Cardio HIIT vs combination HIIT

jordymils

I am a month into my reset and plan on continuing for another 4-6 weeks but I am already REALLY not looking forward to cutting calories - eating this much is awesome!! - so I'm planning on adding in more exercise so that my TDEE is higher, and therefore my cut will be about the same as my current TDEE.

My question is this - does anyone know if there is a benefit in doing pure cardio HIIT (walking/running) vs combination HIIT (jumping jacks, burpees, high knees, push ups, etc)?? If I did cardio it would likely be 1 min run, 1 min walk for 20-30 minutes total, and if I did combination it would probably be 30 secs of whichever exercise, 10 secs rest for 20-30 minutes.

My current exercise is 4 crossfit sessions per week, plus 1 pole fitness class but this ends next week, and I usually walk once or twice a week for 30 mins. So when I cut, I would do 4 crossfit sessions, 2 x 30min HIIT and maybe still 1-2 walks.
According to scooby, my TDEE at 3-5 hours exercise (current) is 2315 which is what I am eating now, and my 10% cut with 5-6 hours exercise (future) is 2319. I've lost 30kg over the last 2 years and am only looking to lose another 5-8kg but focusing mainly on toning/shedding fat, so I believe a 10% cut is sufficient for a small amount of weight loss...?

If anyone has any feedback on the HIIT sessions, if this would be enough to account for a higher TDEE (and therefore not needing to cut calories) and also if a 10% cut is enough, it would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks

conniedj

HIIT by design is made to push your anaerobic threshold at every work interval. With that said, the main goal is to push yourself for the entire period of working time, and then actively recover. Naturally you can do different time intervals...but the recovery/rest should be as long as/longer than than the work interval. Ex: 30 sec work/30-60 second active recovery.

So it really comes down to this (at least for me): Are you doing HIIT just for the burn or as part of your resistance workout? If it is just for the burn--then sprints/walk are fine. If you were to do bleacher/hill sprints--that would be like adding resistance in as a component to your workout. Same thing for squats (DB, or bodyweight), lunges, burpees, etc. Does this make sense? I know that I enjoy my variation of workouts--and don't run--so it's an easy choice for me!

I know that I can burn 400-500 in a 40-45 min session, so it def. ups my TDEE if it is an added component. HTH!

heybales

None of what you described is actually HIIT.

The walk/run is intervals, and that's beneficial as you'll see faster progress for a shorter amount of time, in performance.

It's the reason lifting shows better performance gains in say 3 x 8 reps, not 1 x 100.

The other stuff is just upper aerobic, lower anaerobic. Intense to be sure, but not HIIT.

In order to hit (ah, hit) High Intensity, you got to be pushing upper anaerobic level, which can only be sustained for 45 sec if trained well, more like 15-30 sec normally, there is frankly no more fuel than that to hit it at that high level. Then in order to hit it as hard again, you must recovery to recharge the ATP stores. Just like the rests between sets. If you didn't rest, you'd never lift as heavy. Same here, you can't hit it as hard if you don't recovery long enough.

The problem with intervals and intense stuff, unless you've got a HRM to see how high it's getting, going by the feeling you are giving it your all is just not useful. Because you'll feel the same way if you do it tired and can barely push the speed up there, or if fresh and doing it right.
If you have a lot of experience doing it, you can tell, but that's experience doing it right.

But do your walk/jog intervals, like 2-3 min each, they'll be great for recovery day after lifting, and increase your TDEE. Your calorie burn would be the average pace done for the time. Just don't make them sprints using the same muscles you just used the day before.

jordymils

But do your walk/jog intervals, like 2-3 min each, they'll be great for recovery day after lifting, and increase your TDEE. Your calorie burn would be the average pace done for the time. Just don't make them sprints using the same muscles you just used the day before.

Since posting this I've done some more research and found that yes, the type of workouts I had in mind were traditional intervals rather than HIIT so thanks for confirming.
I'll incorporate a couple of interval cardio sessions into my week, but just not sure what exactly you mean by the calorie burn being the 'average pace done for time'?

I do actually have a HRM so good to know that that's the best way to do proper HIIT sessions.

heybales

Avg pace.
You walk at 4mph say, then run at 6 mph, equal time. 5mph avg.

If you did that method, then the MFP entry of 5 mph will be more accurate than HRM.

Or say 4 mph for 1 min, than another, than 6 mph for 1 min - 4+4+6=14/3=4.7 mph. Which may not even be a pace.

HRM will help too, but with this method, the calorie burn doesn't really matter, you already included it in your TDEE. But that avg pace does tell you how much time to add to get TDEE estimate. Because of course 1 hr of walking doesn't raise the TDEE as much as 1 hr of running.

jordymils

Ok, I think I got it. Thanks!