If interval training is so good, how come I don't see....

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tusher2011
tusher2011 Posts: 201 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
....see more people doing it at my gym? Just wondering. I see everyone just get on the treadmill and run, get on the elliptical and just step and same with the bike.

Just wondering why more people don't do it, if it's supposed to be so much better?
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Replies

  • CuteAndCurvy83
    CuteAndCurvy83 Posts: 570 Member
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    maybe they don't know about it?
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,238 Member
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    Short answer, because it is hard. Longer answer, because people have a hard time imagining that a 20-30 minute HIIT workout will be enough exercise. I think it is more the hard thing though. Having been a gym rat for years when in was in my teens and twenties, one thing I remember is how many people would work out for long periods on the cardio equipment and never significantly change their bodies. I didn't notice at the time, but looking back it is quite apparent. The ones who changed their body worked out quite differently, and now I know it was a type of Interval training although they probably didn't call it that, and even then it looked very hard.
  • StephieAmber
    StephieAmber Posts: 83
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    Uhh...b/c it's really hard? A lot of the people I find who go to gyms are just putting in the time...I mean, don't get me wrong I give 'em mad props for getting active, but lotsa time you just see Cardio Queens who are happy running on a 0% incline for 30-60 minutes.
  • thecanface
    thecanface Posts: 1,180 Member
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    maybe because some people think its hard, and it sucks to do.. i hate it!
  • tusher2011
    tusher2011 Posts: 201 Member
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    Well, I am a total beginner with 60 lbs to lose....and I'm doing it. Maybe I'm not doing it hard enough if it's not "hard" for me?? I mean, I am whipped after my workout routine and I am no where near running or jogging.
  • championnfl
    championnfl Posts: 324 Member
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    Good question! Seems to me that as long as there getting some cardio/exercise thats all they really care about. Those that are committed and want to lose weight/have a goal.... Will use interval training so heart rate is elavated and able to burn more calories faster and longer. In today's world everyone is working putting in long hrs that exercise although important is not a top priority and by the time they get to it, there short on time and energy level is not there. Thats why AM workouts are so important before day begins...:wink:
  • LG61820
    LG61820 Posts: 372 Member
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    The only way you'll find out for sure if it's any good is if you do it. Do it for a month and see how much your cardiovascular fitness has improved.
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
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    I think most people just may not know I about it. I didn't until I came on here in January and I've been working out in the gym for a while. My old PT never even mention it.
  • megansprague
    megansprague Posts: 57
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    I just started doing it (25 min on the elliptical usually with strength training as well, but I'm still developing a routine) a few days ago but I'm not sure what I should be putting the resistance or incline at. What do people normally do?
  • LG61820
    LG61820 Posts: 372 Member
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    Well, I am a total beginner with 60 lbs to lose....and I'm doing it. Maybe I'm not doing it hard enough if it's not "hard" for me?? I mean, I am whipped after my workout routine and I am no where near running or jogging.

    If you're doing it at level that is hard for you and gets you "whipped" then you ARE doing it. Keep it up and you'll soon find that you can go harder, faster, longer!
  • sarahlyzzibeth
    sarahlyzzibeth Posts: 108
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    So what exactly constitutes an "interval" workout? Alternating between high and low intensities? For how long do you do each? I'm new to this concept :)
  • tusher2011
    tusher2011 Posts: 201 Member
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    hmm, never thought that they might not know what it was. I just figured if you're doing/starting an exercise routine, that you would look into what gets the maximum results.

    i'll just keep on doing my own thing i guess:)
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
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    Uhh...b/c it's really hard? A lot of the people I find who go to gyms are just putting in the time...I mean, don't get me wrong I give 'em mad props for getting active, but lotsa time you just see Cardio Queens who are happy running on a 0% incline for 30-60 minutes.
    /|\ This.
  • amaczu
    amaczu Posts: 23 Member
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    Because the best forms of interval training involve large stretches of area for sprinting. Also, if you're doing HIIT right, you look awful while you're doing it. I do HIIT at home so that people don't come up to me asking if I need an ambulance because I'm bright red and gasping for air.

    For those who asked, HIIT is when you alternate high and low intervals yes...but the 'high' is basically the max amount of work that you can do...so much so that HIIT is not an aerobic exercise, it's anaerobic, because the amount of oxygen your muscles require for energy for the high intensity interval exceeds how much oxygen your blood can carry. You're literally at your blood-oxygen max, which triggers very specific hormones in your body. This fact is why you end up looking like you're dying of heat stroke while doing HIIT (before you're used to it, at least).

    The intensity required is often compared to the amount of energy you'd expend trying to outrun a pack of cheetahs who are trying to eat you. As fast and as hard as you can possibly go for 30 seconds to 2 minutes (depending on your fitness level. Any full-body exercises that use the majority of your muscle groups in the act of hurling your entire body weight through the air are good enough for HIIT.
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,954 Member
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    I just recently learned about it so I'm sure there are plenty who don't still. Also, it makes me want to throw up because it's danged hard work! But I know it's working because my endurance is improving and that's important to me for taekwondo. If I pass out before I beat the other person it wasn't a successful sparring match. HIT pushes me beyond my current condition.
  • RCKT82
    RCKT82 Posts: 409 Member
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    Because the best forms of interval training involve large stretches of area for sprinting. Also, if you're doing HIIT right, you look awful while you're doing it. I do HIIT at home so that people don't come up to me asking if I need an ambulance because I'm bright red and gasping for air.

    HAHAHA... agreed! That's exactly why I don't do it at the gym... I already look like a goofball doing regular workouts. I reserve my Interval training for my runs outside tucked in the back of a trail somewhere... definitely not in a crowded gym where everyone can stare at me with the look of fear on their faces wondering "what's wrong with this guy on the treadmill?".
  • Arizona_JR
    Arizona_JR Posts: 275
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    Because the best forms of interval training involve large stretches of area for sprinting. Also, if you're doing HIIT right, you look awful while you're doing it. I do HIIT at home so that people don't come up to me asking if I need an ambulance because I'm bright red and gasping for air.

    For those who asked, HIIT is when you alternate high and low intervals yes...but the 'high' is basically the max amount of work that you can do...so much so that HIIT is not an aerobic exercise, it's anaerobic, because the amount of oxygen your muscles require for energy for the high intensity interval exceeds how much oxygen your blood can carry. You're literally at your blood-oxygen max, which triggers very specific hormones in your body. This fact is why you end up looking like you're dying of heat stroke while doing HIIT (before you're used to it, at least).

    The intensity required is often compared to the amount of energy you'd expend trying to outrun a pack of cheetahs who are trying to eat you. As fast and as hard as you can possibly go for 30 seconds to 2 minutes (depending on your fitness level. Any full-body exercises that use the majority of your muscle groups in the act of hurling your entire body weight through the air are good enough for HIIT.

    To add to this... The constant on/off cycles of intensity prevents injuries when compared to prolonged bouts of intensity. Also, because your heart rate is still pounding during your short recovery times, you are burning more calories while you recover. I've seen estimates that say you can burn the same amount of calories in a 20 minute HIIT workout as you can jogging at a conversational pace on the treadmill for 60 minutes.

    It takes guts to finish a 15-20 minute HIIT workout. That's 1 reason you don't see a lot of people doing it. Type in "H.I.I.T. workout" on Youtube for sample workouts. The sky is the limit for routine variations.
  • stephaniezoundi
    stephaniezoundi Posts: 1,148 Member
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    It was the first thing my trainer got me doing! And its damn hard. That said, if I could do it when I started (368lbs :blushing: ) it can be done. I still do and even though its hard its grown on me and I enjoy it now because I love the sweat it works up!!!
  • redfroggie
    redfroggie Posts: 591 Member
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    OK so still new here. I've been going to the gym for several weeks now. I do 40 minutes on the elliptical. When I started it was pretty miserable and I was very slow. Ok so fast forward I have moved on to the Cardio setting and now every 5 minutes I would do a 1 minute intensity thingy, sorry don't know what to call it. Then slow down to lower heart rate and after 5 minutes go for another minute. I do this until my 40 minutes are up. However today I extended the surge for 1 1/2 minutes. So is this a form of interval training? Oh and I usually look like a cardiac patient by the time i'm done.
  • tusher2011
    tusher2011 Posts: 201 Member
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    OK so still new here. I've been going to the gym for several weeks now. I do 40 minutes on the elliptical. When I started it was pretty miserable and I was very slow. Ok so fast forward I have moved on to the Cardio setting and now every 5 minutes I would do a 1 minute intensity thingy, sorry don't know what to call it. Then slow down to lower heart rate and after 5 minutes go for another minute. I do this until my 40 minutes are up. However today I extended the surge for 1 1/2 minutes. So is this a form of interval training? Oh and I usually look like a cardiac patient by the time i'm done.

    The way that I have been doing it, and from what I researched online is this:

    On the treadmill I walk at 3.2 mph

    warm up for 6 min
    put the incline upto level 10 for 2 min
    recover for 2 min
    (I eventually go up to level 12 after a few more minutes)

    I do this until I have 5 more min left and then I cool down. (@32 min total)

    Eventually I want to start sprinting too (not at that incline though!) and/or go for longer than 30 min.

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