HIIT....Do I need to wait for my HR to drop before going all out again?

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kmaf2018
kmaf2018 Posts: 124 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi All

I really love doing HIIT, I really push myself and feel really good afterwards. However, I was told once I go "all out" for the say 30 seconds I should be waiting until my HR gets back down to around 135 before going all out again but I find this really boring having to wait for it to drop back down - do I need to really wait until my HR gets back to a certain number before going all out again or do you literally just do the 30secs work, 40 secs rest etc etc and not worry about your HR....

So this morning I did the following and I really pushed myself...

45 secs sprints
30 secs rest
45 secs step (off a step)
30 secs rest
45 secs burpees
30 secs rest
45 secs mountain climbers
I alternated each round which lasted a total of 28 minutes including the rest.

I have read that if you can do more than 20-30 secs then its not classed as HIIT so some might laugh at my "hiit" above but all I can say is I worked very hard and really pushed myself.

I have a fitbit and again not many people find these accurate (I love mine) and its a good guide for me to really push myself harder....According to fitbit my average HR during that workout was 141bpm (not sure if thats good or bad or neither).


Replies

  • cs2thecox
    cs2thecox Posts: 533 Member
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    I was told that for HIIT, the rest has to be at least equal to the time spent exercising.

    The plan I was given was:
    - 30-45s max effort
    - 45-60s rest or active recovery
    - repeat 12 to 15 times

    I used to go SO hard that I desperately needed all the rest I could get.
    But I did almost all my HIIT on a rowing machine, which is brutal if you do it right.

    And then I did too much HIIT for too long for my body, and gave myself central nervous system fatigue despite the work to rest proportions, so maybe I'm not the best template! :D
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    edited July 2017
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    I would call what you did interval training... Which there is nothing wrong with at all!

    When I do what I consider HIIT, I can barely sustain the effort past 10-15 seconds, and I'm practically dying at the end - so much so that I need at least 45 seconds (sometimes longer) to be even capable of going again with similar intensity. I've never done it with a hr monitor on...
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    I would call what you did interval training... Which there is nothing wrong with at all!

    When I do what I consider HIIT, I can barely sustain the effort past 10-15 seconds, and I'm practically dying at the end - so much so that I need at least 45 seconds (sometimes longer) to be even capable of going again with similar intensity. I've never done it with a hr monitor on...

    this is true HIIT. After about 10-15 seconds you've used up all your available phosphate and gylcolysis occurs to replenish ADP to ATP. It's also when you start to build up lactic acid and feel the intense burn.

    After about 45 seconds to a minute your ATP has been replenished and you can go at it again.


    The whole point of HIIT is that you're working at maximal capacity, and therefore it simply isn't possible to sustain it long term. There's a reason why certain HIIT modalities (like tabata) only last about 4 minutes total. ;)


    In any case, it sounds like you did intervals. that's totally fine. But i'd recommend shorter bursts of high intensity and longer bursts of low-intensity to increase your cardiorespiratory capacity. In general if someone is simply looking to do intervals i usually recommend stage training which i've personally found helped me tremendously in increasing my VO2 Max.
  • kmaf2018
    kmaf2018 Posts: 124 Member
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    Awww and there was me thinking I was working hard haha!

    I really do try and push as hard as I can though, like I literally can't push anymore haha! especially if I'm doing intervals like the above....like my breathing is so hard and fast I feel like my heart is on the outside of my body.....I think I have experienced the "go all out" feeling but it only happens if I'm on the stairmaster, I literally can only do intervals of around 10-15 seconds on speed 15 and then I feel like I'm gasping for air....


  • Rammer123
    Rammer123 Posts: 679 Member
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    Ideally you'd wait until your heart rate comes back down. You probably don't need to wait until it gets to 135 which can take a long time to get back down to especially if you're no super fit already.

    People may come and tell you that what you're doing isn't HIIT and all this when in reality they have no idea the intensity you're going at. Just give it everything you have for 20-60 seconds and rest until you feel like you can go ALL OUT again and repeat

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