HIIT without too much leg muscle building?

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  • emmayarewhy
    emmayarewhy Posts: 4
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    Sprints.

    On your hands? HIIT is muscle sparing, I don't know about muscle building. You can look up swimming HIIT, if you're a swimmer. YouTube has a lot of HIIT videos, if you have a way to work out near your computer, or tv. I get it through the Wii.

    ETA I'm going by your "not mostly leg based" request, not saying sprints aren't a great option.

    Most of the HIIT stuff I've seen has been based on jumping, squats, etc, which isn't really what I'm looking for. I've always heard that highly anaerobic activities, such as sprints, use type 2 (fast twitch) muscle fibers which tend to bulk up...but then again, a lot of HIIT is highly anaerobic activity. I'm hoping to find HIIT that can be more arms/core-based instead of leg-based. I think swimming HIIT is on the right track! I just don't have ready access to a pool :(
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    bulking comes only from a calorie surplus and progressive loading.
  • bcf7683
    bcf7683 Posts: 1,653 Member
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    I highly doubt you are building muscle doing Insanity's cardio workouts

    ^This
    pics of legs please

    ^...and This

    Me 3 said the pea. I'm in the middle of Insanity month 2 and my legs definitely aren't growing. If you found a way to build muscle on Insanity let me in on the secret, I'd love to know what I'm doing wrong.
  • Staniel_2013
    Staniel_2013 Posts: 120 Member
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    If the gym you go to has them.... Muscle Ropes.


    Think of them like wind sprints for your arms.
    I looked them up and they look awesome! Right now, I use my gym at school which is extreeeemely low budget. Do they have these at most gyms?

    Like JoRocka said, some gyms don't have them unfortunately. You can either mention it to them OR even buy your own set. They are a tad pricey but I think well worth it. I switched gyms, they still have them but put them in a crappy location that I can't do my routine on them anymore because it hits stuff. Thinking about just buying my own and doing them somewhere outside when the weather is nice.
  • kamac413
    kamac413 Posts: 6 Member
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    I'm with everyone else .... SPRINTS!!!! I do my HIIT on my treadmill. I burn mad amounts of fat and even though I am 49 I have the cardiorespiratory functioning of a 20 year old, at an excellent rating, thanks to HIIT.

    On a side note: When you build up muscle underneath a layer of fat it pushes the fat out further creating the appearance of larger, thicker abs, thighs, butt, etc. Women typically carry and/or deposit fat on their lower half more than their upper body. In order to eliminate this look you need to get rid of the fat. Have you had your body fat checked?
  • MapleFlavouredMaiden
    MapleFlavouredMaiden Posts: 595 Member
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    I don't know how many more "I build muscle like crazy how do I stop" posts from women I can handle...... Like this **** happens by accident over night.

    Anyway, that aside, SPRINTS are your friend (so is muscle, but that's not what you're looking for apparently)
  • MaeRay007
    MaeRay007 Posts: 68 Member
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    First off you don't build unless you're on a surplus, and you lose on a deficit.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    I don't know how many more "I build muscle like crazy how do I stop" posts from women I can handle...... Like this **** happens by accident over night.

    Anyway, that aside, SPRINTS are your friend (so is muscle, but that's not what you're looking for apparently)

    I'm okay with it if they would just stop hogging this magical place and these magical workouts.

    Seriously- this bulking cutting and progressive loading *kitten* is cutting into my drinking/*kitten* time.
  • MapleFlavouredMaiden
    MapleFlavouredMaiden Posts: 595 Member
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    I don't know how many more "I build muscle like crazy how do I stop" posts from women I can handle...... Like this **** happens by accident over night.

    Anyway, that aside, SPRINTS are your friend (so is muscle, but that's not what you're looking for apparently)

    I'm okay with it if they would just stop hogging this magical place and these magical workouts.

    Seriously- this bulking cutting and progressive loading *kitten* is cutting into my drinking/*kitten* time.

    Agreed. I need some of this magic. Maybe that's my problem... too much *kitten*. Not enough..... cardio??
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    I don't know how many more "I build muscle like crazy how do I stop" posts from women I can handle...... Like this **** happens by accident over night.

    Anyway, that aside, SPRINTS are your friend (so is muscle, but that's not what you're looking for apparently)

    I'm okay with it if they would just stop hogging this magical place and these magical workouts.

    Seriously- this bulking cutting and progressive loading *kitten* is cutting into my drinking/*kitten* time.

    Agreed. I need some of this magic. Maybe that's my problem... too much *kitten*. Not enough..... cardio??

    *kitten* isn't cardio?

    danm- no wonder this isn't working for me
  • rjmudlax13
    rjmudlax13 Posts: 900 Member
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    I don't know how many more "I build muscle like crazy how do I stop" posts from women I can handle...... Like this **** happens by accident over night.

    Anyway, that aside, SPRINTS are your friend (so is muscle, but that's not what you're looking for apparently)

    I'm okay with it if they would just stop hogging this magical place and these magical workouts.

    Seriously- this bulking cutting and progressive loading *kitten* is cutting into my drinking/*kitten* time.

    LOL!

    I want to know the magic formula as well! We need to get the genetic make up of all these hyper-bulker women. Gah, it takes me about 6 months to get any noticeable bulk and I'm male!
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    Options
    I don't know how many more "I build muscle like crazy how do I stop" posts from women I can handle...... Like this **** happens by accident over night.

    Anyway, that aside, SPRINTS are your friend (so is muscle, but that's not what you're looking for apparently)

    I'm okay with it if they would just stop hogging this magical place and these magical workouts.

    Seriously- this bulking cutting and progressive loading *kitten* is cutting into my drinking/*kitten* time.

    LOL!

    I want to know the magic formula as well! We need to get the genetic make up of all these hyper-bulker women. Gah, it takes me about 6 months to get any noticeable bulk and I'm male!

    4 months of over eating- and crazy lifting- I've put on 20 lbs- so maybe 5-7 lbs of muscle MAYBE- if I'm lucky?

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