HIIT with elliptical

adriana_hackney
adriana_hackney Posts: 232 Member
edited November 11 in Fitness and Exercise
I was wondering if anyone has done HIIT with their elliptical? If so, how did you do it? Also, what are your thoughts on HIIT workouts? Thanks.
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Replies

  • NatalieBrooke88
    NatalieBrooke88 Posts: 240 Member
    Yes, I have. The great part of HIIT training is you can do it on virtually any cardio machine.

    I warmed up for 2 minutes
    I picked a midhigh resistance - S0, a 7 out of 10.
    I pushed at a slow to moderate pace for 30 seconds
    I pushed as hard as I could for 1 minute.

    Keep switching back and forth until you hit 25 minutes.

    You should be drenched when your done. Your hard push segment should be very difficult. This workout is all about PUSHING yourself.

    HIIT training is AMAZING.
  • Novikay
    Novikay Posts: 62
    Yes, I have. The great part of HIIT training is you can do it on virtually any cardio machine.

    I warmed up for 2 minutes
    I picked a midhigh resistance - S0, a 7 out of 10.
    I pushed at a slow to moderate pace for 30 seconds
    I pushed as hard as I could for 1 minute.

    Keep switching back and forth until you hit 25 minutes.

    You should be drenched when your done. Your hard push segment should be very difficult. This workout is all about PUSHING yourself.

    HIIT training is AMAZING.

    great response!

    I do just about the same thing. And sometimes after, I'll do low impact for10-15 minutes also, if i'm feeling fiesty.
  • adriana_hackney
    adriana_hackney Posts: 232 Member
    Thanks so much!!!
  • adriana_hackney
    adriana_hackney Posts: 232 Member
    I use my elliptical every day. Do I do HIIT every time, or only certain days??
  • Novikay
    Novikay Posts: 62
    I wouldn't. I do it 3 times a week, personally.
  • kelleymeg
    kelleymeg Posts: 24 Member
    agreed. my boyfriend who is super fit turned me on to HIIT training. Its about quality not quantity. you can achieve great results in less time. what i love about it is that i tend to feel the results for a while afterwards. I prefer the elliptical because i have a bad knee, but on the off-chance that i have to use a treadmill, i find HIIT training to be less strenuous on my joints because you are only running really hard for a short amount of time, then you have some time to take a bit of a "rest" which ramps you up for the next minute of very hard work.
  • adriana_hackney
    adriana_hackney Posts: 232 Member
    Awesome!! Gonna get started tomorrow :))
  • NatalieBrooke88
    NatalieBrooke88 Posts: 240 Member
    Some will say only do HIIT 2-3 times a week. However, always let your body be your guide.

    Also. HIIT training with strength training combined is my preferred workout.

    For example:
    Squat with upright rows 1 minute
    20 second rest
    Burpees with knee to elbow 1 minute
    20 second rest
    Pushup with opposite arm raise 1 minute
    20 second rest


    And so on..

    If you need any other ideas, let me know :)
  • NatalieBrooke88
    NatalieBrooke88 Posts: 240 Member
    agreed. my boyfriend who is super fit turned me on to HIIT training. Its about quality not quantity. you can achieve great results in less time. what i love about it is that i tend to feel the results for a while afterwards. I prefer the elliptical because i have a bad knee, but on the off-chance that i have to use a treadmill, i find HIIT training to be less strenuous on my joints because you are only running really hard for a short amount of time, then you have some time to take a bit of a "rest" which ramps you up for the next minute of very hard work.

    Exactly
  • adriana_hackney
    adriana_hackney Posts: 232 Member
    Some will say only do HIIT 2-3 times a week. However, always let your body be your guide.

    Also. HIIT training with strength training combined is my preferred workout.

    For example:
    Squat with upright rows 1 minute
    20 second rest
    Burpees with knee to elbow 1 minute
    20 second rest
    Pushup with opposite arm raise 1 minute
    20 second rest


    And so on..

    If you need any other ideas, let me know :)

    I definitely will. Thanks a bunch. I'm new to the exercise thing and iv'e recently discovered that I really like it. As a matter of fact I love sweating...lol...and I LOVE the shower afterwards :)
  • Ant_the_old_keith_lemon
    Ant_the_old_keith_lemon Posts: 272 Member
    i warm up with a midrange resistance for 10 mins.

    then i select a 7/8 of the max resistance similar to above, i then do one min flat out say 65-70rpm and one min at half speed say 30-40 rpm on the same high resistance. due to my fitness i do 4 reps of these and have a 2 min recovery - i generaly do 4 of "my" interval reps and cool down for 10 mins, paying attention to heart rate.

    i am indeed WET when i finish - but this method has helped me loose a significant amount of mass in a short time nearly 40 lbs in 3 months... however its impact on my endurance and capacity is noticable weekly as when i do a std work out i have to keep selecting a higher resistance nealry every week in order to maintain 148-156 bpm...

    i think the way i have been training may have been too hard for a fatty bombom - but now im kinda nearly at a pont where i could take on some serious adventures :)
  • adriana_hackney
    adriana_hackney Posts: 232 Member
    i warm up with a midrange resistance for 10 mins.

    then i select a 7/8 of the max resistance similar to above, i then do one min flat out say 65-70rpm and one min at half speed say 30-40 rpm on the same high resistance. due to my fitness i do 4 reps of these and have a 2 min recovery - i generaly do 4 of "my" interval reps and cool down for 10 mins, paying attention to heart rate.

    i am indeed WET when i finish - but this method has helped me loose a significant amount of mass in a short time nearly 40 lbs in 3 months... however its impact on my endurance and capacity is noticable weekly as when i do a std work out i have to keep selecting a higher resistance nealry every week in order to maintain 148-156 bpm...

    i think the way i have been training may have been too hard for a fatty bombom - but now im kinda nearly at a pont where i could take on some serious adventures :)

    I've been doing 20 minutes/5 days a week on 6 resistance the entire workout. At first I thought I would die, but now i'm ok :)) I'm really excited about doing this.
  • Ant_the_old_keith_lemon
    Ant_the_old_keith_lemon Posts: 272 Member
    keep us posted on your results, it works and works well. people will go wtf is she doing flat out then slow.... but they just arent in the know ha
  • R_is_for_Rachel
    R_is_for_Rachel Posts: 381 Member
    Very interested in the idea of HIIT, going to have a go this morning on my crosstrainer!
  • zafferFL
    zafferFL Posts: 402
    This all sounds like interval training, which, don't get me wrong is a great way to train. But, pushing at a true Max you will not make 1 minute and fail at more like 15 seconds.
  • ltl_leah
    ltl_leah Posts: 57 Member
    I do HIIT on the elliptical about 2 x a week. I do it as follows:

    Begin on a fairly easy resistance, such as 2 or 3, for 3 minutes.
    At a 16 resistance, I'll go all out for 1 minute at about 9 miles per hr speed.
    Then, switch back to your 2-3 resistance for another 3 minutes, then repeat the sprint.
    I do the intervals for 30 minutes.
  • gpitts85
    gpitts85 Posts: 6
    I do HIIT on my elliptical as well. I have a bad knee so it is less painful to do on the elliptical than a treadmill. My workout on it is as follows..

    25 minutes

    5 minutes I warm up at a 7 for the entire 5 minutes..

    2 minutes I get up to 65 or higher RPMs going front ways

    30 seconds lower around 40 - 45 RPMs

    2 minutes I increase my RPMs back to 65 or higher going backwards.

    I just repeat that process for the entire 20 minutes remaining after the 5 minute warm up.. Sometimes afterwards if im still feeling ok I will just cool down for 15 - 20 minutes on a low intensity..

    I am still kinda new to the HIIT on elliptical so if I am going to low please suggest what RPMs I should be doing..


    On a side note what do you enter when doing HIIT for your excersise. I have still been entering elliptical trainer and how many minutes I have done however I know im burning much more doing HIIT on the elliptical then low intensity
  • LivyB14
    LivyB14 Posts: 23 Member
    I'm trying this tomorrow!
  • zafferFL
    zafferFL Posts: 402
    I do HIIT on my elliptical as well. I have a bad knee so it is less painful to do on the elliptical than a treadmill. My workout on it is as follows..

    25 minutes

    5 minutes I warm up at a 7 for the entire 5 minutes..

    2 minutes I get up to 65 or higher RPMs going front ways

    30 seconds lower around 40 - 45 RPMs

    2 minutes I increase my RPMs back to 65 or higher going backwards.

    I just repeat that process for the entire 20 minutes remaining after the 5 minute warm up.. Sometimes afterwards if im still feeling ok I will just cool down for 15 - 20 minutes on a low intensity..

    I am still kinda new to the HIIT on elliptical so if I am going to low please suggest what RPMs I should be doing..


    On a side note what do you enter when doing HIIT for your excersise. I have still been entering elliptical trainer and how many minutes I have done however I know im burning much more doing HIIT on the elliptical then low intensity

    This is a good interval workout, which will get you results, but I doubt you are getting into a heart rate zone for this to be considered HIIT.

    RPM on the machine will be different for everyone.

    The key is to push yourself as hard as you can, if you can maintain the pace for 2 full minutes then it's probably not close to your max. You also look like you are at a ratio of 4:1, that's a bit high as well, you should be around 1:1 or 2:1 for intense/rest.
    Backwards and forwards make no difference, you are concerned with heart rate here, nothing else.

    You can use a HRM monitor and calculate your , or listen to your body. I always remember my martial arts trainer saying that once you are at 80% of your max, you have another 80% to go.

    I'm very dubious of the elliptical as a tool for HIIT at all. To get to the speed and/or resistance you need to increase your heart rate enough you will probably be very unstable.

    More useful is a spinning bike, sprinting outside (not on a treadmill) or swimming.
  • gpitts85
    gpitts85 Posts: 6
    Thanks zafferFL,

    I will do that when my HIIT day comes back around. I will make sure to push myself harder regardless of if it is in the 60s or not to make sure I get that full effect of it. Thanks again for your input it is much appreciated. I am still new so I wanted to make sure that I was getting the full benefits of it. I will let you all know how it goes.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    I do HIIT on my elliptical as well. I have a bad knee so it is less painful to do on the elliptical than a treadmill. My workout on it is as follows..

    25 minutes

    5 minutes I warm up at a 7 for the entire 5 minutes..

    2 minutes I get up to 65 or higher RPMs going front ways

    30 seconds lower around 40 - 45 RPMs

    2 minutes I increase my RPMs back to 65 or higher going backwards.

    I just repeat that process for the entire 20 minutes remaining after the 5 minute warm up.. Sometimes afterwards if im still feeling ok I will just cool down for 15 - 20 minutes on a low intensity..

    I am still kinda new to the HIIT on elliptical so if I am going to low please suggest what RPMs I should be doing..


    On a side note what do you enter when doing HIIT for your excersise. I have still been entering elliptical trainer and how many minutes I have done however I know im burning much more doing HIIT on the elliptical then low intensity

    This is a good interval workout, which will get you results, but I doubt you are getting into a heart rate zone for this to be considered HIIT.

    RPM on the machine will be different for everyone.

    The key is to push yourself as hard as you can, if you can maintain the pace for 2 full minutes then it's probably not close to your max. You also look like you are at a ratio of 4:1, that's a bit high as well, you should be around 1:1 or 2:1 for intense/rest.
    Backwards and forwards make no difference, you are concerned with heart rate here, nothing else.

    You can use a HRM monitor and calculate your , or listen to your body. I always remember my martial arts trainer saying that once you are at 80% of your max, you have another 80% to go.

    I'm very dubious of the elliptical as a tool for HIIT at all. To get to the speed and/or resistance you need to increase your heart rate enough you will probably be very unstable.

    More useful is a spinning bike, sprinting outside (not on a treadmill) or swimming.

    I agree with most of this. If you can sustain the interval for much more than 30 seconds it is probably not high enough intensity. I am going anerobic at about 15 seconds and then powering through for the last 15 seconds for get my HR up in the 165 range (I am about to turn 61). My routine is the Peak 8. 3 minute warm up, 30 seconds max, 90 seconds recovery 8x. I use the elliptical sometimes and it is a little tricky on the stability thing. Sometimes I have to hold on to the little handles in the middle and use resistance to get HR up and not just rpm. I also use the TM, recumbent bike and and sprint outside depending on weather. The general recomendation for this type of routine in 2x per week max due to the stress and recovery. Some, like Mark Sisson say once every 7 to 10 days.
  • lin7604
    lin7604 Posts: 2,951 Member
    so how can you figure out how many calories you are burning? i do have a hrm but if i'm going up and down like that i can't constantly be touching the button on my hrm to get a reading...
  • zafferFL
    zafferFL Posts: 402
    so how can you figure out how many calories you are burning? i do have a hrm but if i'm going up and down like that i can't constantly be touching the button on my hrm to get a reading...

    You throw away that HRM and get one with a strap :)

    But, regardless of that, calories during HIIT are somewhat irrelevant. The exercise time is short and as you said, the heart is going from steady to high beats in short periods of time, I doubt that even the best HRM will be able to calculate calories burned accurately.

    The theory of HIIT is that your post exercise time is where your body will burn calories trying to recover.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    so how can you figure out how many calories you are burning? i do have a hrm but if i'm going up and down like that i can't constantly be touching the button on my hrm to get a reading...

    You throw away that HRM and get one with a strap :)

    But, regardless of that, calories during HIIT are somewhat irrelevant. The exercise time is short and as you said, the heart is going from steady to high beats in short periods of time, I doubt that even the best HRM will be able to calculate calories burned accurately.

    The theory of HIIT is that your post exercise time is where your body will burn calories trying to recover.
    Totally agree with this. You get increased EPOC (Excess Post Exercise Energy Consumption). This in and of itself is not the only reason to do HIIT. If fat burning only is your goal, steady state cardio comes out better but as part of an overall training regimen, HIIT increaases your overall fitness and endurance for other types of activity or training. There are some excellent articles on HIIT here.
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/methods-of-endurance-training-part-5-interval-training-part-1.html
  • Leamac83
    Leamac83 Posts: 99 Member
    Ok, im confused? I thought HIT...High Intensity Training, was something different.

    What everyone is describing to here is like Interval training to me. Ive just watched a programe (The Truth about excercise, on BBC in UK) about HIT, and it was bascially going with working out for 3 minutes per day, yes thats corrent THREE minutes. You do 3 seperate intervals of extreme blasts on the bike or treadmill, cycling/running so fast that you are literally about to take off....is this not HIT? The results on this guy that done the study was amazing. He bascially managed to drastically change the way his body used and moved fat, combating things like insulin resistance. A documentary worth watching! :)
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    It's HIIT, High Intensity Interval Training. Sounds like what you watched showed an abbreviated version. It does help with the benefits you mentioned. Don't really see how that would happen with that short a duration and that high a frequency but who knows....?
  • celticmuse
    celticmuse Posts: 492 Member
    I have been doing a HHIT program combined with strength training exercises for about 14 mos. and have lost 33 lbs. I have an app for my phone called "interval timer" and set it to do 2 sets of 18.5 min/each, with a low interval time of 40 sec. The app allows you to play music, so I run it through my stereo. A bell rings on the timer when it is time to switch. I do it like this:

    30 sec. of a strength training exercise (I have 12 different ones - everything from kettlebells, to russian twists, stability balls, planks.

    60 sec on the elliptical.

    On to the next strength exercise.

    I set the timer for 40 sec. so I have 10 sec of rest, which allows me to get from the elliptical to the mat.

    I burn between 350-400 cal. in 50 minutes.

    The great part is that the time flies, because you are constantly moving. The other advantage is that if you find a new exercise you like, or you just get bored, it is very easy to change. I have photos of each strength training exercise on a sheet next to me, so I can see what is next. And the other advantage is that you don't need alot of equipment. I have a kettlebell, a stability ball, a medicine ball and a resistance bands. Other than the elliptical, I don't think I spend more than $125.

    I never get bored and I can change the music or the exercise whenever I feel the need. Best exercise routine I have ever found.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    That sounds very cool! What is the name of that app? Like you, I mix strength and also I mix in some steady state cardio both low intensity (below 75% VO2 max) and moderate intensity (above 75% VO2 max). So a week may look like, HIIT, ss low intensity, strength, rest, ss moderate intensity, strength, ss low intensity. Or some variation of the above. May do 2 HIIT, may do 2 strength, may do 2 ss moderate, all depends on how I'm feeling.

    Congrats on the fantastic loss! I'm guessing you are in awesome shape now! I also love your user name! I am an acoustic guitarist that plays Celtic Music as part of my repetoire'!
  • lin7604
    lin7604 Posts: 2,951 Member
    so how can you figure out how many calories you are burning? i do have a hrm but if i'm going up and down like that i can't constantly be touching the button on my hrm to get a reading...

    You throw away that HRM and get one with a strap :)

    But, regardless of that, calories during HIIT are somewhat irrelevant. The exercise time is short and as you said, the heart is going from steady to high beats in short periods of time, I doubt that even the best HRM will be able to calculate calories burned accurately.

    The theory of HIIT is that your post exercise time is where your body will burn calories trying to recover.
    Totally agree with this. You get increased EPOC (Excess Post Exercise Energy Consumption). This in and of itself is not the only reason to do HIIT. If fat burning only is your goal, steady state cardio comes out better but as part of an overall training regimen, HIIT increaases your overall fitness and endurance for other types of activity or training. There are some excellent articles on HIIT here.
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/methods-of-endurance-training-part-5-interval-training-part-1.html

    ok so i want to focus of burning fat, so steady state is the way i should go then? once i get that fat off me then i can do hiit?
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    so how can you figure out how many calories you are burning? i do have a hrm but if i'm going up and down like that i can't constantly be touching the button on my hrm to get a reading...

    You throw away that HRM and get one with a strap :)

    But, regardless of that, calories during HIIT are somewhat irrelevant. The exercise time is short and as you said, the heart is going from steady to high beats in short periods of time, I doubt that even the best HRM will be able to calculate calories burned accurately.

    The theory of HIIT is that your post exercise time is where your body will burn calories trying to recover.
    Totally agree with this. You get increased EPOC (Excess Post Exercise Energy Consumption). This in and of itself is not the only reason to do HIIT. If fat burning only is your goal, steady state cardio comes out better but as part of an overall training regimen, HIIT increaases your overall fitness and endurance for other types of activity or training. There are some excellent articles on HIIT here.
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/methods-of-endurance-training-part-5-interval-training-part-1.html

    ok so i want to focus of burning fat, so steady state is the way i should go then? once i get that fat off me then i can do hiit?

    I think they all work best together. That's why I do the program that I describe above. All steady state is good for fat burning but it's hard not to lose some lean muscle mass if that's all you do and that is counter productive. What if I told you that you would lose less pounds but be leaner, healthier and more atheletic. Would that appeal to you? One of things I love about the Body recomposition site is that is his approach.

    So, in a nutshell, you do HIIT to increase your overall aerobic capacity and fitness without losing lean muscle mass so that you can, do steady state cardio more efficiently and burn more calories and then build lean muscle with strength training so you don't lose lean muscle mass and that muscle mass also burns fat more efficiently. What's happening on the scale is only one peice of the puzzle. If you get leaner and more fit and like how you look, who cares if the scale says you weigh 10 lbs more than you thought you would? What if you drop inches from you waist?

    My ticker says down 11 pounds but that's just since I started here. I am down 17 overall but more importantly my body fat went from around 33 to around 22. That's about 18 lbs of fat!! My waist is down 3 inches and still dropping but my weight has gone down very slowly over the last 60 days. The best desciption I heard of the difference between just cardio and a more integrated program like I'm describing is in Mark Sisson's book The Primal Blueprint. He says basically look at a sprinter and look at a marathon runner. Which body would you rather have?
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