Is HIIT the most misused term on these boards?

arc918
arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
All HIIT workouts are intervals, but NOT all interval workouts are HIIT.

I'm not even a HIIT guy. I'm a distance runner, generally focused on marathon & half marathon training. I usually do intervals once a week (mile or half mile repeats). 7 x 1/2 mile repeats (at 5k pace) with 90 second jogs in between is a great workout for me, but it is not HIIT.

Repeats of walking for a two minutes and jogging for one minute is a good workout, but it is not HIIT.

Intervals are good whether or not they are HIIT, but those of you not doing HIIT shouldn't think we are reaping the benefits.
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Replies

  • MissFit0101
    MissFit0101 Posts: 2,382
    bump
  • Trail_Addict
    Trail_Addict Posts: 1,340 Member
    I only call it a HIIT workout if it made me nauseous or about to collapse.
  • kmp411
    kmp411 Posts: 30 Member
    I only call it a HIIT workout if it made me nauseous or about to collapse.

    EXACTLY... I feel like crawling out of the gym when I'm done
  • savlyon
    savlyon Posts: 474 Member
    So to clarify, HIIT is HIGH INTENSITY...meaning sprinting/walking, right? There should be a dramatic difference between the two intervals, correct?
  • emily356
    emily356 Posts: 318 Member
    Heard this term a lot, still have no clue what HIIT is... someone please tell me!:)
  • Gwen7121
    Gwen7121 Posts: 126 Member
    I didn't even know what it was until recently. :) I don't think I could keep up with it, although I've recently added tabata training to my workout.
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,519 Member
    Not sure, but it's definitely up there with "starvation mode" and "toning"
  • emily356
    emily356 Posts: 318 Member
    Hahahaha!!!
  • kmp411
    kmp411 Posts: 30 Member
    So to clarify, HIIT is HIGH INTENSITY...meaning sprinting/walking, right? There should be a dramatic difference between the two intervals, correct?

    Using the treadmill as an example yes... Typically I do 9 - 11mph for 30-60 seconds (depending on mood) then drop down to 3.5 -4 mph for 2 mins..repeat
  • Jonesie1984
    Jonesie1984 Posts: 612 Member
    Bump and Agreed. I interval train A LOT but I only do HIIT rarely because it wipes my butt out! It's not an everyday/every workout thing.
  • savlyon
    savlyon Posts: 474 Member
    So to clarify, HIIT is HIGH INTENSITY...meaning sprinting/walking, right? There should be a dramatic difference between the two intervals, correct?

    Using the treadmill as an example yes... Typically I do 9 - 11mph for 30-60 seconds (depending on mood) then drop down to 3.5 -4 mph for 2 mins..repeat

    haha, ok, that is what I do, although I'm not as fast. I usually do 1 min at 8-9 mph and then 1 min at 4 mph. I was just thinking, ummm....do I know what I am doing? Ya, I guess so.
  • grapenutSF
    grapenutSF Posts: 648 Member
    Tabata might be another misunderstood term.

    http://www.tabataprotocol.com/

    Wrong: "I just did an hour of tabatas."
    Right: "Those tabatas made me crave death just to put an end to it."
  • fatty2fabby
    fatty2fabby Posts: 415 Member
    Not sure, but it's definitely up there with "starvation mode" and "toning"

    ^ this
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    High Intensity Interval Training and yes it's go 'til you almost can't anymore for 30 seconds or 1 minute depending on the program, catch your breath almost for like 90 seconds and the go all out again. I do this 2x per week. I bus from the endorphis for 2 to 3 hours afterward then would really like a nap. Jacks your metabolism for about 2 hours afterwards.
  • Trail_Addict
    Trail_Addict Posts: 1,340 Member
    Tabata might be another misunderstood term.

    http://www.tabataprotocol.com/

    Wrong: "I just did an hour of tabatas."
    Right: "Those tabatas made me crave death just to put an end to it."

    If you can finish a Tabata workout without wishing for death, then it wasn't a Tabata workout; it was just an interval workout. :laugh:
  • summertime_girl
    summertime_girl Posts: 3,945 Member
    Repeats of walking for a two minutes and jogging for one minute is a good workout, but it is not HIIT.
    That may in fact be high intensity for some. I think it's all relative.
  • bahacca
    bahacca Posts: 878 Member
    TOTALLY agree. I do HIIT 1-2x a week. I do it on a bike because I know I'll be flying off the back end of a treadmill if I had to go full speed on one. I'm sure people think I'm NUTS pedaling so freakin hard for 30 seconds at a time it looks like the bike will just take flight. In 16 minutes I am DRIPPING sweat. I didn't know the effects the first time I did it and nearly fell over getting off the bike. I now know to do a few minutes on the bike after, get off of it SLOWLY, hold onto it and stretch a bit before even attempting to walk. And then, when you walk, you walk like a flamingo because your muscles are just like "WTF just happened???" I haven't looked at the pedal thingy to see how fast I'm going when I'm going full speed. I'm not even sure I can concentrate to lift my head up to look at the thing, but next time I'll try.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    No, starvation mode is the most misused term on these boards.

    But your point may be second on the list.
  • jenlb99
    jenlb99 Posts: 213 Member
    Tabata might be another misunderstood term.

    http://www.tabataprotocol.com/

    Wrong: "I just did an hour of tabatas."
    Right: "Those tabatas made me crave death just to put an end to it."

    If you can finish a Tabata workout without wishing for death, then it wasn't a Tabata workout; it was just an interval workout. :laugh:

    Hahaha NO KIDDING.

    I do 20 minutes of Tabatas 3 times a week and it fricking kills me. HIIT is nothing in comparison.
  • summertime_girl
    summertime_girl Posts: 3,945 Member
    Tabata might be another misunderstood term.

    http://www.tabataprotocol.com/

    Wrong: "I just did an hour of tabatas."
    Right: "Those tabatas made me crave death just to put an end to it."

    If you can finish a Tabata workout without wishing for death, then it wasn't a Tabata workout; it was just an interval workout. :laugh:

    In conjunction with HCG?
  • bahacca
    bahacca Posts: 878 Member
    Repeats of walking for a two minutes and jogging for one minute is a good workout, but it is not HIIT.
    That may in fact be high intensity for some. I think it's all relative.
    If you are doing HIIT, you wouldn't be able to sustain the jog for 1 minute. HIIT is going maximum capacity, and NOONE can sustain that for a minute. I struggle to do it for 30 seconds-I usually wind up around 20-25 seconds before I KNOW I'm slowing down. So while speed at maximum will vary person to person, the length of time that people can actually exert themselves at maximum capacity isn't going to be a minute for anyone.
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
    Intervals are good whether or not they are HIIT, but those of you not doing HIIT shouldn't think we are reaping the benefits.
    Instead of accusing people (perhaps correctly) of misusing the term HIIT, and giving examples of what it is not, it would be a lot more helpful if you could spell out what IS HIIT...

    EDITED TO ADD: I think I'm doing HIIT, and that's the term that my gym instructor used for the balls to the wall intervals I'm doing, but who knows if it's correct? Not me, and I'd like to know!
  • reddi2roll
    reddi2roll Posts: 356 Member
    JOKE: Well, to me it means Heparin Induced Thrombocytopenia :love: cause I'm a nurse.

    But, I too, would like calrification of both terms HIT and Tabata
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    TOTALLY agree. I do HIIT 1-2x a week. I do it on a bike because I know I'll be flying off the back end of a treadmill if I had to go full speed on one. I'm sure people think I'm NUTS pedaling so freakin hard for 30 seconds at a time it looks like the bike will just take flight. In 16 minutes I am DRIPPING sweat. I didn't know the effects the first time I did it and nearly fell over getting off the bike. I now know to do a few minutes on the bike after, get off of it SLOWLY, hold onto it and stretch a bit before even attempting to walk. And then, when you walk, you walk like a flamingo because your muscles are just like "WTF just happened???" I haven't looked at the pedal thingy to see how fast I'm going when I'm going full speed. I'm not even sure I can concentrate to lift my head up to look at the thing, but next time I'll try.

    Love this! Great description!! Especially this: "I'm sure people think I'm NUTS pedaling so freakin hard for 30 seconds at a time"
    I get looks all the time that look like they are thinking" what's up with this nut?" This morning Iwas kinda gasping for air and low grunting at the end of an interval and a couple walked by and looked at me all concerned like they thought I might be having a coronary or something!
  • IronmanPanda
    IronmanPanda Posts: 2,083 Member
    Heart rate...
  • IronmanPanda
    IronmanPanda Posts: 2,083 Member
    Lactate.Threshold
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
    Intervals are good whether or not they are HIIT, but those of you not doing HIIT shouldn't think we are reaping the benefits.
    Instead of accusing people (perhaps correctly) of misusing the term HIIT, and giving examples of what it is not, it would be a lot more helpful if you could spell out what IS HIIT...

    It depends on your definition of HIGH intensity. For weight loss benefit, It would be as fast as you can go for a length of time, maybe 1min, 30seconds, 1.5mins. etc... followed by a period of rest. I'd guess i'd classify it above "moderate" intensity.

    The way intervals work is that on the rest period, you're body does it's best to cope with the stress it just experienced. In time recovery would be faster. You're really training the "recovery" when you do intervals. The more fit you are, the faster you recover.
    Brilliant, thanks for explaining. :smile:

    In that case, yes I am doing HIIT (to improve my cardio, not for weight loss) I'm running to the absolute max, with my little legs whirring like a sewing machine for about 20 to 25 seconds, then recovering and doing it again and again and again. It's absolutely brutal, and a bit scary to be running that fast to be honest, I'm still a bit nervous of it all going horribly wrong, but I can tell it's making a huge difference to my fitness level. I'm mostly not logging it as HIIT on here, because I only do it for about 15 minutes, then stay on the treadmill for at least another 15 minutes and do a slow jog or a 15% "hillwalk" just to burn off a few more calories.
  • savlyon
    savlyon Posts: 474 Member
    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/why-you-shouldnt-hiit-train.html

    http://www.notyouraveragefitnesstips.com/best-workout-routines/best-cardio-for-weight-loss-hiit-workout-routine


    http://tabatatraining.org/

    Ah, the power of Google :love:
  • corrymeela
    corrymeela Posts: 24 Member
    What is HIIT?
    it is doing an exercise at 100% heart rate -you should be barely able to do another second after about 30 secs.
    this means the sprint is both aerobic and anaerobic.
    you then work lightly for 30-60 secs.
    repeat for 20-30 mins
    a crucial part of HIIT is that in the light phase your heart rate doesnt drop below 65-70% of your max heart rate.
    For myself i jog for 10 mins to warm up,then do hiit -
    sprint up a hill until come to standstil,walk back down and repeat for 20 mins
    then 10 min jog after hiit.
    Hope this helps.
  • reddi2roll
    reddi2roll Posts: 356 Member
    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/why-you-shouldnt-hiit-train.html

    http://www.notyouraveragefitnesstips.com/best-workout-routines/best-cardio-for-weight-loss-hiit-workout-routine


    http://tabatatraining.org/

    Ah, the power of Google :love:

    And I Googled (verb) http://www.tabataprotocol.com/
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