for two weeks and then I started seeing real progress.
  • BhangraPrince
    BhangraPrince Posts: 123 Member
    I use 12% incline @5mph.. But I find the elliptical better
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    edited January 2016
    If you're talking true HIIT then a track is best, a treadmill doesn't have the responsiveness to allow you to maximise benefit.

    When most people claim HIIT on here they're really talking about aerobic range intervals, so treadmill elevation is adequate.

    HIIT is good for improving VO2Max when used as a component of training alongside aerobic base training and lactate threshold work.

    I guess the key question is, what are you wanting to achieve in your training. HIIT sessions aren't going to help much with calorie expenditure or aerobic endurance.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    HIIT (real HIIT) can be great for certain people and is very time efficient and can produce spectacular short term results.
    By the way - beware any studies comparing HIIT to other forms of exercise as the studies tend to be cut off just where HIIT improvements top out and where fitness improvements with other forms of cardio start to catch up after a slower start.

    Personally I think it's a really poor match if you are also strength training hard - too much stress on your body can compromise recovery.

    Interval training is a valuable part of an overall training plan. My interval training isn't HIIT as I do them for an hour and the recovery periods are still at a fairly fast rate as that suits my fitness level and fitness goals.

    Treadmill isn't great for HIIT but I do see some people going from sprint to stop by jumping off the belt to stand on the sides. Good chance of a face plant doing that!
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    If you feel like you are in a rut, esp if you are doing mostly endurance cardio, then any kind of higher-intensity interval training will likely give your program a boost. It doesn't have to be complicated and it doesn't have to be HIIT.
  • ricolifee
    ricolifee Posts: 30 Member
    I managed to do 45 seconds on/ 45 seconds off on speed of 13, with incline on 5 X10 times - hopped on and off without face planting!
    Does this sound about right?

    I'm fairly fit and not overweight, there's just a bit of belly fat I want to get rid of to give my abs a chance to shine through
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    edited January 2016
    My view is that most people who think they are doing HIIT are doing hard aerobic intervals not true HIIT.

    Anyone who's confused on the subject should check out Wil Flemming's "The Performance Podcast" titled "Revisiting HIIT again".

    For me something is high intensity if it cannot be sustained for more than 5-10ish seconds and takes you multiples of that period to recover enough to achieve another 5-10 second burst of the same (or similar) intensity.

    Sprints are a great, simple example of this. As someone else said, head to a track. If you're in anyway unsure of your running mechanics or have undeveloped hamstrings, then doing short sprints on a hill is a great way to get the same intensity without exposing the hamstrings to potential injury. Also as @sijomial noted intervals of this intensity are anaerobic and place the same recovery demands on an individual as strength training, so if you're doing both and don't want to burn out, you need to manage their recovery demands.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    edited January 2016
    ricolifee wrote: »
    I managed to do 45 seconds on/ 45 seconds off on speed of 13, with incline on 5 X10 times - hopped on and off without face planting!
    Does this sound about right?

    I'm fairly fit and not overweight, there's just a bit of belly fat I want to get rid of to give my abs a chance to shine through

    what does 5x10 mean?
  • lukehealy_12
    lukehealy_12 Posts: 8 Member
    aggelikik wrote: »
    ricolifee wrote: »
    I managed to do 45 seconds on/ 45 seconds off on speed of 13, with incline on 5 X10 times - hopped on and off without face planting!
    Does this sound about right?

    I'm fairly fit and not overweight, there's just a bit of belly fat I want to get rid of to give my abs a chance to shine through

    what does 5x10 mean?

    Incline on 5.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Rather than true HIIT, I do running/lifting intervals and circuits--set of 8 front squats, run 90-120 seconds, repeat two more times. Or one upper body lift, one lower body lift, one core exercise, run 90 seconds. For that I usually set up 2 or 3 circuits and do each 2-4 times over 45 minutes. I combined my 4 days of regular lifting into 2 days and do the interval/circuit stuff on either the day or before those days.
  • ricolifee
    ricolifee Posts: 30 Member
    aggelikik wrote: »
    ricolifee wrote: »
    I managed to do 45 seconds on/ 45 seconds off on speed of 13, with incline on 5 X10 times - hopped on and off without face planting!
    Does this sound about right?

    I'm fairly fit and not overweight, there's just a bit of belly fat I want to get rid of to give my abs a chance to shine through

    what does 5x10 mean?

    Running speed 13
    Then to rest
    Incline on 5
    Repeat 10 times

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