Intervals for higher calorie burns
ninerbuff
Posts: 48,990 Member
When I'm in any gym, I'll always see many cardio enthusiasts just doing steady state cardio. Part of why I hate steady state cardio on a machine is that it gets really boring just doing the same thing for 30 minutes to an hour. Which BTW for any cardio only people here, the "fat burning zone" is a waste of time to stay in. Just burn as many calories as you can in a given duration.
So instead I'll do intervals. I set the treadmill on 2.0 elevation, then walk for 5 min at 3.5 speed, then ramp it up for 30 seconds at 8.0, then back down to 3.5 to recover. I'll continue this for a total of 8 cycles gradually increasing the speed on each interval (8.0, 8.5, 9.0, 9.5, 10.) Then I'll walk the last 10 minutes and reduce the speed and elevation every minute or so till I get down to a 2.5 walk to finish.
The half hour goes by WAY faster, I burned more calories than just walking 3.5 speed for 30 minutes, and having to change the speed every couple of minutes and catching my breath, keeps me from getting bored.
You can do this on any cardio equipment (stepmill is brutal on this), and as you get better at it, you can always increase the speed.
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So instead I'll do intervals. I set the treadmill on 2.0 elevation, then walk for 5 min at 3.5 speed, then ramp it up for 30 seconds at 8.0, then back down to 3.5 to recover. I'll continue this for a total of 8 cycles gradually increasing the speed on each interval (8.0, 8.5, 9.0, 9.5, 10.) Then I'll walk the last 10 minutes and reduce the speed and elevation every minute or so till I get down to a 2.5 walk to finish.
The half hour goes by WAY faster, I burned more calories than just walking 3.5 speed for 30 minutes, and having to change the speed every couple of minutes and catching my breath, keeps me from getting bored.
You can do this on any cardio equipment (stepmill is brutal on this), and as you get better at it, you can always increase the speed.
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Replies
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All true. That stuff is boring as hell at the gym. At home though, with access to my own TV screen so I can catch up on Netflix or whatever, the time on the bike is "free" in a way.1
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Hmmm, maybe. I know you know what you're talking about at a more in-depth level, but as a generality this idea bleeds over into the mythology about HIIT being the gold standard for both calorie burn and fitness perfection. It's more complicated.
You know the limitations of heart-rate based calorie estimates for interval training, I'm sure. Not everyone does. Similarly, you know about the disproportionately higher fatigue/recovery penalty if things get maybe a little too intense a little too often. Not everyone does.
I agree that mixing things up is good, useful for fitness development. In that overall picture, moderate steady-state cardio has a useful role, too.
I also get that you spend a lot of time in the gym, might as well use the machines. But you know that my bias, as a generality, is that people who find cardio boring are doing the wrong cardio.6 -
The treadmills in some gyms have a “speed interval” button that lets you toggle between two speeds. Even if you change your speed throughout your workout, it makes it easier to just toggle and tweak rather than crank the numbers all the way up and down every time.3
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Can't you just select a program on a machine to avoid this problem? like fat burn, hills etc?2
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Ann I'd love to do more outside. As it is I'm up at 4:30am and on my way to the gym to get there by 5am.Hmmm, maybe. I know you know what you're talking about at a more in-depth level, but as a generality this idea bleeds over into the mythology about HIIT being the gold standard for both calorie burn and fitness perfection. It's more complicated.
You know the limitations of heart-rate based calorie estimates for interval training, I'm sure. Not everyone does. Similarly, you know about the disproportionately higher fatigue/recovery penalty if things get maybe a little too intense a little too often. Not everyone does.
I agree that mixing things up is good, useful for fitness development. In that overall picture, moderate steady-state cardio has a useful role, too.
I also get that you spend a lot of time in the gym, might as well use the machines. But you know that my bias, as a generality, is that people who find cardio boring are doing the wrong cardio.
So unless I'm either willing to get up at 3:30am or do a bout after 9pm after dinner, I'm stuck with machines.
Also, it DOESN'T have to be HIIT intervals. Just an increase faster than the slower pace. Some people walk at 3.0 on a treadmill, so an interval for them could be just 5.0. All I'm conveying is that speeding up for a short duration keeps from mindlessly just going through a repetitive motion at the same speed till the clock runs out.
Sorry I should have cleared that up on the intitial post.
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Ditch the "fat burn program". Yes you can. Problem is most people have no idea how to set it (even though many times the display walks you through). So by all means use the programs, just don't get overzealous and put the level too high. Last thing you want is an interval program where you can't run as fast as you need to and eat it and end up being on YOUTUBE as a gym fail.sugarfreesquirrel wrote: »Can't you just select a program on a machine to avoid this problem? like fat burn, hills etc?
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I’d rather stick red hot needles in my eyes than do slow cardio1
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Yep. I've had people ask me how to do it because I only have to hit the button once to change speeds where others are toggling it down. It's hard to do that when you've just ran at 10.0 and are trying to slow down and not screw up your gait.herringboxes wrote: »The treadmills in some gyms have a “speed interval” button that lets you toggle between two speeds. Even if you change your speed throughout your workout, it makes it easier to just toggle and tweak rather than crank the numbers all the way up and down every time.
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I realize this discussion is focused around doing intervals as a way to reduce boredom and increase calorie expenditure for cardio work done in the gym. With that said, I'd add that for those who are looking to remain highly active into the late stages of life (I'm 65 now), doing interval type workouts helps us to maintain a high level of physical function as we age.
Specifically, I'm referring to training for the highest level of VO2 max as possible. (VO2 max is a measure of a person's maximal oxygen consumption. Garmin Connect displays this under "Performance Stats" in the app ) Beyond sports performance, maintaining a high VO2 max as we age allows us to continue to do things like hike up steep grades, carry heavy objects upstairs, etc. Since VO2 max declines with age, doing interval (threshold) type workouts is key to keeping this fitness.
For any who might be interested, there are lots of great video discussions online. (I like episodes #217 and #223 of Peter Attia's "The Drive" podcast addressing VO2 max and longevity).
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One thing to keep in mind is also that people might not be fit enough to do intervals. If they give up after just one interval the workout might in the end be a lot shorter and burn a lot less calories. Not having done any endurance type training for the past 8 months I know all I can do is very slow steady state running with walking intervals (I think. Will find out next week
). People a lot less fit might just give up. 2 -
Yes a great point. I'm almost 60 and teach a cardio kickboxing class. There are several intervals in the class and I can do all of them with no breaks whereas some people half my age struggle and have to stop to catch their breath. It's always satisfying to me to be able to keep up with people so much younger than myself on a fitness level.I realize this discussion is focused around doing intervals as a way to reduce boredom and increase calorie expenditure for cardio work done in the gym. With that said, I'd add that for those who are looking to remain highly active into the late stages of life (I'm 65 now), doing interval type workouts helps us to maintain a high level of physical function as we age.
Specifically, I'm referring to training for the highest level of VO2 max as possible. (VO2 max is a measure of a person's maximal oxygen consumption. Garmin Connect displays this under "Performance Stats" in the app ) Beyond sports performance, maintaining a high VO2 max as we age allows us to continue to do things like hike up steep grades, carry heavy objects upstairs, etc. Since VO2 max declines with age, doing interval (threshold) type workouts is key to keeping this fitness.
For any who might be interested, there are lots of great video discussions online. (I like episodes #217 and #223 of Peter Attia's "The Drive" podcast addressing VO2 max and longevity).
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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You can do intervals without going hard. You just vary the intensity which in the unfit will be a lot lower than a fit personOne thing to keep in mind is also that people might not be fit enough to do intervals. If they give up after just one interval the workout might in the end be a lot shorter and burn a lot less calories. Not having done any endurance type training for the past 8 months I know all I can do is very slow steady state running with walking intervals (I think. Will find out next week ). People a lot less fit might just give up.
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@ninerbuff So when is a good time to do long, slow, boring cardio?
Can interval training replace LISS all together?
Should someone do both intervals and LISS?
How many times per week do you recommend using the methods you've described and for how long each session?
Where should a beginner start?
How do you recommend progressions?1 -
If the point is breaking up a workout so there's more variety so less boredom, there can be options other than intensity intervals, or at least distinct from purely intensity variation intervals.
The thing I know best is rowing, on-water and machine. Even on machines, we work with things like rating (strokes per minute) patterns. (No, spm doesn't necessarily directly correlate with intensity, though there's some association.) One common one is rating pyramids (start at a particular spm rating, go up by X spm every Y minutes (or meters) for a few rounds, then go back down in similar steps. For beginners, just holding a given spm rating can be a mental challenge. Sometimes I work at trying to hold a particular spm/pace combination, which is a little more intermediate variation.
For any cardio with a technical dimension - which rowing has but I suspect is less a factor with many popular gym machines - varying technical focus is another way to break up the workout.
I do this a lot on the rowing machine in Winter, but we also do it on water. So, maybe it's X strokes focusing on fast hands-away/body-over, or on accelerating in the arms phase of the drive, either of which can be done on a rowing machine. (There are lots of others, too, even on a machine: Those are just a couple of examples.)
On water, there are even more technical focus options, since there's still most of the technique needed on the machine, plus balance, bladework, etc. Coaches will spend large sections of group practices working on drills, which I believe some other technical cardio formats can also have. There are dozens of common drills. An easy to understand example is pause drills, where you stop briefly at a given point in each stroke, like at hands away, then resume the stroke. (It reinforces how you're supposed to semi-separately prep the various body parts during each stroke, then exploit that prep to apply power.)
And sure, we do pure intensity intervals, too.0 -
michael6186 wrote: »@ninerbuff So when is a good time to do long, slow, boring cardio?
Can interval training replace LISS all together?
Should someone do both intervals and LISS?
How many times per week do you recommend using the methods you've described and for how long each session?
Where should a beginner start?
How do you recommend progressions?
. . . and to what extent would the answers differ depending on what the person's fitness/athletic goals are?0 -
Also remember that changing speed is not the only way to create an interval effect. There's also angle, resistance, exertion...3
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If your goal is simply to burn calories, then doing intervals may help you do that, especially if your time is limited. If you have more time, and can go for longer time and distance, then steady state will burn more calories. If your goal is racing, then many/most? coaches recommend doing most of your training at a slow easy pace with higher intensity workouts only once or twice a week. (80/20 rule.)
Doing extremely hard intervals can be counterproductive if you end up holding on to the arms of the treadmill, can't complete your workout because you are winded, can't do your workout the next day, or if you pull something by pushing yourself harder than your body will allow. I ended up with long term hamstring damage by trying to keep up with faster runners on a group run.1 -
I agree with the 'don't do fatburning zone' recommendation.
But steady state isn't the same as LISS/'slow cardio'/fatburning zone.
Almost all the running I do is steady state - I hate fiddling with the controls on my treadmill and short intervals would drive me nuts (my preset speed buttons are 4, 8, 12 and 16kph, all the rest is through manual changes by 0.1kph increments). But I'm definitely not doing slow cardio when I'm running, I just prefer to vary my speed between runs, not so much within the same sessions.
Steady-state walking can be pretty intense too at the appropriate incline and speed.
As for it being boring: sure, it would be if I didn't have my television
At the gym, not being in charge of what you're watching might make it less fun, but listening to a podcast or audiobook on headphones could be a way to keep it interesting. 1 -
Whenever you feel like it. Not everyday is going to be an energetic day. When I feel like it's a "blah" day, I just lower my intensity on any exercise.michael6186 wrote: »@ninerbuff So when is a good time to do long, slow, boring cardio?
Can interval training replace LISS all together?
Should they? Personally I believe so. Increasing your VO2 max is good whether you're an athlete or not. Can't do that with LISS.Should someone do both intervals and LISS?
Depends on the intensity of the intervals. Can be done everyday if the intervals are moderate. If it's HIIT intervals or Tababta Protocol, no more that 3 times a week max.How many times per week do you recommend using the methods you've described and for how long each session?
I have my clients start at whatever they are comfortable walking or doing biking, elliptical then for the interval go up 2 levels above that for 30 seconds. As they get better they can go as long as 1 min. Once you hit the minute mark, increase the intensity another 1 or 2 levels and go back to 30 seconds.Where should a beginner start?
I mentioned it above.How do you recommend progressions?
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I agree with the 'don't do fatburning zone' recommendation.
But steady state isn't the same as LISS/'slow cardio'/fatburning zone.
Almost all the running I do is steady state - I hate fiddling with the controls on my treadmill and short intervals would drive me nuts (my preset speed buttons are 4, 8, 12 and 16kph, all the rest is through manual changes by 0.1kph increments). But I'm definitely not doing slow cardio when I'm running, I just prefer to vary my speed between runs, not so much within the same sessions.
Steady-state walking can be pretty intense too at the appropriate incline and speed.
As for it being boring: sure, it would be if I didn't have my television At the gym, not being in charge of what you're watching might make it less fun, but listening to a podcast or audiobook on headphones could be a way to keep it interesting.
Regarding the bolded: I know that Niner's understanding is more nuanced, but I have to say that that concept is one of my pet peeves about common perceptions, too. There are smart, fit people here who speak as if LISS and intervals are polar opposites. That's IMO misleading.
"Steady state" is a pacing strategy. Intervals are a pacing strategy.
Low, medium/moderate, high are potential ways to characterize intensity.
Pacing strategies can mix and match with intensities, though not all combinations make sense.
LISS is a common combination, but MISS (medium/moderate intensity steady state), and HISS (high intensity etc.) are also possible combinations.
Intervals can be varied, though low intensity intervals (I guess that would be LIIT?) probably doesn't make a lot of sense, unless maybe one might characterize a walk/rest interval activity as that. For sure, MIIT and HIIT are possible, and there may be variation in either the intensity of the work part of the intervals or the intensity of the rest part - either binary step up/down in intensity or multi-step (low to medium to high, maybe back down as a pyramid).
(In any variation where there's continuous movement, of course the rest intervals aren't pure rest, but I can't think of another term to use instead. In rowing, we often call the rest-ish part "off" (like 2' on, 30" off), but in a lot of cases the "off" is still moving, just less intensely.)
I'm not going to go into a silly-long essay here, but many of these varied combinations of pacing/intensity have a training purpose, for at least some sports/fitness goals.
As a generality, there are implications for duration of the pacing/intensity combination, too. To use an extreme example, no one is doing what is (for them) 2 continuous hours of high intensity steady state. If a person can do it for 2 hours, it isn't functionally high intensity for that person. (The same is true for HIIT workouts - that they're somewhat self-limiting in duration - but that's more complicated.)
In rowing, we sometimes use "LSD" - Long, Slow Distance - as the label instead of "LISS". Conceptually, I think that makes more sense, makes it easier to be clear . . . but not all activities have distance, of course.1 -
I agree with the 'don't do fatburning zone' recommendation.
But steady state isn't the same as LISS/'slow cardio'/fatburning zone.
Almost all the running I do is steady state - I hate fiddling with the controls on my treadmill and short intervals would drive me nuts (my preset speed buttons are 4, 8, 12 and 16kph, all the rest is through manual changes by 0.1kph increments). But I'm definitely not doing slow cardio when I'm running, I just prefer to vary my speed between runs, not so much within the same sessions.
Steady-state walking can be pretty intense too at the appropriate incline and speed.
As for it being boring: sure, it would be if I didn't have my television At the gym, not being in charge of what you're watching might make it less fun, but listening to a podcast or audiobook on headphones could be a way to keep it interesting.
Regarding the bolded: I know that Niner's understanding is more nuanced, but I have to say that that concept is one of my pet peeves about common perceptions, too. There are smart, fit people here who speak as if LISS and intervals are polar opposites. That's IMO misleading.
"Steady state" is a pacing strategy. Intervals are a pacing strategy.
Low, medium/moderate, high are potential ways to characterize intensity.
Pacing strategies can mix and match with intensities, though not all combinations make sense.
LISS is a common combination, but MISS (medium/moderate intensity steady state), and HISS (high intensity etc.) are also possible combinations.
Intervals can be varied, though low intensity intervals (I guess that would be LIIT?) probably doesn't make a lot of sense, unless maybe one might characterize a walk/rest interval activity as that. For sure, MIIT and HIIT are possible, and there may be variation in either the intensity of the work part of the intervals or the intensity of the rest part - either binary step up/down in intensity or multi-step (low to medium to high, maybe back down as a pyramid).
(In any variation where there's continuous movement, of course the rest intervals aren't pure rest, but I can't think of another term to use instead. In rowing, we often call the rest-ish part "off" (like 2' on, 30" off), but in a lot of cases the "off" is still moving, just less intensely.)
I'm not going to go into a silly-long essay here, but many of these varied combinations of pacing/intensity have a training purpose, for at least some sports/fitness goals.
As a generality, there are implications for duration of the pacing/intensity combination, too. To use an extreme example, no one is doing what is (for them) 2 continuous hours of high intensity steady state. If a person can do it for 2 hours, it isn't functionally high intensity for that person. (The same is true for HIIT workouts - that they're somewhat self-limiting in duration - but that's more complicated.)
In rowing, we sometimes use "LSD" - Long, Slow Distance - as the label instead of "LISS". Conceptually, I think that makes more sense, makes it easier to be clear . . . but not all activities have distance, of course.
Recognizing that many/most don’t know or care about the metrics and details that help define “low, medium, high” related to intensity, understanding those differences becomes helpful (and important) when performance improvements are a primary goal.
In those situations, pacing discussions that speak in concrete terms (min:sec/mile, HR by zone, power output by zone) eliminate ambiguity, assuming the user has done testing to define their threshold abilities.
Again, this may be overkill for some, but an example to illustrate @Ann’s point about doing “on” and “off” Intervals while moving continuously is a popular track workout that can also be done on a treadmill:
Warmup as easy 1 mile (4 laps) then main set done as 16 laps alternating between 5k threshold pace (7:50) for the odd laps and half marathon pace (8:55) for the even laps.
In this case, the “off” intervals are still run at a half marathon race pace, but they serve as recovery from the 5k threshold or “on” intervals. This workout really helps build speed for half marathon distance training. Number of laps can be adjusted down to start and increased as fitness grows. (12, 16, 24, etc)
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I don't get bored with outdoor cardio, but this time of year it's too hot for me, so joined a gym in June.
I manage boredom by alternating between walking, biking, rowing, and elliptical-ing. The ellipticals are in front of the TV set to the Food network, so I've been watching a lot of cooking shows lately
I walk or row during commercials. I used to despise the elliptical, but realized it's tolerable if I slow it down. I use the METS to create a custom calorie entry.
When I first joined the gym I used the Hills setting on the bike, but I'm not on it long enough for there to be a point to this.1 -
Can't tell you how many times I've debated people over HIIT programs and them telling me they do an hour of it. MAYBE 20 minutes max, but when I mention it's no longer HIIT, they go ballistic. I'll tell them if it's more than that it's MIIT and that's okay. Still insistence of it being HIIT prevailed with them.I agree with the 'don't do fatburning zone' recommendation.
But steady state isn't the same as LISS/'slow cardio'/fatburning zone.
Almost all the running I do is steady state - I hate fiddling with the controls on my treadmill and short intervals would drive me nuts (my preset speed buttons are 4, 8, 12 and 16kph, all the rest is through manual changes by 0.1kph increments). But I'm definitely not doing slow cardio when I'm running, I just prefer to vary my speed between runs, not so much within the same sessions.
Steady-state walking can be pretty intense too at the appropriate incline and speed.
As for it being boring: sure, it would be if I didn't have my television At the gym, not being in charge of what you're watching might make it less fun, but listening to a podcast or audiobook on headphones could be a way to keep it interesting.
Regarding the bolded: I know that Niner's understanding is more nuanced, but I have to say that that concept is one of my pet peeves about common perceptions, too. There are smart, fit people here who speak as if LISS and intervals are polar opposites. That's IMO misleading.
"Steady state" is a pacing strategy. Intervals are a pacing strategy.
Low, medium/moderate, high are potential ways to characterize intensity.
Pacing strategies can mix and match with intensities, though not all combinations make sense.
LISS is a common combination, but MISS (medium/moderate intensity steady state), and HISS (high intensity etc.) are also possible combinations.
Intervals can be varied, though low intensity intervals (I guess that would be LIIT?) probably doesn't make a lot of sense, unless maybe one might characterize a walk/rest interval activity as that. For sure, MIIT and HIIT are possible, and there may be variation in either the intensity of the work part of the intervals or the intensity of the rest part - either binary step up/down in intensity or multi-step (low to medium to high, maybe back down as a pyramid).
(In any variation where there's continuous movement, of course the rest intervals aren't pure rest, but I can't think of another term to use instead. In rowing, we often call the rest-ish part "off" (like 2' on, 30" off), but in a lot of cases the "off" is still moving, just less intensely.)
I'm not going to go into a silly-long essay here, but many of these varied combinations of pacing/intensity have a training purpose, for at least some sports/fitness goals.
As a generality, there are implications for duration of the pacing/intensity combination, too. To use an extreme example, no one is doing what is (for them) 2 continuous hours of high intensity steady state. If a person can do it for 2 hours, it isn't functionally high intensity for that person. (The same is true for HIIT workouts - that they're somewhat self-limiting in duration - but that's more complicated.)
In rowing, we sometimes use "LSD" - Long, Slow Distance - as the label instead of "LISS". Conceptually, I think that makes more sense, makes it easier to be clear . . . but not all activities have distance, of course.
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Can't tell you how many times I've debated people over HIIT programs and them telling me they do an hour of it. MAYBE 20 minutes max, but when I mention it's no longer HIIT, they go ballistic. I'll tell them if it's more than that it's MIIT and that's okay. Still insistence of it being HIIT prevailed with them.I agree with the 'don't do fatburning zone' recommendation.
But steady state isn't the same as LISS/'slow cardio'/fatburning zone.
Almost all the running I do is steady state - I hate fiddling with the controls on my treadmill and short intervals would drive me nuts (my preset speed buttons are 4, 8, 12 and 16kph, all the rest is through manual changes by 0.1kph increments). But I'm definitely not doing slow cardio when I'm running, I just prefer to vary my speed between runs, not so much within the same sessions.
Steady-state walking can be pretty intense too at the appropriate incline and speed.
As for it being boring: sure, it would be if I didn't have my television At the gym, not being in charge of what you're watching might make it less fun, but listening to a podcast or audiobook on headphones could be a way to keep it interesting.
Regarding the bolded: I know that Niner's understanding is more nuanced, but I have to say that that concept is one of my pet peeves about common perceptions, too. There are smart, fit people here who speak as if LISS and intervals are polar opposites. That's IMO misleading.
"Steady state" is a pacing strategy. Intervals are a pacing strategy.
Low, medium/moderate, high are potential ways to characterize intensity.
Pacing strategies can mix and match with intensities, though not all combinations make sense.
LISS is a common combination, but MISS (medium/moderate intensity steady state), and HISS (high intensity etc.) are also possible combinations.
Intervals can be varied, though low intensity intervals (I guess that would be LIIT?) probably doesn't make a lot of sense, unless maybe one might characterize a walk/rest interval activity as that. For sure, MIIT and HIIT are possible, and there may be variation in either the intensity of the work part of the intervals or the intensity of the rest part - either binary step up/down in intensity or multi-step (low to medium to high, maybe back down as a pyramid).
(In any variation where there's continuous movement, of course the rest intervals aren't pure rest, but I can't think of another term to use instead. In rowing, we often call the rest-ish part "off" (like 2' on, 30" off), but in a lot of cases the "off" is still moving, just less intensely.)
I'm not going to go into a silly-long essay here, but many of these varied combinations of pacing/intensity have a training purpose, for at least some sports/fitness goals.
As a generality, there are implications for duration of the pacing/intensity combination, too. To use an extreme example, no one is doing what is (for them) 2 continuous hours of high intensity steady state. If a person can do it for 2 hours, it isn't functionally high intensity for that person. (The same is true for HIIT workouts - that they're somewhat self-limiting in duration - but that's more complicated.)
In rowing, we sometimes use "LSD" - Long, Slow Distance - as the label instead of "LISS". Conceptually, I think that makes more sense, makes it easier to be clear . . . but not all activities have distance, of course.
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Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Yup. "Feels really hard to me" is not exactly the definition of "high intensity". @Djproulx's comments about intensity metrics are exactly on point in this regard, although I think more loosey-goosey definitions (maybe based on good definitions of RPE, among other things) can be an OK-ish guide for people pursuing general fitness but wanting a mix of intensities to serve that purpose.
People who get serious about a sport (and sometimes just about general fitness) are going to have training plans and some kind of intensity metrics, generally.
An hour isn't HIIT, unless the rest intervals are . . . long. For those who claim they did an hour of HIIT (or more!) . . . well, some people think HIIT is an exercise type/modality, not an intensity/pacing strategy. After all, a person can take a "HIIT class" and "learn how to do HIIT" . . . so it must be an exercise type, eh? 
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If I’m thinking of HIIT workouts, two descriptions seem to cover it for me. The first is “Going to Breathless” during a set of sprint intervals on the bike, and the second one describing a Tabata workout as “the longest four minutes of your life”. The classic Tabata protocol is eight rounds of 20 seconds at max output with 10 seconds recovery. If you push the 20 seconds at max, you’re dying by the fourth or fifth round and barely able to recover.
It’s a great tool for building aerobic capacity… but it hurts.😉2 -
Yes. There are people on Tik Tok touting Tabata workouts with situps, push ups and curls. I always interject that it's NOT TABATA. If you aren't like rolling on the floor gasping for air in 4 minutes, you did INTERVALS.If I’m thinking of HIIT workouts, two descriptions seem to cover it for me. The first is “Going to Breathless” during a set of sprint intervals on the bike, and the second one describing a Tabata workout as “the longest four minutes of your life”. The classic Tabata protocol is eight rounds of 20 seconds at max output with 10 seconds recovery. If you push the 20 seconds at max, you’re dying by the fourth or fifth round and barely able to recover.
It’s a great tool for building aerobic capacity… but it hurts.😉
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Cardio bores me to death.
The only thing I've found is to change machines to give the illusion of variety. I do 20 minutes on the bike, then 20 minutes on the elliptical, then 15 minutes on the treadmill (either running or fast walking at 15%) and 5 minutes as a finisher on the StairMaster. I also change the settings on the machine to add a bit of variety, but I always stay at a fairly similar intensity : keeping my rhythm quite "elevated" (well, for me, it is), around 170 bpm throughout my workout. With peaks of 180/190 in the last few minutes on each machine.
But even with that I get bored so quickly. I always put a video on my phone, but I'm clearly in the zone where I'm putting in too much effort to really concentrate on what's being said in the video, as I also have to concentrate on my breathing, I've got a little heart murmur which means I can get my pulse racing very quickly... That's why I also avoid intense HIIT now, I used to get really bad sensations when I did it
From one session to the next I always aim to do more than the previous one, so I increase the resistance/speed/ect for X minutes, which means I keep a close eye on the screen (and so on the time displayed), which means I feel that the time is passing even moooore slowly lol.
I think I'll always hate cardio no matter what ! I'm very envious of those rare ones who genuinely enjoy it !1 -
I'm not a big fan of cardio, but intervals make them pass faster for me. But except for kickboxing class, I usually never do more than 30 minutes of cardio a day.Cardio bores me to death.
The only thing I've found is to change machines to give the illusion of variety. I do 20 minutes on the bike, then 20 minutes on the elliptical, then 15 minutes on the treadmill (either running or fast walking at 15%) and 5 minutes as a finisher on the StairMaster. I also change the settings on the machine to add a bit of variety, but I always stay at a fairly similar intensity : keeping my rhythm quite "elevated" (well, for me, it is), around 170 bpm throughout my workout. With peaks of 180/190 in the last few minutes on each machine.
But even with that I get bored so quickly. I always put a video on my phone, but I'm clearly in the zone where I'm putting in too much effort to really concentrate on what's being said in the video, as I also have to concentrate on my breathing, I've got a little heart murmur which means I can get my pulse racing very quickly... That's why I also avoid intense HIIT now, I used to get really bad sensations when I did it
From one session to the next I always aim to do more than the previous one, so I increase the resistance/speed/ect for X minutes, which means I keep a close eye on the screen (and so on the time displayed), which means I feel that the time is passing even moooore slowly lol.
I think I'll always hate cardio no matter what ! I'm very envious of those rare ones who genuinely enjoy it !
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition 0 -
Cardio bores me to death.
The only thing I've found is to change machines to give the illusion of variety. I do 20 minutes on the bike, then 20 minutes on the elliptical, then 15 minutes on the treadmill (either running or fast walking at 15%) and 5 minutes as a finisher on the StairMaster. I also change the settings on the machine to add a bit of variety, but I always stay at a fairly similar intensity : keeping my rhythm quite "elevated" (well, for me, it is), around 170 bpm throughout my workout. With peaks of 180/190 in the last few minutes on each machine.
But even with that I get bored so quickly. I always put a video on my phone, but I'm clearly in the zone where I'm putting in too much effort to really concentrate on what's being said in the video, as I also have to concentrate on my breathing, I've got a little heart murmur which means I can get my pulse racing very quickly... That's why I also avoid intense HIIT now, I used to get really bad sensations when I did it
From one session to the next I always aim to do more than the previous one, so I increase the resistance/speed/ect for X minutes, which means I keep a close eye on the screen (and so on the time displayed), which means I feel that the time is passing even moooore slowly lol.
I think I'll always hate cardio no matter what ! I'm very envious of those rare ones who genuinely enjoy it !
I can do an hour of cardio outside, but I've yet to last as long as 15 minutes at a time on any indoor cardio machine 0 -
I did sprints on a nearby track for the first time in years, forgot how fun it was to go nearly all out.
I did 5 x 100 m sprints at about 90%. ABout 5 min rests in between.
My hamstrings were obviously not expecting it because its been 5 days and they haven't fully recovered.
I used to go on long trail runs earlier this summer. But I think I will stay away from anything overly exhaustive for 1+hrs. Don't want to compromise the muscle gain.0
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