HIIT

lounpaul

What sort of calories does the above type of workout burn anyone?

_Waffle_

lounpaul wrote: »

What sort of calories does the above type of workout burn anyone?

That depends on what you're doing, for how long, and how much you weigh.

sijomial

Less than you think and a lot less than you feel.

The duration of real HIIT* is very short and you have recovery periods which burn very little.

The intervals totally confuse HRM calorie estimates by the way before someone suggests that!


(* = as opposed to marketing labelling every form of interval training these days as HIIT...)

_Waffle_

sijomial wrote: »

Less than you think and a lot less than you feel.

The duration of real HIIT* is very short and you have recovery periods which burn very little.

The intervals totally confuse HRM calorie estimates by the way before someone suggests that!


(* = as opposed to marketing labelling every form of interval training these days as HIIT...)

Drink beer for 5 seconds, rest for 60. Take another 5 second sip. Rest again.

*kitten* HIIT right there.

kcjchang

The Tabata regimen, IE1 protocol, consist of a 10 minute warm up followed by 20 seconds of ultra-intense exercise (at an intensity of about 170% of VO2max) followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated continuously for 4 minutes (8 cycles). The exercise was performed on a mechanically braked cycle ergometer.

Assuming you have a moderate functional threshold power (FTP) of 280 watts and an elite status efficiency factor of 25% the calories breakdown is follows:

• ~212 Calories: 10 minute warm up @ 195 watts (70% of FTP or upper end of Zone 2)
• ~88 Calories: 8 intervals of 20 seconds @ 500 watts (179% of FTP as 105% of FTP is ~ VO2Max) followed by 10 seconds of rest @ 155 watts (55% of FTP border of Zone 1 and 2)

When done correctly, you may have some gas for a followup cool down period but not much else. In the original study, athletes using this method trained 4 times per week. There are four other recognized HIIT regimens that called for slightly lower interval intensity over slightly longer duration but you pretty much get the similar ratios: calories burnt during the intervals are much much less than the warm up period.

There are much much more enjoyable activities one can do to rack up the ~300 Calories than doing HIIT. If you have no ideal what 20 seconds at 500 watts feels like, trust me, it's not pleasant and 8 intervals with very little rest hurts. Also, this is not something you jump on with out a very good aerobic base (something like after 2-3 year of serious training). The only exception I can think of is Peter Coe regimen where it's not that structured.

wilsoncl6

HIIT is good if you have very limited time. If you don't feel like you're going to puke or pass out during the actual work period, you didn't do it right. I'd much rather drag my workout a little longer and not have to deal with the nauseua.