Interval training and me don't agree

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  • JoLightensUp
    JoLightensUp Posts: 140 Member
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    Scubdup wrote: »
    I think you should go and see a doctor - i think dizziness and undue breathlessness are things you should get investigated before increasing your exercise volume.

    I agree. Please seriously consider doing this. It's worth ruling out any issues.

    I had some odd symptoms a few years ago and so had a stress test - on a bike...arggh it was hard! They didn't find any problems, but I'm glad my GP recommended it, and it gave me the confidence to return to exercise. (I have an extensive family history of heart disease, so that was always lurking at the back of my mind.)
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    edited October 2017
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Classic example of needing to learn to walk before you run. No offense, it's not your fault. This HIIT stuff is genuinely bad advice for people who are new to exercise. I'm gains you nothing if you don't have a good level of base fitness. Just ride the bike at a comfortable pace.

    Pretty much...HIIT was devised for athletes who already had a very strong base of fitness and needed something extra to keep going.

    You'd be much better off just getting in more time and building up your fitness.

    This^^! There are also a couple of other things that I noticed. You were doing 20 sec bursts and only 10 second recovery periods. That's all whacked out. I don't know where you got that routine but it's not a good one. Typically it would be 20 sec bursts, 1 minute or 1.5 minute recovery. No wonder you were short of breath! I'm in really good shape and that would close to kill me!

    There are really only 2 good reasons I can think of for doing a HIIT routine: You are an athlete who does burst sports eg. Soccer, MMA, Sprinter and you want to increase your V02 Max (I assume OP is not in this category). Or, your only opportunity to exercise is 30 minutes a couple times per week and are trying to get max benefit in that short a period of time. And then, as cwolfman said, you need a good base of fitness. HIIT also has central nervous system impact, as you have learned the hard way, and the recovery is much more difficult.

    If you have the time to do lower impact methods, as has been recommended, that's what you ought to do.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    JoLightensUp wrote: »
    Scubdup wrote: »
    I think you should go and see a doctor - i think dizziness and undue breathlessness are things you should get investigated before increasing your exercise volume.

    I agree. Please seriously consider doing this. It's worth ruling out any issues.

    I had some odd symptoms a few years ago and so had a stress test - on a bike...arggh it was hard! They didn't find any problems, but I'm glad my GP recommended it, and it gave me the confidence to return to exercise. (I have an extensive family history of heart disease, so that was always lurking at the back of my mind.)

    It's never a bad idea to get medical advice for these kinds of issues but even a really fit person is going to be short of breath and dizzy from 20/10 intervals. Also, the best time to see a doctor is before you start a HIIT program! Just sayin.....
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
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    Amen to HIIT being a bad idea for beginners. A couple of years ago my spouse and I tried to “jumpstart” our fitness by doing a boot camp which featured a lot of spinning. It did not go well, and we went back to being couch potatoes for another two years. Just recently we’ve started off slow with regular walks and easy jogging and it’s going much better.

    I’m starting to think that any time someone uses the term “jumpstart” in reference to anything but a car battery, it’s a bad sign.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    Enough has been said about the particular protocol being used, it appears to be a variation of tabata 20/10x8... But, What I don't see is a decent period of warmup and cooldown... 5 minutes warmup and 10 minutes cooldown would be a minimum for a protocol like this.

    Also, I agree that it looks like you've got possible exercise induced asthma. Which can be managed in many folks with proper warmup/cooldown and pacing.
  • katsheare
    katsheare Posts: 1,025 Member
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    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Classic example of needing to learn to walk before you run. No offense, it's not your fault. This HIIT stuff is genuinely bad advice for people who are new to exercise. I'm gains you nothing if you don't have a good level of base fitness. Just ride the bike at a comfortable pace.

    SO NICE TO SEE THIS!!! I had a horrible experience with an aerobics class offered at work which ended up being HIIT. I believe in going hard but really I'm not an 'intensity' sort of person. Nevertheless I came out of that in pain, miserable and discouraged. Also felt that we hadn't been properly prepared for what was happening, but that gripe went to the organiser. Since then (that was three years ago), I've started on C25K and the NHS Strength & Flex podcast (from which I graduate next week!) and have pilates in my view. While HIIT sounds good for some people, I don't even want to give it a try again. Running and bodyweight (and cycling to/from work) are sufficient for me.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
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    Everyone please remember the opposite of HIIT isn't a steady pace, it's a natural one. You can speed up and show down during a non HIIT workout, everyone does.
  • Scubdup
    Scubdup Posts: 104 Member
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    mmapags wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Classic example of needing to learn to walk before you run. No offense, it's not your fault. This HIIT stuff is genuinely bad advice for people who are new to exercise. I'm gains you nothing if you don't have a good level of base fitness. Just ride the bike at a comfortable pace.

    Pretty much...HIIT was devised for athletes who already had a very strong base of fitness and needed something extra to keep going.

    You'd be much better off just getting in more time and building up your fitness.

    This^^! There are also a couple of other things that I noticed. You were doing 20 sec bursts and only 10 second recovery periods. That's all whacked out. I don't know where you got that routine but it's not a good one. Typically it would be 20 sec bursts, 1 minute or 1.5 minute recovery. No wonder you were short of breath! I'm in really good shape and that would close to kill me!

    There are really only 2 good reasons I can think of for doing a HIIT routine: You are an athlete who does burst sports eg. Soccer, MMA, Sprinter and you want to increase your V02 Max (I assume OP is not in this category). Or, your only opportunity to exercise is 30 minutes a couple times per week and are trying to get max benefit in that short a period of time. And then, as cwolfman said, you need a good base of fitness. HIIT also has central nervous system impact, as you have learned the hard way, and the recovery is much more difficult.

    If you have the time to do lower impact methods, as has been recommended, that's what you ought to do.

    That "20s on; 10s off" suggests it's based on Tabata HIIT protocol. Tabata's pretty well regarded, and has strong scientific credentials, but - you've hit the nail on the head, when you say HIIT's for "athletes who already had a very strong base of fitness" - Tabata was tested on Japanese International Speed Skaters if I recall correctly.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    Scubdup wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Classic example of needing to learn to walk before you run. No offense, it's not your fault. This HIIT stuff is genuinely bad advice for people who are new to exercise. I'm gains you nothing if you don't have a good level of base fitness. Just ride the bike at a comfortable pace.

    Pretty much...HIIT was devised for athletes who already had a very strong base of fitness and needed something extra to keep going.

    You'd be much better off just getting in more time and building up your fitness.

    This^^! There are also a couple of other things that I noticed. You were doing 20 sec bursts and only 10 second recovery periods. That's all whacked out. I don't know where you got that routine but it's not a good one. Typically it would be 20 sec bursts, 1 minute or 1.5 minute recovery. No wonder you were short of breath! I'm in really good shape and that would close to kill me!

    There are really only 2 good reasons I can think of for doing a HIIT routine: You are an athlete who does burst sports eg. Soccer, MMA, Sprinter and you want to increase your V02 Max (I assume OP is not in this category). Or, your only opportunity to exercise is 30 minutes a couple times per week and are trying to get max benefit in that short a period of time. And then, as cwolfman said, you need a good base of fitness. HIIT also has central nervous system impact, as you have learned the hard way, and the recovery is much more difficult.

    If you have the time to do lower impact methods, as has been recommended, that's what you ought to do.

    That "20s on; 10s off" suggests it's based on Tabata HIIT protocol. Tabata's pretty well regarded, and has strong scientific credentials, but - you've hit the nail on the head, when you say HIIT's for "athletes who already had a very strong base of fitness" - Tabata was tested on Japanese International Speed Skaters if I recall correctly.

    Gotcha. Thanks. I'm not that familiar with Tabata.

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