HIIT and strength training

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cnbbnc
cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
I want to start incorporating some HIIT into my week (I lift 4 days a week) and am wondering how people generally do this. Are you doing it in the same workout? If so what does that look like? Or do you do it separately?

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  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    i do HIIT training along with strength training. :)

    My recommendation is to do them separately. I find that first of all, you should't be doing HIIt before you perform heavy lifting. That's an excellent way to burn yourself out, increase your risk of injury, and have a completely s%Ht lifting day.

    You certainly could perform HIIT after your strength training workout, but again, why burn yourself out?

    In my experience I am able to really commit myself 100% to my workout when i focus on one main thing. For this reason, i perform a quick HIIT session (between 15-20 minutes MAX) on the mornings of my rest-days. So i lift 4 days a week, and the other 3 days i perform a short simple and sweet HIIT session in the morning.
  • KravCarol
    KravCarol Posts: 1 Member
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    If you are close to an Orange Theory Fitness studio, you might try them. The first workout is free.
  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
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    rainbowbow wrote: »
    i do HIIT training along with strength training. :)

    My recommendation is to do them separately. I find that first of all, you should't be doing HIIt before you perform heavy lifting. That's an excellent way to burn yourself out, increase your risk of injury, and have a completely s%Ht lifting day.

    You certainly could perform HIIT after your strength training workout, but again, why burn yourself out?

    In my experience I am able to really commit myself 100% to my workout when i focus on one main thing. For this reason, i perform a quick HIIT session (between 15-20 minutes MAX) on the mornings of my rest-days. So i lift 4 days a week, and the other 3 days i perform a short simple and sweet HIIT session in the morning.

    Makes sense. Thank you. :smile:

  • Working2BLean
    Working2BLean Posts: 386 Member
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    If you do straight up HIIT, as in 100% of your max heart rate, usually people have a day to recover. Sometimes people interval train at 90% max heart rate and call it HIIT.

    A HIIT workout would be something like this

    Sprint all out max effort for 15 seconds. 1:45 jog and recover.

    Do 8 cycles of that

    Seems really easy since it is only 16 minutes, right? It is exhausting if you sprint 100% effort holding nothing back.

    I did HIIT in the winter when it was not practical to triathlon train outside. Lifted 2 days and HIIT two days. It worked well and I did not gain a pound over the winter of body fat and maybe added a pound or two of muscle. It isn't a bulking routine but built stamina and speed. Bike speed and 5K times all improved.

    Just my opinion, but HIIT is pretty demanding and I don't ever do it for more than two months. I'm in decent shape and can ride a 100 miles without being dead the next day. But I do think HIIT is a great tool for fitness but not a continuous type of thing to do for months and months

    Your mileage may vary

    Good luck with your fitness quest.
  • leighsnow
    leighsnow Posts: 34 Member
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    I just started and a MFP friend turned me onto Fitness Blender which is full of free workout videos. I completed 2 HIT workouts this week and they kicked my *kitten* in such a good way. I had been doing Brazil Buttlift and Tracey Anderson Method but I feel this is really what I have needed to get results. It's a killer!
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    leighsnow wrote: »
    I just started and a MFP friend turned me onto Fitness Blender which is full of free workout videos. I completed 2 HIT workouts this week and they kicked my *kitten* in such a good way. I had been doing Brazil Buttlift and Tracey Anderson Method but I feel this is really what I have needed to get results. It's a killer!

    yes, fitnessblender has some good intense (and short) workouts.

    i also want to recommend the bodyweight app "Freeletics". It's free and some of these HIIT workouts are KILLER.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    I like to perform a short, intense "finisher" after my strength training sessions.(only 5-10 mins in length) It's usually not after every session, maybe 1-2 a week, depending on what I do on my other days and what my current training goals are.
  • grob49
    grob49 Posts: 125 Member
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    I do mine on chest and shoulders Tue and Thur. I do 1 body part per day Mon thru Fri. My workouts run about 50 min. I do a 30 HIIT on a PRECORE 10i. I do the varied hill that has 2 min level 1 and 2 MB level 4 the last 30sec I go all out. I know this isn't your typical HIIT but I like it and it is easy to keep track of times. I also do one on Saturday and Sunday is my off day
  • genpopadopolous
    genpopadopolous Posts: 411 Member
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    I'll 2nf FitnessBlender!

    I did a kickboxing/HIIT combo that kicked my *kitten* in 25 minutes today!
  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
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    Thanks for the input guys.