HIIT exercises

Robin9

I have taken the initiative and began doing High intensity interval training on my elliptical. I have only been doing this for 2 weeks, but have been working out for 2 months. I ran this idea past a personal trainer at 24 hour fitness and he said you will burn no more cals than if you went at a steady pace the whole time. At this point I am now confused.....anyone else had better success doing HIIT vs a steady pace??

smg1010

I think I have had more success in doing HIIT than a steady pace. I also find it less boring and that it goes by faster. I've heard that intervals are very good for burning belly fat- and it has worked very well for me so far.

SHBoss1673

HIIT training has multiple benefits over steady state cardio.

1) less time needed for a similar cardio burn.

2) more intensity means you engage more muscle fibers, which means more long term metabolic increase

3) HIIT training increases blood oxygen efficiency and VO2 Max which can lead to longer sustained HIIT training.

4) HIIT training triggers HGH and Testosterone release, which counteracts the effects of cortisol in the body, which means you will grow muscle, burn that extra blood sugar (instead of storing it as fat), and increase your overall energy and metabolic levels permanently (if done over a consistant basis for the course of months).

So Keep up the HIIT work! It's SOOOO worth it. Just remember to mix it up, even HIIT training can become inefficient if you don't change the muscles being used after a month or two!

accck

I have taken the initiative and began doing High intensity interval training on my elliptical. I have only been doing this for 2 weeks, but have been working out for 2 months. I ran this idea past a personal trainer at 24 hour fitness and he said you will burn no more cals than if you went at a steady pace the whole time. At this point I am now confused.....anyone else had better success doing HIIT vs a steady pace??

Is HIIt the same as walking then jogging several times for a certain distance

Celestia

I do HIIT but I am not sure if I'm doing it the right way. Can anyone share their HIIT exercises?

This is what I usually do on a threadmill:

Total Time 20 minutes

Minutes 1-3 Warm up
minute 4 Run at high speed (7 mph)
minute 5 walk or jog at low speed (4mph)
and alternate every minute between high and the next minute low until the last minute cool down.

I also have started doing the Body For Life cardio routine which is also only 20 minutes and works by increasing the intensity by using intervals.

Body for Life Cardio Plan:
Warm up the first 2 minutes at Intensity Level 5
Minutes 2-3 move from Intensity Level 5 to 6
Minutes 4-5, 6-10 and 11-14 work your way from Intensity Level 6 to Level 9, maintain for one minute.
Minutes 15-19 work your way from Intensity Level 6 to Level 10 (High Point at Level 10), maintain for one minute.
Minute 20 cool down to Intensity Level 5 for one minute.

SHBoss1673

I have taken the initiative and began doing High intensity interval training on my elliptical. I have only been doing this for 2 weeks, but have been working out for 2 months. I ran this idea past a personal trainer at 24 hour fitness and he said you will burn no more cals than if you went at a steady pace the whole time. At this point I am now confused.....anyone else had better success doing HIIT vs a steady pace??

Is HIIt the same as walking then jogging several times for a certain distance

Ahh, that depends on your fitness level. HIIT training is HIGH Intensity Interval Training. If your fitness level is very low or you are older, then maybe walking with jogging is HIIT for you, but for most that would be considered too light to be considered HIIT.

The idea of hit training is to get up into the Anaerobic burn for a period of time, followed by lower level burn, rinse and repeat for between 20 to 45 minutes or so.

For example, a good hiit routine for a moderately healthy 35 year old with no serious medical conditions would probably be (with any type of cardio you desire)
5 minute warm up of the cardio
1 minute of extremely hard work getting the heart rate up to about 85 to 90% and sustaining it there. Then 2 minutes of low intensity to recover (around 65 to 70%) and repeat 4 more times for a total of 5 circuits, with a 5 minute cool down after the last one. This is a total of 25 minutes but will probably burn anywhere from 350 to 600 calories depending on the person. People in better shape can either, reduce the recovery period (I do 1 minute on, 1 minute off) and up the circuits (I usually do 8 to 10), or they can just increase the number of circuits for a longer workout.
Take note, once fatigue sets in and the recovery period no longer gives you back the energy you need, the High Intensity portion becomes far less effective, so be aware of that, and you won't end up wasting your time.

Hope this helps.

Poison5119

I have had lots of success when I interval train - I'm increasing my lung capacity, building more stamina, burning more cals and since using HIIT regularly, I've broken my latest plateau and lost 4 more lbs in 3 months - no mean feat for someone with only 10 more lbs to lose, as the last 10 are the hardest.

Experiment and find out what works for you, because not every body is the same

Edit: On my HIIT, I use elliptical/Arctrainer, and do 2 minutes of high intensity and 3 minutes of recovery, however I have not pushed past a 7 on the Exertion scale.... I'm 46.

SHBoss1673

I do HIIT but I am not sure if I'm doing it the right way. Can anyone share their HIIT exercises?

This is what I usually do on a threadmill:

Total Time 20 minutes

1-3 min. Warm up
4 min. Run at high speed (7 mph)
5 min. walk or jog at low speed (4mph)
and alternate until the last minute cool down.

I also have started doing the Body For Life cardio routine which is also only 20 minutes and works by increasing the intensity by using intervals.

Body for Life Cardio Plan:
Warm up the first 2 minutes at Intensity Level 5
Minutes 2-3 move from Intensity Level 5 to 6
Minutes 4-5, 6-10 and 11-14 work your way from Intensity Level 6 to Level 9, maintain for one minute.
Minutes 15-19 work your way from Intensity Level 6 to Level 10 (High Point at Level 10), maintain for one minute.
Minute 20 cool down to Intensity Level 5 for one minute.

If you're attempting to do a HIIT workout with your treadmill, that's too long of a recovery period, 5 minutes hampers the release of all those good exercise hormones which is a main reason to do HIIT in the first place. I would recommend googling EPOC It's an important concept to understand when thiniking of HIIT training. Also, while your at it, Google HGH, Testosterone, and Cortisol all in one search.

Here is a great study done on the effects of HGH and cortisol during exercise, I know it's really too technical for most, but if you can get through the summary it has some good findings.

http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/86/6/2881

Celestia

Sorry Boss...I should of been more clear with what I was trying to describe. I warm up for 1-3 minutes and then alternate every minute between fast pace and the next minute slow pace, so each minute is an interval of fast and slow. Is this a good method for HIIT training? I read up on EPOC and wonder if this 1 minute on 1 minute off technique is good to reach proper EPOC levels.

SHBoss1673

Sorry Boss...I should of been more clear with what I was trying to describe. I warm up for 1-3 minutes and then alternate every minute between fast pace and the next minute slow pace, so each minute is an interval of fast and slow. Is this a good method for HIIT training? I read up on EPOC and wonder if this 1 minute on 1 minute off technique is good to reach proper EPOC levels.

depending on how high the fast pace gets you, sure that's fine. But I'll say this, 1 minute is not enough warmup, 5 minutes is usually the minimum I would recommend, it takes time for the body to properly warm up and become ready for intense exercise.

And yeah, HIIT training is specifically one of the better ways to increase EPOC levels

scarecrow41

If you are able to sustain HIIT for 25 minutes you are doing it wrong...

pannellkat

I have taken the initiative and began doing High intensity interval training on my elliptical. I have only been doing this for 2 weeks, but have been working out for 2 months. I ran this idea past a personal trainer at 24 hour fitness and he said you will burn no more cals than if you went at a steady pace the whole time. At this point I am now confused.....anyone else had better success doing HIIT vs a steady pace??

Because of all the different opinions and preferences, I decided to do both in my weekly workout routine.
For example - Monday - slow and steady 1 1/2 hr. low-moderate intensity no elliptical, treadmill or stairmaster, weight training on Tuesdays, HIIT on Wednesday for half hour high level on elliptical at fast pace or running on treadmill and then walking for a few minutes. I just started this routine as far as adding slow and steady in my workout routine so I'm not sure how this is working out yet until I try it for a few weeks.

I do find the slow and steady VERY BORING!!