Anyone had real results with HIIT?
bigsistruck
Posts: 125 Member
I'm just wondering if HIIT lives up to it's hype. I want to start doing shorter workouts that are more intense to save time and increase my muscle tone. I always read about how great it is from so called experts but never hear any actual people saying if it works that much better than just running a few miles at a steady state. Has anyone here tried it and went back to their old routine because it wasn't working any better? Thanks all!
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1) A program like insanity will combine HIIT with less intense IT, so I would say yes.
2) In my opinion, what a lot of people call HIIT is lacking in the intensity department.
3) It will burn more cals per minute than steady cardio, but because of the intensity will likely mean a much shorter session - this could mean less calories burnt overall. Some people HATE traditional cardio so they are OK with that.0 -
I think HIIT is like crossfit, right? If so YES. I have been doing crossfit for 19 months and you can see my before and after in my profile. I love it!0
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It burns calories, just like any other type of exercise. What type of results are you looking for?
How you work out is personal preference. I don't care for intervals/HIIT when I run, I just run. Some people don't find that enjoyable so they'd rather sprint a half mile, jog to recover, sprint again, etc. Whatever works for you should give you "results"0 -
I think HIIT is like crossfit, right? If so YES. I have been doing crossfit for 19 months and you can see my before and after in my profile. I love it!
HIIT is High Intensity Interval Training. It means alternating periods of intense anerobic with less intense "recovery" phases.0 -
I am just wanting to burn roughly the same amount of calories that I would with one of my steady-state step routines that are about 30-40 minutes long. I would also like to gain muscle as well.0
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I think HIIT is like crossfit, right? If so YES. I have been doing crossfit for 19 months and you can see my before and after in my profile. I love it!
There may be Crossfit workouts that incorporate HIIT but Crossfit isn't HIIT by default.0 -
Hell yeah!!!0
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I have used HIIT to help me increase my running distance. It is much more intensive than straight continuously paced cardio. I haven't read the studies myself but some of the PharmD grad students I work with mentioned a couple of studies that show that even relatively short training periods of HIIT is extremely effective at improving overall cardio fitness. It will do nothing for your overall strength though.0
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I think HIIT is like crossfit, right? If so YES. I have been doing crossfit for 19 months and you can see my before and after in my profile. I love it!
There may be Crossfit workouts that incorporate HIIT but Crossfit isn't HIIT by default.
Word.0 -
HIIT won't help you gain muscle or strength, but it will help decrease fat and improve cardio endurance.0
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I've been doing 10 minutes of HIIT after my strength routine 3 days a week, using the Sworkit app. I was walking for about 45 minutes on alternate days. Just this week I moved back into running on my alternate days instead of walking, and I've found my stamina to be increased quite a bit. I think HIIT has made the difference.0
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I'm just wondering if HIIT lives up to it's hype. I want to start doing shorter workouts that are more intense to save time and increase my muscle tone. I always read about how great it is from so called experts but never hear any actual people saying if it works that much better than just running a few miles at a steady state. Has anyone here tried it and went back to their old routine because it wasn't working any better? Thanks all!
As people have said it depends on what you are after. I sometimes do intervals of 20 secs on 10 off x8 x2 rowing and spinning. They are fantastic for increasing speed. I increased my running speed by 1 mph and bike by about 6 mph after 6 weeks of them.0 -
hype?0
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I'm just wondering if HIIT lives up to it's hype.
Depends what you want from it. I can help improve VO2Max if done properly and maintained over about three months.0 -
I'm just wondering if HIIT lives up to it's hype. I want to start doing shorter workouts that are more intense to save time and increase my muscle tone. I always read about how great it is from so called experts but never hear any actual people saying if it works that much better than just running a few miles at a steady state. Has anyone here tried it and went back to their old routine because it wasn't working any better? Thanks all!
Hi there!
It depends on the type of HIIT.
You can do any kind of regular cardio exercise (running, bike, rowing...you name it) and do intervals of high intensity, low intensity for a certain period of time. You will not rest between intervals, though.
Or, and this might be the kind you are looking for, you can set up high intensity circuits with weights, and a number of exercises will be performed for a set time, as many reps as possible, targeting various muscle groups throughout the entire circuit, no rest times.
I'm a bit fan of the second kind. I get to work on my endurance without having to run on a treadmill, and I build up muscle at the same time with the weights.
It's not burning as many calories as one might think, looking at the sweat-soaked towel, but unlike plain running, this workout will tear muscles. And those will still glow for a long time after, if you're giving all you've got for about 30 minutes.... I did my workout around noon today, and I'm still burning up..... So YES, it's successful!0 -
I did an active metabolic assessment a few months ago and one of the outputs was a very specific weekly cardio program. I have 2 high-intensity days and 3 low-intensity days per week.
My 2 high-intensity days look like this:
- zone 4 workout: 10m warmup to zone 1-2, 5m rest, 5 sets of 2m in zone 4 followed by 2m in zones 1-2, 10m cool down
- zone 3 workout: 10m warmup to zone 1-2, 5m rest, 3 sets of 5m in zone 3 followed by 1m15s in zones 1-2, 10m cool down
When I first started, I could easily get to zone 4 with a little more treadmill incline or speed while only walking; it would take a while before I could bring my heart rate back down to zone 2; and I was not able to hold the full 10m (zone 4 workout) or 15m (zone 3 workout) peak. Now I have to jog or use the elliptical to get to the higher zones; my heart rate drops fairly fast when I'm going slow; and I can do my zone 3 workout to completion. Still struggling a little to complete all 10m of my zone 4 workout, but I've not been 100% consistent. My weight loss seems to have accelerated slightly since I started doing this cardio program, and I feel like I've had a heck of a workout when I'm done. My stamina is MUCH better but I can't say whether it's due to the cardio, the strength training I'm also doing, or both. Primary goal is weight loss.
My wife has done several active metabolic assessments and her zones 1, 2 and 3 have come way down over the past several months. She is to the point of learning how to run (something she's never really done before) in order to continue the HIIT portion her cardio program. The assessment felt like a near-death experience to me and I much prefer the strength training over cardio, so I've been hesitant to go through another assessment.
Sam0 -
High intensity training is sprinter type body. Steady pace is marathon runner body. Which would you rather have?0
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I like HIIT training because I find my body has a harder time getting used to whatever I am doing. You can switch up HIIT training a lot. 3 intense mins 1 easy min, 1 intense min, 30s easy, etc. I find I get better results this way.0
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High intensity training is sprinter type body. Steady pace is marathon runner body. Which would you rather have?
Umm, you do appreciate that long distance runners do HIIT sessions to optimise speed performance, and sprinters do distance work to optimise stamina don't you...0 -
BBC did a really interesting show about this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01cywtq
Actually measuring this guy's 24 hour burn using walking vs regular cardio vs HIIT0 -
Are there really a lot of top sprinters doing distance work?High intensity training is sprinter type body. Steady pace is marathon runner body. Which would you rather have?
Umm, you do appreciate that long distance runners do HIIT sessions to optimise speed performance, and sprinters do distance work to optimise stamina don't you...0 -
Are there really a lot of top sprinters doing distance work?
Generally up to about 10Km, so not particularly long distance, but the main point is that they're not doing exclusively sprinting.
Of course the more significant difference is the nature and volume of resistance training, with sprinters generally doing a lot more and with more significant weights, with distance runners tending not to do work that's not supporting their objectives.
Any successful programme is going to include a combination of resistance, stamina, lactate threshold and interval work though. Each type of training delivers a different training effect, each of which work together to support ones training objectives.
Building on the point upthread around most people who talk about HIIT not really doing HIIT, I'd agree. Most people don't warm up enough to really drive their performance to the top end in the high intensity periods, so they play at it. Sprinters will warm up for a couple of miles before a session, in the same way that lod distance runners will. Sprinters do more of these sessions, as that supports their objectives. Distance runners do them to maximise VO2Max, hence adding an edge to their speed.0 -
Are there really a lot of top sprinters doing distance work?
Generally up to about 10Km, so not particularly long distance, but the main point is that they're not doing exclusively sprinting.
Of course the more significant difference is the nature and volume of resistance training, with sprinters generally doing a lot more and with more significant weights, with distance runners tending not to do work that's not supporting their objectives.
Any successful programme is going to include a combination of resistance, stamina, lactate threshold and interval work though. Each type of training delivers a different training effect, each of which work together to support ones training objectives.
Hahahahaha..... I never ran across the really, REALLY top sprinters, but my coach at the time thought it would improve my endurance for sprinting and sent me on to compete in 1500 m and 3000 m cross country runs at the same time as I was competing in 100m dash and 4x100 m relay...... Needles to say, my sprint times really sucked after that experience...... So, out of personal experience, I would cast some doubt on the possibility that a really top sprinter will do a 10k..... The overall training distance might eventually add up the this, but it's probably a whole lot of really fast intervals.....lol0 -
So, out of personal experience,
I'll concede that I wasn't a national level runner, my national representation was in another discipline and about ten years ago. Our athletics squad were doing a decent amount of distance work.
That said I'd also question why you'd do that in competition season. Periodisation applies to all aspects of the training plan; resistance, stamina and speedwork. In competition season, much more speedwork for sprinters than stamina and resistance, in off season, lots of building the base.
No surprise that your track performance would suffer if you didn't focus on your performance objective. Not sure what your coach was playing at there.0 -
My body responds better to HIIT than steady state cardio. Therefore I still do Insanity 2 to 3 days a week as well as Turbo Fire HIIT classes.0
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So, out of personal experience,
I'll concede that I wasn't a national level runner, my national representation was in another discipline and about ten years ago. Our athletics squad were doing a decent amount of distance work.
That said I'd also question why you'd do that in competition season. Periodisation applies to all aspects of the training plan; resistance, stamina and speedwork. In competition season, much more speedwork for sprinters than stamina and resistance, in off season, lots of building the base.
No surprise that your track performance would suffer if you didn't focus on your performance objective. Not sure what your coach was playing at there.
Hahahaha.....the answer to your question in a nut shell: The coach was an idiot....'certified' isn't always 'competent'.... Lesson learned... The following season, I just joined the volleyball team. Problem solved! Lots of HIIT there, even though they didn't even use the term back in the day...lol
Happy training!0 -
"You can't out-race your fork", meaning exercise is much less effective reducing net calories than controlling your eating.
HIIT was not intended to just burn calories It has been found to increase both aerobic and anaerobic capacity in cardio sports like speed skating an cycling, and to increase the ratio of lean muscle to fat. That is what I use it for endurance while maintaining muscle. At a 1:3 high:low ratio, 30:90 seconds, I started on the stationary bike a month ago with 3 intervals and can now do 5.
The original Tabata intervals of 2:1 high:low was developed for Olympic-level athletes. Unless someone can point to a study of energy used in situ (CO2 exchange, ergometer), I do not believe any claims, especially any using the words "fat-blasting"
http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/caloricexp.html0
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