HIIT Frequency

msthang444
msthang444 Posts: 491 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok.... so I'm doing the Combat HIIT three times a week. I alternate Plyo/Power (for any of you who have done the Combat HIIT). Summer's coming up and I'm going to have a little more time since I'm a teacher and am off for the summer. And I really wanna get down to at least 135 (at 145 now).

I currently stick pretty close to this:
M - HIIT
T - Weights 3 mile run
W - HIIT
Th - weights 3 mile run
F - HIIT
Sa - Weights 3 mile run
Sun - Rest
My weights alternate between upper and lower body.

My question is this. I tried the TurboFire and it was fun, but it didn't give me the burn that the combat does. Can I add that in as a 2-a day or is that too much?

Is there anything else that would be more productive?

What is too much? What is overtraining? What is unnecessary?

Thanks...

Replies

  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I think that's too much and you are going to burn out.

    The last 5-10 pounds can be difficult- and it's easy to try to over do it and increase things to get the weight to come off- and that can be counter productive.

    I'd say you actually need another rest day.

    I would do either 2 HIIT and one 3 mile run- or 1 HIIT and two three mile runs.

    But lifting and doing HIIT and running almost 10 miles a week is over kill.
  • CitizenXVIII
    CitizenXVIII Posts: 117 Member
    Ditto taking another rest day.

    Wouldn't hurt to mix your runs up, either. Try doing fartlek or hills on one of your run days.
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    I agree. I'd take off Wednesday all together or do something fun or low intensity. True HIIT is meant to be done no more than twice a week for 15 minutes each time.
  • chani8
    chani8 Posts: 946 Member
    Losing that last 10 is about calories. Stay within your calorie goal, and it will fade away.

    I think your exercise plan is awesome. You probably won't burn out on it because it's short term for the summer, right? And likely life will get in there, too, so some weeks you'll be doing other fun stuff, instead. I say, set it up, get going, and enjoy!

    The HIIT will give you a cardio burn and overall toning, plus calories to eat. The weights will just make everything easier, including running. The more you work your glutes, the better you'll be at running. I say that because I notice a big difference in hiking now that my glutes are well toned. And your running goal will just keep you at awesome!

    Supporting you all the way!
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    Losing that last 10 is about calories. Stay within your calorie goal, and it will fade away.

    I think your exercise plan is awesome. You probably won't burn out on it because it's short term for the summer, right?

    first sentences are good.

    second sentences are bad.
    HIIT is incredibly hard on your body- I never burned out doing it several times a week on top of hours of dance and weight lifting- but I did wind up with some serious joint issues.

    That's too much unstructured work with not enough rest.
  • chani8
    chani8 Posts: 946 Member
    Losing that last 10 is about calories. Stay within your calorie goal, and it will fade away.

    I think your exercise plan is awesome. You probably won't burn out on it because it's short term for the summer, right?

    first sentences are good.

    second sentences are bad.
    HIIT is incredibly hard on your body- I never burned out doing it several times a week on top of hours of dance and weight lifting- but I did wind up with some serious joint issues.

    That's too much unstructured work with not enough rest.

    You're right about the risk of injury. I modify HIIT exercises for "safety first" and take it slow enough so that I don't break my face.

    ETA - but she may be talking only a 1/2 hr of exercise a day. That's not too much. Let's ask OP - how long are your HIIT exercise routines? When you weight train and run, how long does that take?
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    agreed.

    having that cleared up will be helpful.
  • msthang444
    msthang444 Posts: 491 Member
    Example week:
    Monday - HIIT (30 min)
    Tues - Upper body Weights (36 min) / Run (33 min)
    Wed - HIIT (30 min)
    Thur - Lower Body Weights (30 min) / Run (33 min)
    Friday - HIIT (30 mini)
    Saturday - Upper Body (36 min) / Run (33 min)


    My weights are based on Body For Life, which is a pyramid rep set of increasing weights (12,10,8,6,12,12-superset of different exercise)

    Upper body - chest, back, bis, tris, shoulders
    Lower Body - Quads, Hams, Calves, Abs
  • msthang444
    msthang444 Posts: 491 Member
    And to clarify, the runs are to maintain for my 5K that I am running each month.
  • martyqueen52
    martyqueen52 Posts: 1,120 Member
    Not enough rest in between days considering your working the same body part daily from your example.

    In my opinion, cardio and HITT are both unnecessary for weight loss. My cardio consists of walking my dogs every other day and running 2-3 miles on the weekend morning for fun.

    Calories are what determines weight loss, not how much cardio you do, granted, it HELPS and allows you to eat a little more and it good for your overall health, but it's definitely not needed.

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