HIIT for beginners

chatnel
chatnel Posts: 688 Member
edited November 21 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi mfp'ers, I am keen to try HIIT as heard many people having great results doing this. Can anyone give me pointers on where to start as I am pretty unfit.

high for one minute
rest for two minutes
etc

Can I just run fast for the minute or should I be doing all over workout like burpees?

Replies

  • AEDeb
    AEDeb Posts: 14 Member
    Walk for a five minute warm up. One minute run. One minute walk. Do the run/walk 7-9 times and run a little harder each time. Finish off with 3-5 minutes of walking. That will put you between 20-30 minutes for a workout and it's do-able.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    What kind of results are you looking for? What is your goal?
    Also tell us about your current abilities, so we can make realistic suggestions. What were your workouts the past week?
  • chatnel
    chatnel Posts: 688 Member
    To shed the flab!

    I was doing 30 minutes cardio on treadmill and then 10 minutes situps/pushups etc and not having any results, (no weight loss and no muscle definition). 2-3 times per week.
  • kaiwooglin
    kaiwooglin Posts: 59 Member
    Proper nutrition is 90% of the game.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    Most "results" people have are from consuming fewer calories than they burn.. not from doing a particular overhyped exercise technique. There's nothing magical about HIIT - it's only advantage is it burns more calories per hour than, say, walking. But 500 calories of HIIT burns the same amount of fat as 500 calories of walking. Makes sense?

    My suggestion is to read the first post in the Diet forum, which covers the common reasons for a lack of progress.

    As far as exercise, i would do any kind of vigorous activity almost daily for 20+ minutes, including 2-3 strength workouts each week. Follow a good strength program, like NROLFW, Nerd Fitness, etc.
  • MamaBirdBoss
    MamaBirdBoss Posts: 1,516 Member
    Darebee.com is a resource for free routines. So is the SWORKIT app.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    chatnel wrote: »
    To shed the flab!

    I was doing 30 minutes cardio on treadmill and then 10 minutes situps/pushups etc and not having any results, (no weight loss and no muscle definition). 2-3 times per week.

    If you are unfit, then I would get a basic level of fitness first. Hiit isnt some magic cure all. You probably mean normal interval training. Hiit can be efficient in burning more calories, but it takes it out of you.

    You will not get muscle definition from cardio.

    30 mins 2-3 tines a week is not a lot at all. You might be burning the equivalent of a small paket of chips i.e 150 -200 calories for each session. Youd need to burn 3500 calories over the week for 1lb..

    As pointed out above focus on your calorific deficit from food consumption first.
  • professionalHobbyist
    professionalHobbyist Posts: 1,316 Member
    chatnel wrote: »
    Hi mfp'ers, I am keen to try HIIT as heard many people having great results doing this. Can anyone give me pointers on where to start as I am pretty unfit.

    high for one minute
    rest for two minutes
    etc

    Can I just run fast for the minute or should I be doing all over workout like burpees?

    Hello,

    HIIT is a bit of all out full exertion and then nearly walking level exertion in brief intervals. 90% heart rate max or more. It is not cardio level to fat furn level cycling back and forth. So get ready to go really hard at it.

    So let's say you jog 5 minutes and warm up,

    Now sprint for 30 seconds

    Jog for 2 1/2 minutes

    That is one cycle.

    Do 6 cycles, that will take 18 minutes total time.

    It can be a good change up to your routine and a way to help you get into exercising at higher heart rate than steady state cardio

    That intense level of cardio was a stepping stone to generally higher exertion levels for me. It was a way to push the envelope a bit.

    Those are the results I got from HIIT. Cardio capacity, eventually lower resting heart rate along with it.

    You fat loss was not mentioned in the post. I am assuming you are using your diet as the primary tool for fat loss.

    Good luck and stick with it.

    18 minutes and 6 cycles seems easy in paper but it can be challenging the first few times.
  • MamaBirdBoss
    MamaBirdBoss Posts: 1,516 Member
    BTW, HIIT is pretty terrible for people who are out of shape because they often can't do a meaningful maximal exertion and are more prone to injury. :)
  • mich19025
    mich19025 Posts: 55 Member
    Yeah...don't put me down for cardio!....ok then, if I must :( I do two rounds of hiit on the the treadmill, one day a week. Ihe rest of the time I lift. I do a min walk and a min run and increase the running speed. I also find it less boring than steady state cardio. I also started unfit and you do progress quite quickly in it. I won't recommend a speed as everyone is different but try and build it up.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    MamaBirdBoss wrote: »
    BTW, HIIT is pretty terrible for people who are out of shape because they often can't do a meaningful maximal exertion and are more prone to injury. :)

    This. To do HIIT properly, be able to get the most from it and reduce the risk of injury, one should establish a basic level of fitness and then ease into HIIT. Jumping in too much too soon is a recipe for disaster. As is the case with most exercises
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    Cherimoose wrote: »
    Most "results" people have are from consuming fewer calories than they burn.. not from doing a particular overhyped exercise technique. There's nothing magical about HIIT - it's only advantage is it burns more calories per hour than, say, walking. But 500 calories of HIIT burns the same amount of fat as 500 calories of walking. Makes sense?

    My suggestion is to read the first post in the Diet forum, which covers the common reasons for a lack of progress.

    As far as exercise, i would do any kind of vigorous activity almost daily for 20+ minutes, including 2-3 strength workouts each week. Follow a good strength program, like NROLFW, Nerd Fitness, etc.

    New Rules of Lifting for Women (NROLFW) is a great suggestion. Once you reach the middle levels, HIIT is incorporated in the program. Their suggested routines are not very intense if you are used to doing cardio, but you can adjust the intensity to fit your needs.
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
    As an "experienced" runner with a fair amount of training knowledge I wouldn't recommend HIIT or even regular anaerobic intervals until one has a substantial aerobic base. The risk is high and the benefit very low at this point.

    You'll get a lot more benefit from just building your aerobic capacity to a reasonable level right now.

    As far as burning calories you can burn more with a lot less effort and only a marginal increase in time (maximum of a couple of minutes) just running normally (once you have that substantial aerobic base built).
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    HIIT by definition and design is not for beginners. There is a high risk of injury and very little gain. Just focus on interval training (note that this is often marketed as HIIT).

    Sounds like you may want to try out some weight/resistance training for you end goals. My wife is now addicted to TRX and in the best shape of her life.
  • chatnel
    chatnel Posts: 688 Member
    Thanks for the replies. Yes my diet is fine, count my calories and eat lots of veggies. Have been doing the same gym routine for about 6 months about 2-4 times per week and not seeing any progress so wanted to try something different.
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