HIIT routines?

armydreamers wrote: »

First of all, can someone explain HIIT to me?

So interval training in general is about alternating periods within your session with higher intensity periods and lower intensity. That has some benefits in terms of increasing your capacity as you're able to work harder if you're not sustaining as long.

In principle HIIT means that the high intensity periods are in the order of 95-98% of maximum heart rate, so the work periods are in the order of 20-30 seconds long. If you can sustain the work period for longer than that, you're not working hard enough. Few people can do more than 6-8 repeats at that intensity.

Whilst calorie expenditure isn't high some studies have shown that HIIT has a moderately improved impact on fat loss compared to low intensity activity like walking.

That said, when most people on here talk about HIIT what they mean is moderate intensity intervals, rather than high intensity it's about a short CV session that can sustain interest, so not huge benefits over and above just sustained steady state effort.

I guess the question is, what are you wanting to achive from your CV training that you think interval training will give you?

If you're just doing interval training, and you want to use a machine, then any machine will be fine. If you're really doing HIIT then spin bike is about your only viable option. All the other machines take too long to change intensities so you lose most of your work periods to aceleration and decelleration.

Examples of what I'll do would be a running session of say a 15 minute warm up at a 6 min km followed by 8 repeats of 20 second maximum effort sprints and 60 second recoveries at my easy pace, followed by 10-15 minutes of cool down.

On my turbo trainer it's similar timing.

chsberthelot wrote: »

Yea basically constantly changing your heart rate higher to lower higher to lower
Love HIIT it works!

I love HIIT workouts also since there are a lot of ways to do it, and the afterburn is awesome.

armydreamers wrote: »

aggelikik wrote: »

armydreamers wrote: »

I'm going to start SL5x5 and I want to add just a bit of HIIT to that. First of all, can someone explain HIIT to me? I know it's an obvious question but I want to make sure I know what I'm doing. Would a HIIT routine at home be something like burpees for 30 seconds, jumping jacks for 30 seconds, a couple of other 30 second exercises without rest in between and THEN a rest for like 60 seconds, then back to the exercises? Do I have that right?

Also, how can I do a HIIT workout at the gym on the rowing machine or elliptical?

Thanks.

No. This is a short circuit. Not HIIT. Which is fine. The average person will not benefit, or manage to properly do HIIT anyway. It is just the new trend

What is HIIT then? Examples?

Chech here: http://fellrnr.com/wiki/High_Intensity_Interval_Training
When most people think of HIIT benefits in my (limited and completely personal) experience, they are thinking about Tabata. I have heard of very few people do something that resembles Tabata.
Once a trainer offered to demonstrate to a group of us what it is supposed to be like, without the actual equipment to measure VO2Max. It was a small group, all at the time exercising regularly at an intense level, most of us exercising for decades, but not athletes. These were the hardest workout of my life and I do not think anyone of us decided to ever try it again

armydreamers wrote: »

What is HIIT then? Examples?

You're back in the realms of what is it that you want to achieve?

Mercola.com explains and demonstrates. This is my HIIT workout on the elliptical: 5 min warm up, then go as fast and hard as I possibly can for 20-30 seconds, followed by a 90 second slow down. Repeat between 6-8 times.

MeanderingMammal wrote: »

Whilst calorie expenditure isn't high some studies have shown that HIIT has a moderately improved impact on fat loss compared to low intensity activity like walking.

That said, when most people on here talk about HIIT what they mean is moderate intensity intervals, rather than high intensity it's about a short CV session that can sustain interest, so not huge benefits over and above just sustained steady state effort.

I think this is important. Some folks who want to incorporate more cardio training but might get bored easily find an advantage to it. But if you prefer moderate intensity activity over a sustained period of time like walking or spinning or running, there's no reason to assume intervals will be better. Better is only what works for you and your goals.