Is this a true HIIT workout?

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Replies

  • bluechip777
    bluechip777 Posts: 160 Member
    What do you deem as appropriate recovery? HIIT does not include complete recovery. otherwise, we can all just get off the track and go home and recover on the couch. Not including a complete recovery taxes the aerobic system allowing for improved capacity, running faster and stronger.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    What do you deem as appropriate recovery? HIIT does not include complete recovery. otherwise, we can all just get off the track and go home and recover on the couch. Not including a complete recovery taxes the aerobic system allowing for improved capacity, running faster and stronger.

    I've seen several training programs like the links I posted above mention that if you want to really reach the upper limits, you need short time there, and recovery 3 x as long.
    Not going as high, shorter recovery.
    15 : 45 sec
    30 : 60 sec
    60 : 60 sec
    2 : 1 min

    Shoot, even the program of 30 sec sprint with 4 min recovery increased endurance time by 100% in several studies, in one of those links. So yes, recovery can be longer than you think. Otherwise you just can't go as fast.

    Looking at some HRM data from pro's, if the recovery isn't long enough, you can't get the next effort up there as strong.

    Now for weight loss as many do it - probably doesn't matter, and interval of the style you are saying 3:1 will work just fine. But that can't be pushing performance, because you can't go to the same upper reaches holding for 3 min as you can for 15 sec all out sprint.

    Try a mixed program next time to test yourself.

    5 min walk warmup.
    2 min jog in aerobic zone.
    15 sec sprint.
    45 sec recover walk, back to jogging the last 5 sec to allow faster take off again.
    8 sets.
    20 min jog Recovery zone.
    1 min sprint.
    1 min recover walk then jog when HR hits recovery zone to keep it there.
    5 sets.
    5 min walk cooldown.

    Now reverse that order next workout, and see which one you can get faster on. The shorter is better first though.

    If that 1 min sprint is anywhere near the 15 sec sprint speed, you weren't going as fast as you could on the 15 sec likely, or couple other reasons.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member

    People have this hangup on what 'intense' means it seems. I really don't know how else to put it. I'm really just trying to point this out. I don't think people here understand just how slow 25 second 100m really is. Even for untrained.

    I find this to be a very true. People set artificially low limits for themselves. Many people are operating at less than half of the intensity they are capable of doing. It's similar to the way people will say 5lb dumbbells are heavy to *them*
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    If your gym has a cycle ergometer (stationary bicycle) then do your HIIT on that. It isn't a coincidence that the original Tabata study used them.

    You could try 30:30 if you are a beginner or preferably 8 - 10 intervals of 60:60 (60 secs sprinting with 60 seconds active recovery) sandwiched between a 5 minute warm up and a 5 minute cooldown.

    Don't get too hung up about the intensity in the sprints: just go as fast as you can.

    If you want greater accuracy you can base it on a % of maximum heart rate ( 220 minus your age) as this has a correlation with V02 max. The sprints will be at around 90 - 95% of your maximum, the recovery about 50%. You can use the heart rate sensors on the bike to do this.

    Good luck.

    You were doing so well till you got to the heart rate stuff
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    The premise behind HIIT is that the working part should be at 100% sprint pace and the recovery as quick as you can handle while still being able to sprint for the next one. Anything less is interval training, not to say that this is a bad thing though. HIIT is very advanced form of training. Your running speeds are either HIIT (for you) or very intense interval training. I find that it is nearly impossible to do proper HIIT on a treadmill as you can never get the right pace exactly. Stationary bike or elliptical is a little bit easier but I still prefer to run. For this reason I try to do most of my HIIT outside. Usually when I do train on a treadmill I just settle for really intense interval training which is alomst the same thing and will still give great results in terms of fitness and fat burning.

    The interval times can be just about anything you'd like depending on your fitness level and ability. Obviously the higher the ratio of work to rest the more effective the workout but the important thing is to make the work a sprint. Pace will vary depending on the interval time (you can't run as fast for 60seconds as you can for 10).

    If you can't get outdoors, keep doing what you are doing but as you get fitter play around with the pace and interval lengths (although on a treadmill longer intervals seem to be better becasue of the lag in changing pace). 2:1 work to recovery is a good aim but requires am extreamly high level of fitness

    Hope this helps
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    Oh and this type of work is not supposed to be sustained for a long period of time total (10 minutes, 20 MAX). If you can go longer you aren't working hard enough. Remember the shorter the workout the longer the warmup should be. I'd reccomend 10-15 minutes warmup before intense sprint work including things such as high knees, butt kicks, some 80% and 90% sprints, walking lunges etc.
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
    If your gym has a cycle ergometer (stationary bicycle) then do your HIIT on that. It isn't a coincidence that the original Tabata study used them.

    You could try 30:30 if you are a beginner or preferably 8 - 10 intervals of 60:60 (60 secs sprinting with 60 seconds active recovery) sandwiched between a 5 minute warm up and a 5 minute cooldown.

    Don't get too hung up about the intensity in the sprints: just go as fast as you can.

    If you want greater accuracy you can base it on a % of maximum heart rate ( 220 minus your age) as this has a correlation with V02 max. The sprints will be at around 90 - 95% of your maximum, the recovery about 50%. You can use the heart rate sensors on the bike to do this.

    Good luck.

    You were doing so well till you got to the heart rate stuff

    Eh?

    Tabata's protocol was based on work sets based at a % of V02 max (a whopping 170% of VO2 max for the sprints - obviously not for the faint hearted or unconditioned...)

    I doubt many people on here have access to a gym where they have 02 & CO2 analysers for every exercise session so the next best thing if VO2 max cannot be accurately tracked is to go by heart rate (given the relationship between max heart rate and max V02 levels.)

    Basically if you are working near to your max heart rate during the sprints the intensity is going to be high enough to elicit the benefits of HIIT training which is primarily an increase in V02 max / power output.

    You could go by watts I suppose but most exercise bikes in gyms aren't particularly reliable for that reading for a number of reasons I won't bore people with.

    HIIT is a performance tool - not a fat loss tool (in fact it's application to fat loss is based on some rather generous extrapolations). Therefore used as such it is excellent for improving fitness.
  • Mels707
    Mels707 Posts: 101
    The premise behind HIIT is that the working part should be at 100% sprint pace and the recovery as quick as you can handle while still being able to sprint for the next one. Anything less is interval training, not to say that this is a bad thing though. HIIT is very advanced form of training. Your running speeds are either HIIT (for you) or very intense interval training. I find that it is nearly impossible to do proper HIIT on a treadmill as you can never get the right pace exactly. Stationary bike or elliptical is a little bit easier but I still prefer to run. For this reason I try to do most of my HIIT outside. Usually when I do train on a treadmill I just settle for really intense interval training which is alomst the same thing and will still give great results in terms of fitness and fat burning.

    The interval times can be just about anything you'd like depending on your fitness level and ability. Obviously the higher the ratio of work to rest the more effective the workout but the important thing is to make the work a sprint. Pace will vary depending on the interval time (you can't run as fast for 60seconds as you can for 10).

    Thank you!
    If you can't get outdoors, keep doing what you are doing but as you get fitter play around with the pace and interval lengths (although on a treadmill longer intervals seem to be better becasue of the lag in changing pace). 2:1 work to recovery is a good aim but requires am extreamly high level of fitness

    Hope this helps

    Thank you!
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member

    People have this hangup on what 'intense' means it seems. I really don't know how else to put it. I'm really just trying to point this out. I don't think people here understand just how slow 25 second 100m really is. Even for untrained.

    I find this to be a very true. People set artificially low limits for themselves. Many people are operating at less than half of the intensity they are capable of doing. It's similar to the way people will say 5lb dumbbells are heavy to *them*

    I couldn't agree more! As far as the 100 meter dash, record time is like 9 seconds. Yes, twelve year girls that have been practicing can do it in just under twice that time with no problem.

    Lots of people work out until they start to feel sore, then quit, thinking that's all they can do. I realized it myself when I started doing Jillian Michael's. Without her yelling at me not to quit, I probably would have! :laugh: :tongue:

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