High-Intensity Interval Training - IT WORKS!

jrmartinlv702
jrmartinlv702 Posts: 4
in Fitness and Exercise
I've come to love the results I get from high intensity interval training (HIIT) and highly recommend it to anyone wanting to improve their fitness level and drop weight. How do you guys feel about it?
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Replies

  • orapronobis
    orapronobis Posts: 460 Member
    I did it for a week early in December and saw a good loss that week. Then, I got so busy with Christmas stuff that I didn't keep it up. So, I'm not sure if that week was a fluke, or if I would have continued with higher losses if I kept up the HIIT. Starting again next week, and I'm hoping to see those results again.
  • bpwparents
    bpwparents Posts: 359 Member
    Mines has been mixed with the rest of my Body Combat workout so I really don't know which is giving me the results. The idea of it makes sense though and it isn't that horrible to complete.
  • healthymom76
    healthymom76 Posts: 99 Member
    How would I go about doing HIIT? I have an elliptical at home. I have heard good things about HIIT but don't know where to start.
  • orapronobis
    orapronobis Posts: 460 Member
    How would I go about doing HIIT? I have an elliptical at home. I have heard good things about HIIT but don't know where to start.

    Google HIIT training and all kinds of routines will come up. I do treadmill, so I found a routine that gradually ramps up intensity while reducing the amount of time spent on the treadmill. I'm sure you can adapt any of them to your elliptical workout. It's basically going all out for a period of time, then resting or going very slowly, then repeating for a set number of times.
  • nexangelus
    nexangelus Posts: 2,080 Member
    I prefer intervals to long bouts of cardio at the same speed. I love adding Tabatas at the end of workouts as well, they make you want to collapse but are a grand finish to a great gym workout.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    I think it's an excellent way to get cardio done in less time and kick your own *kitten*.
  • Bobby__Clerici
    Bobby__Clerici Posts: 741 Member
    I've come to love the results I get from high intensity interval training (HIIT) and highly recommend it to anyone wanting to improve their fitness level and drop weight. How do you guys feel about it?
    I hear you....I get more bang for my buck with HIIT.
    I also do longer cardio sessions, but that's just so I can eat more....:devil:
  • 748marie
    748marie Posts: 61 Member
    Yes, I seem to always get the best results after doing the high intensity. Infact after a week of cardio with small results it is my friday kick in the behind to boost my calorie loss.
  • mamasmaltz3
    mamasmaltz3 Posts: 1,111 Member
    I do a Tabata workout that makes me feel like I'm going to die while I'm doing it. But, after I am done I feel an awesome since of accomplishment. I have definitely seen an increase in my fitness level.
  • BigRich822
    BigRich822 Posts: 681
    It works great for losing weight, but at the same time you run the risk of burning up muscle on top of the fat!
  • sam308lbs
    sam308lbs Posts: 1,936 Member
    Op what were your HIIT results..how much weight loss in what time frame?
  • MyOwnSunshine
    MyOwnSunshine Posts: 1,312 Member
    I love HIIT. I try to add some after my lifting workouts. I either run/walk on the treadmill or do Tabatas on the elliptical.
  • ChinniP
    ChinniP Posts: 166 Member
    I need to work up to high intensity but definitely plan to go that route once i acclimate to exercise again. In the mean time, i don't want to keel over from a heart attack while I am getting started. Hopefully a few weeks will get me ready. I have a great cybex arc trainer at home. They are awesome.
  • Princess_Lee2013
    Princess_Lee2013 Posts: 48 Member
    For the person who has the elliptical at home: do you also have some free weights or resistance bands; or you could pair intervals on your elliptical with body weight exercises like dips; push ups, squats, lunges, etc. There are a couple of different types of HIIT, tabata is mentioned on here which like other posters, I love and gives you a really great workout in a short concentrated amount of time...for you on the elliptical I would recommend that you do thirty seconds at your max; as fast as you can, and then it'll take you about 10-15 seconds to get off and transition into your body weight exercise which you could do another thirty seconds of intensly; then get back on the ellipticlal; keep going. another good thing for you to do I think would be six to ten really hard elliptical spurts (20-30 seconds) with 10 seconds rest in between and then move to a circuit of strength exercises in the same type of fashion. If you're on PINTERST there are some really great circuits posted that you could follow at home.

    As far as HIIT in general: I have been doing it for a couple of years and love it ; never gets old, always challenged and always gives a great burn. My only hesitation to anyone that is really trying to get WEIGHT off; is that it can be deceiving; as the workouts are short, you really cheat yourself if you don't PUSH it to MAX during the workout; because they are shorter. For me; now that I am trying to get weight off rather than maintain; I do 3-4 HIIT workouts per week, but also make sure that I add another 3 or so sessions of pure, long cardio to ensure that adequate calories come off just in case I didn't push card enough in a HIIT, and do two total body strength sessions in case a muscle group that I want to isolate wasn't targeted in HIIT. Overall; it is the answer to staying fit and trim in a busy world where we all have busy lives; I highly recommend it for its results and for the "high" it gives!
  • Princess_Lee2013
    Princess_Lee2013 Posts: 48 Member
    oh I didn't see you can reply directly; I also posted some suggestions for you on this thread!
  • jessready
    jessready Posts: 129 Member
    I've heard great things about how it works...but how do you log it?????
  • Princess_Lee2013
    Princess_Lee2013 Posts: 48 Member
    I use "circuit training" and sort of gauge it depending on how hard I worked when inputting how many minutes of exercise. Usually I don't include teh warm up as part of the time; only the time that I was working at intensity (also cuz MFP tends to overcalculate your calorie burn too)
  • LernRach
    LernRach Posts: 286 Member
    How would I go about doing HIIT? I have an elliptical at home. I have heard good things about HIIT but don't know where to start.

    Google HIIT training and all kinds of routines will come up. I do treadmill, so I found a routine that gradually ramps up intensity while reducing the amount of time spent on the treadmill. I'm sure you can adapt any of them to your elliptical workout. It's basically going all out for a period of time, then resting or going very slowly, then repeating for a set number of times.

    What exactly is your routine? and also, do you rest or walk slowly? I used to rest, but someone told me to actually change the setting on treadmill, which I am doing, but I am not sure it is right/as good...

    What do you think?
  • ilovedeadlifts
    ilovedeadlifts Posts: 2,923 Member
    I've come to love the results I get from high intensity interval training (HIIT) and highly recommend it to anyone wanting to improve their fitness level and drop weight. How do you guys feel about it?

    It was a huge help for me when I was playin soccer in a league.
    My conditioning was much better from doing 20 minute HIIT sessions than it was when I did long steady state cardio.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    I've come to love the results I get from high intensity interval training (HIIT) and highly recommend it to anyone wanting to improve their fitness level and drop weight. How do you guys feel about it?

    It was a huge help for me when I was playin soccer in a league.
    My conditioning was much better from doing 20 minute HIIT sessions than it was when I did long steady state cardio.

    That's because the stresses of your training more closely matched the demands of the sport, not necessarily because of any inherent superiority of the training method.

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