HIIT Veterans Please Help!

Simbii95

Hey ya'11. Been doing the Beachbody Insanity workout and I just finished the first week of month 2. In month 1 I lost about 4 kg (8.5 lbs). Pretty satisfied with the results. The issue now is as the workouts are harder and longer I find myself completely lacking strength. Im not even that out of breath just literally feel like my arms and legs are made of lead! Can anyone please enlighten me as to whats going on and what I should do as this is pretty crazy! I wanna be able to give it my all and maximize my results!. Will taking creatine by any chance help? I don't really know about this stuff its just what a friend recommended. Thank you!! Stay safe!

MikePfirrman

There are a lot of HIIT threads out there, so I won't go into those. But what I will say is that real HIIT isn't for those starting out. You should build a cardio base first. You have one month of Insanity under your belt, which might be great. The weight loss certainly is!

But here's the thing - you're tired, seems like you're overtraining for you right now. Take a few days off and then start back and monitor yourself for how you feel. Do you really feel like working that hard that day? If not, take a day off or go for a walk or a slow jog.

What's marketed as HIIT to the general public as an instant weight loss fix is a bit dangerous to be honest. You should be in really good cardio shape before even attempting HIIT. If not, you lose form, could have a heart attack or get injured. HIIT is brutally hard if done right. Most people really don't do the base work necessary to get to the point of benefiting from HIIT the right way.

HIIT should be when your HR is at 85% of max or more. Many never even know what that feels like (and quite frankly shouldn't). I do HIIT now after running for five years and doing indoor rowing for five more. I do cardio for six hours a week -- four of five of it really easy and then one to two hours of hard stuff -- HIIT on occasion. But even I took off a few days last week and did super light workouts or reduced loads because I wasn't feeling it. Pay attention to your body and if you can't lift your arms or legs, your body is telling you that you're doing too much too fast.

Eat around your workout too. Eat back at least 2/3 of your exercise calories around your workout with some protein and carbs after. You can't do intense workout starving. That might also be part of the issue as well. 8 lbs in a month is a lot trying to do HIIT! A half a pound a week or one pound a week is more sustainable doing HIIT. Don't take creatine. Not necessary at all. Get enough food around your workout, make sure you're drinking plenty of liquids and electrolytes. D-Ribose is a better supplement if you were looking for one. My wife has Fibromyalgia. D-Ribose helps you recover fairly well from workouts but diet/calories/liquid and electrolytes are more important.

cwolfman13

Simbii95 wrote: »

Hey ya'11. Been doing the Beachbody Insanity workout and I just finished the first week of month 2. In month 1 I lost about 4 kg (8.5 lbs). Pretty satisfied with the results. The issue now is as the workouts are harder and longer I find myself completely lacking strength. Im not even that out of breath just literally feel like my arms and legs are made of lead! Can anyone please enlighten me as to whats going on and what I should do as this is pretty crazy! I wanna be able to give it my all and maximize my results!. Will taking creatine by any chance help? I don't really know about this stuff its just what a friend recommended. Thank you!! Stay safe!

A couple of things. For starters, Insanity is a pretty intense workout, but it's not HIIT. What was your fitness base before starting Insanity...Insanity isn't really a beginners program and is designed for people who are already in pretty good shape. If you didn't come from a pretty good base of fitness, what you're experiencing wouldn't be abnormal. It would also not be abnormal to have to repeat workouts and weeks if you're a beginner to fitness and doing Insanity.

sijomial

Simbii95 wrote: »

Can anyone please enlighten me as to whats going on and what I should do

Sounds like you have launched yourself into a workout routine that is beyond your current capabilities and to make that even harder you are eating at a substantial calorie deficit - your body is even less able to adapt and recover from your exercise. Typically people can manage that for a number of weeks until the stress and fatigue build and then your body tells you loud and clear it isn't coping.

Too much, too soon syndrome!

Suggest you rest, recover and reconsider what is an appropriate exercise regime for you right now and also what is a suitable eating level to support your exercise. Fitness is built bottom up, don't neglect building the foundations that will allow you to raise your intensity later.

AnnPT77

Weakness and fatigue are a dead canary in a coal-mine, signs of out-exercising current fitness level, underfueling that exercise, or both.

I don't know how much you have to lose, but a kg a week is an aggressive loss rate, suitable for people over 200 pounds who have 50+ pounds left to lose. Even for them, it might be too much, combined with an aggressive new exercise schedule.

You have warning signs here. As others have said, it's time to adjust, and the adjustment could be any combination of reducing exercise volume, reducing exercise intensity, reducing exercise frequency or eating more.