HIIT Vs traditional?....

Totally agree with @MaltedTea -- there's no reason to do HIIT unless it is serving your particular fitness goals or you find that you enjoy it. There are tons of fit people who never do HIIT -- it's basically having a hot moment (and lots of stuff that people are calling HIIT isn't even it).

laurenread79 wrote: »

HIIT.classes ....I don't mind them. But actually find my body responds better to more traditional excercises..Such as toning & aerobics.

? What are your thoughts add a Hiit or ditch the Hiit if not feeling it ?

For the most part, HIIT has become a big marketing gimmick...not that interval training isn't a good thing and it does serve some specific purposes...but most of what is touted as HIIT these days really isn't.

For starters, HIIT is a cardiovascular training protocol that was originally implemented by coaches of elite level athletes to get that extra little .00002% bump in VO2 Max for an edge in competition. True HIIT is exceedingly difficult even for high level athletes and requires days of recovery...HIIT isn't something that even high level athletes can do more than once or twice per week without dampening performance, and a 10-15 minute session will pretty much breakdown even a very fit individual.

Most of what is referred to as "HIIT" these days is really just regular old interval training...which does have it's benefits where training is concerned, particularly if you're trying to achieve something specific like improving threshold power on a bike for example, or training your body how to make use of the lactic acid that builds up on hard efforts, etc. But really, IMO these are training protocols more so than your average "go out and get some exercise" protocols. Often, what is shown to be beneficial training wise for athletes trickles down to the masses in the fitness industry...whether or not there is any real net benefit to the masses vs the athlete or not. It's kind of like the saying, "what's good for the goose, must be good for the gander"...when in reality, it's often not particularly applicable. On the plus side, you can get in a solid workout in a shorter amount of time...but if you're looking at calories, you aren't going to burn nearly the calories you would for a bit longer steady state aerobic activity due to prolonged rest/recovery periods between hard sets.

Things like boot camp classes and such are also not really HIIT...they are basically structured, group oriented circuit training classes with a cooler name. Again, nothing particularly wrong with them and a lot of people have fun and get fit doing them...but calling them HIIT is just using a trendy tag for marketing purposes.

I don't think I've ever done actual HIIT in my entire life and I was once upon a time a competitive track and field athlete...just not at a level where HIIT would be any substantial benefit to me outside of my normal training protocols. I do some interval training on my bike, but that is structured as to achieve specific training outcomes and isn't close to being true HIIT as most of my interval sessions are around 40-45 minutes. Even though they aren't true HIIT, they do require some additional recovery time...which depending on what you're doing overall may or may not interfere with other exercise/workout/activity routines you have in your best laid plans. You have to build that stuff into the scope of a larger program carefully as to not over extend yourself or be more content with having a few higher intensity exercise days with the vast majority of your other work/activity being of relatively low intensity.

Ultimately, where cardiovascular health and fitness are concerned, working in a variety of intensities is optimal.

Life is too short and motivation in too short supply to waste it doing exercise you don’t enjoy.

I’ve found some I enjoy so much, it’s actually a problem slowing down! But I have had to have a heart to heart with myself that I’m no competitive athlete and will never be one, so it’s silly to kill myself trying to keep up with much younger, competitive lifters or former gymnasts. My workouts are for me. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Anything that keeps you engaged, moving -and hopefully burning calories- is AOK.

I’ve even got a hula hoop coming in the mail for grins and giggles. I’ve never ever been able to hoop and am determined to learn how to do it.

I used to do HIIT and lift, and it basically just left me with very sore knees. Your body responds better, meaning what exactly? I do well with a mix of cardio(kickboxing, step, running, etc)and lifting(heavy weights with bars and plates). I'm not sure what toning exercises are...