HIIT...???

charziecraig
charziecraig Posts: 8
in Fitness and Exercise
I have heard a lot about this type of training and I have heard it is really good for fat burning but I am not really sure what it involves. Is it like circuit training? Can anyway please help me out or point me in the right direction. Thank you.

Replies

  • christylynn622
    christylynn622 Posts: 43 Member
    It's interval training rather than trying to maintain a steady pace for a longer period of time. For example, you'd perhaps sprint at 1 minute, then walk for 1 minute and you do intervals like that for, say, 30 mins.
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
    ^ this. You can adjust the length of the work/rest intervals, I think the objective of it is to stimulate an enhanced calorie burn *after* the workout, as opposed to steady state cardio where you only burn extra while you're doing it. To get that effect, the intervals have to be full-out exercise the hardest you can do it. For me I can only do about 20 seconds like that before I have to rest!

    Now, there is a lot of controversy about whether this actually works or not. I think it DOES work for sure to increase your oxygen efficiency but whether it causes more burn...who knows. I first heard about it on a PBS special where they showed the guy being monitored 24/7 while doing different types of exercise, so it rings true for me, but I am no scientist and I've done no other research.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    charziecraig wrote: »
    I have heard a lot about this type of training and I have heard it is really good for fat burning

    It's mainly beneficial for increasing maximal oxygen uptake capacity; VO2Max. The value for fat burning per se is hugely overplayed, although the effect of improving VO2Max is to slightly increase capacity.

    To do a proper HIIT session I'd generally warm up for 10-15 minutes, then do 20 or so minutes and cool down for another 10-15 afterwards. I'd limit that to one session per week as it's a very demanding set to complete.

  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    charziecraig wrote: »
    I have heard a lot about this type of training and I have heard it is really good for fat burning

    It's mainly beneficial for increasing maximal oxygen uptake capacity; VO2Max. The value for fat burning per se is hugely overplayed, although the effect of improving VO2Max is to slightly increase capacity.

    To do a proper HIIT session I'd generally warm up for 10-15 minutes, then do 20 or so minutes and cool down for another 10-15 afterwards. I'd limit that to one session per week as it's a very demanding set to complete.

    Exactly. Many people confuse intervals with HIIT. It should be done at a near maximum intensity that cannot be sustained for longer intervals. I believe it's around 90% MHR capacity.
    Due to the intensity it is not a good idea to do too many sessions per week.
  • DeeTee68
    DeeTee68 Posts: 198 Member
    Google it like I did. Loads of info on HIIT there
  • DeeTee68
    DeeTee68 Posts: 198 Member
    christylynn622 wrote: »
    For example, you'd perhaps sprint at 1 minute, then walk for 1 minute and you do intervals like that for, say, 30 mins.

    And then keel over and die. Hiit done correctly you are looking at about x8 intervals. 30 mins is a hell of a lot of time for true HIIT
  • joannebranton
    joannebranton Posts: 1 Member
    how do you log for eg. 20 seconds x 8 flat out and 10 seconds rest x 8 on the cross trainer based on the fact that are burning calories hours later?
  • krystaallison
    krystaallison Posts: 4
    charziecraig wrote: »
    I have heard a lot about this type of training and I have heard it is really good for fat burning but I am not really sure what it involves. Is it like circuit training? Can anyway please help me out or point me in the right direction. Thank you.

    So I found fitnessblender.com
    They have tons of FREE full length workout videos. It’s a very active/healthy husband and wife that make the videos. They have several HIIT videos on there you can view or follow along with.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    edited January 2015
    joannebranton wrote: »
    how do you log for eg. 20 seconds x 8 flat out and 10 seconds rest x 8 on the cross trainer based on the fact that are burning calories hours later?

    You don't, because you're not. That is not to say that you're not burning calories hours later, but assuming you're of reasonable fitness you're not burning extra calories as a result of the session for more than a minute or so afterwards.

    If you put in 2.5 minutes of maximal effort on a cross trainer, you'll burn around 10 calories. The post exercise oxygen consumption effect will give you 5% of that in addition.

    If you're interested in calorie expenditure, just put in longer, at a lower intensity. That said, unless you already have good condition using a tabata routine 20 on/ 10 off is very unlikely to be HIIT as you aren't giving yourself adequate recovery time. That becomes more like a very, very brief tempo session.

    Again, reflecting on my sessions, the warm up is a slowish run and I'll cover a mile to a mile and a half, so 100-150cals, followed by 100 or 200 metre sprints with 200 or 400 metre recoveries. As HR isn't a reliable indicator of calorie expenditure in that period, since it'll be peaking at around 195-200bpm in the anaerobic range, I'd just take a calorie expenditure estimate based on distance. So perhaps 150-200 cals in that time, followed by another cool down. So in that time most of my calorie expenditure has come from the warm up and cool down, rather than the higher intensity activity. If I go out and run at my lactate threshold pace for the same period I'll burn around 100-200 cals more over the whole time anyway.

    The two sessions have different effects; VO2Max improvement from the interval work and lactate threshold improvement from the LT session.
  • charziecraig
    charziecraig Posts: 8
    Just looked at the website and looks good actually. Thank you for all your help. I am in the military so we do lots of group runs but we don't do a great deal of anything else and I just want to try something else. Thank you.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    Interesting. I'm going to do a Tabata class today, and I thought it was HIIT, but it sounds like not. I think I'm actually glad. :)
  • DeeTee68
    DeeTee68 Posts: 198 Member
    With a true HIIT session you do burn calories for up to 48hrs after but we are only talking 100-200 extra calories, This has been proven scientifically.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    47Jacqueline wrote: »
    Interesting. I'm going to do a Tabata class today, and I thought it was HIIT, but it sounds like not. I think I'm actually glad. :)

    Tabata is a subset of HIIT, largely it relates to how the work/ rest periods break down with Tabata being a higher proportion of work.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    DeeTee68 wrote: »
    With a true HIIT session you do burn calories for up to 48hrs after but we are only talking 100-200 extra calories, This has been proven scientifically.

    So where's the evidence?

    I've alluded to two areas upthread, EPOC and improved VO2Max. VO2Max is a long term improvement, a single session isn't going to make a difference, but 12 weeks of structured HIIT as part of a wider plan will lead to an improved performance.

    EPOC amounts to around 5 to 10 % additional expenditure, compared with steady state EPOC of between 2 and 5% additional expenditure. So a 10 to 15 cal session gains you less than a calorie of EPOC, whereas a 300 cal run will get you an extra 10 or so cals afterwards.
  • Hollywood_Porky
    Hollywood_Porky Posts: 491 Member
    sofaking6 wrote: »
    ^ this. You can adjust the length of the work/rest intervals, I think the objective of it is to stimulate an enhanced calorie burn *after* the workout, as opposed to steady state cardio where you only burn extra while you're doing it. To get that effect, the intervals have to be full-out exercise the hardest you can do it. For me I can only do about 20 seconds like that before I have to rest!

    Now, there is a lot of controversy about whether this actually works or not. I think it DOES work for sure to increase your oxygen efficiency but whether it causes more burn...who knows. I first heard about it on a PBS special where they showed the guy being monitored 24/7 while doing different types of exercise, so it rings true for me, but I am no scientist and I've done no other research.

    She has her research down pat here. Good stuff!!

    I know it works for me - but I use it 2 to 3 times per week. I started out 30 secs Hi 1 min Lo. Now, I can do 2-4 min Hi and 1 min Lo. I've taken a metabolic test as well to determine my Zone HR levels - that also helps - there is another method to determine your HR zones if you can't do a metabolic test:

    http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735109700010548

    You don't want to do this every day - if you do HIIT right, you will feel it the next day (a good thing) due to creating an overload on muscles and joints during the Hi periods.

    30 minutes MAX of HIIT - as another poster said above, do a 10 minute warmup, then do a HIIT session with cooldown post HIIT - make sure you warmup and cooldown that is markedly important.

    Good luck - you will find it to be effective and it adds variety to the week of workouts you would do in a gym.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    47Jacqueline wrote: »
    Interesting. I'm going to do a Tabata class today, and I thought it was HIIT, but it sounds like not. I think I'm actually glad. :)

    Tabata is like HIIT. I do it in PT sessions, usually 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest, for 4 minutes, then the same with different activities. So I might do kettlebells swings for 20 secs, rest, shuttle runs for 20 secs, back to kettlebells, or do boxing, or kettlebell snatches for the full 4 mins. My spinning instructor often does tabata style stuff too, sprinting for 20 secs, or on really high resistance for 20 secs.

    I also do HIIT stuff, like running on the treadmill for 2 mins and walking slowly for 1 minute and repeat, or rowing 250m as fast as possible, resting for a minute and repeat.
  • elizafit3000
    elizafit3000 Posts: 1
    Great info on this thread!! Is there a group on here for those of us interested in HIIT and Tabata type work outs? I would love to join if so!! I'm trying to get my weight loss jump started. Thanks!

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