HIIT Machines & Ratios

TrailNurse

I am doing HIIT on the Elliptical and Bike. On the bike I pedal very fast (25 mph) for 10 seconds and then rest for 30 seconds. On the Elliptical I run (17 mph) for 10 seconds and then rest for 30 seconds. Takes me 30 minutes to complete both machines.

I am just starting out so this is probably slow for some......but am I on the right track?

DavPul

You've definitely got the right idea. Your way is fine, but for myself, when using the elliptical, spin bike, or sprinting on the beach, I tend to use the sprint 8 method. 30 secs hard work, 90 secs light work, repeated for 8 cycles. Whole thing, including warmup and cooldown is 20 mins exactly, and I'm cooked. Totally cooked.

Here's a demo from Youtube to see it action.

http://youtu.be/zy7j9FRiJpg

TrailNurse

I wish I could go 30 seconds.....I can almost go 20 seconds but not quite there yet.

DavPul

I agree it's pretty grueling, but you can set the intensity a little lower if need be. And it's no crime if you have to stop at 20 secs either.

The good news is that you adapt pretty quickly and get better at it.

As a warning, true HIIT intervals are very taxing on the body's recovery. Taxing is good, lack of recovery not good. So don't do these more than every other day, with a max of 3x per week.

gregpack

I've also done sprint 8 in the past. As DavPaul said if you do it right you are gassed and done for the day. After a few weeks I saw a noticeble drop in blood pressure, and my run times stayed steady even though I was not running much. Give it a try!