Pros/Cons on doing HIIT?

j_cordes

So, I decided today that I would try doing HIIT on the arc trainer. I went for 20 minutes instead of my usual 45. I burned less calories but I felt like I had done more in less time (I actually felt like I was gonna die, lol). I'm trying to figure out if doing HIIT will give me better results. Input anyone??

beccau_20

You're reading my mind. I'd like to know, too. Also, any advice on where to start with it?

skylar1907

My instruction from personal trainer is that HIT will help you build muscle because of the intensity - but you still need to have a balance of cardio that's not in zone 4-5 at all times. HIT will definitely help you burn calories at a higher rate though. Little time? Do HIT - but when you have time, take a nice long walk/jog around the block too.

tuskegee4

WOW, can't help but just got my Insanity Kit in mail and researching bodyrock.tv. I've been stuck for 2 months and need to change it up!

mesafford

My advice would be to do this in combination with your typical routine on the machine. Switch it up. Do the HIIT sometimes, do your regular setting sometimes. It's better for your endurance to mix it up like that- it is so good for you to rotate between super hard work for less time and pacing yourself for longer time periods. The more you "mix up" your exercise routine, the better your results wil be. Our bodies get used to a routine very quickly. Good luck!!!!

bzmom

OP sorry to jump in here with a question of my own but: What is HIIT?? and what does it consist of???

anna_lisa

A recent study within the last couple years actually followed two groups of women to explore this very question. One group did the basic 45 minute 1 intensity/1pace typical fatburning exercises (I believe the study followed women using cardio machines)

The second group of women did the HIIT for 20 minutes.

After the study they found the group that did the HIIT not only lost more weight but did so in I believe it was 3 months. The women in groups 1 took double the time to acheive the same results.............. and even many in group 1 did not acheive the same amount as the HIIT

HIIT is using a cardio machine to do interval of intensity's. ex. 1 minute of high intensity, 1 or 2 minutes of recovery and you repeat this several times.

ronda_gettinghealthy

I am curious about HIIT---High intensity interval training--doing Insanity (in the 4th week) --wonder if I should be adding to it with cardio in the lower ranges or stay with just insanity???

laurenpence

HIT is one of my favorite tools to use to lose weight. I am a runner so on my HIT days I jog at a 10 min pace for 1 minute and then sprint at a 5:30 pace for 30 seconds......it is super hard and I dont burn as much as I do as my long runs but the after calorie burn is greater and HIT burns your fat stores!!!! My weight loss has been much more successful since adding two HIT days to my week of working out

kaitlynnm10

I've never lost weight doing HIIT. I tend to lose more weight if I do long or multiple cardio sessions. I suppose it's good for building cardio endurance. One thing I dislike is that it makes me very hungry.

j_cordes

@ anna lisa, I'm wondering if the second group (the HIIT group) alternated on doing HIIT with regular cardio or was strictly HIIT?

@drmomm, congratulations on week 4! That's a huge accomplishment!

Also, thanks everyone for the replies!

anna_lisa

I've never lost weight doing HIIT. I tend to lose more weight if I do long or multiple cardio sessions. I suppose it's good for building cardio endurance. One thing I dislike is that it makes me very hungry.

This also could possibly be that there are two types of muscle fibers (slow-twich and fast-twitch) One type is very well equipped for the kind of short fast physical activity like sprints and the other type is equipped for endurance type exercises.

They have recently discovered that an individuals body can almost have more (i.e. be dominate) than one type over the other. (Sprinters vs. cross country runners) That doesn't mean you can't develop or train one type or the other. It is just why some individuals have an easier time with differenct activities.

anna_lisa

@ anna lisa, I'm wondering if the second group (the HIIT group) alternated on doing HIIT with regular cardio or was strictly HIIT?

@drmomm, congratulations on week 4! That's a huge accomplishment!

Also, thanks everyone for the replies!

I think the current recommendation is to alternate. Not to do HIIT everyday cause it is a tough workout but to do two days of HIIT and 2 or three days of a regular type workout. The most I have seen is three days of HIIT a week. I would have to research it more. (It is still pretty new research and I think researcher were surprised to learn you could work out for shorter time and have more significant results in less time. (I am pretty sure that in the study the HIIT also worked out less days a week 3 or 4 opposed to the other group did 5 days a week) Some of the previous notion was the , you really don't start burning calories until you have worked out for 20 mintues then you really start to burn fat. This really kinda blew that theory out of the water. Another poster has wrote that it burns fat stores. that is true.

LauraMarie37

I think there aren't really any drawbacks to HIIT, though since you push yourself harder, you do have to be more careful about listening to your body for any bad pain (that may become an injury). Go for it - you should see some great fitness gains!

Also, since you didn't mention your specific plan, I'd just want to remind you that HIIT means that while some parts should be as hard as you can push yourself, the intervals in between the high intensity (the "rest" intervals) should be out of your highest heart rate. So you shouldn't necessarily feel like you're going to die the WHOLE time, just during the high intensity parts (and, to address another poster, you should actually be getting out of zones 4-5 during those rest intervals).

donyellemoniquex3

I love HIIT