What is your HIIT training routine??

tlucas69
tlucas69 Posts: 74 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
As of today, I'm 21 days in on this journey to a healthier me. I want to lose over 100lbs. I was wondering what kind of HIIT routine would be good for me , either at the gym or at home. I have dumbbells, jump rope and a medicine ball at home.
Wondering what everyone's routines are like so maybe I can get some ideas for myself!!

Replies

  • BigRich822
    BigRich822 Posts: 681
    Thats a lot to lose I dont know if HIIT will be the best starting point for that. It is very intense training. You may want to start a little slower and work into it.
  • LJV1031
    LJV1031 Posts: 502 Member
    I don't have a HIIT routine, but I would like to respectfully disagree with BigRich822... to an extent. I believe you can do HIIT, but it wouldn't be at the same level as someone who may be more fit. You have to tailor it yourself. For instance, while running a HIIT program might consist of someone running at 9mph for 60 seconds, and walking at 4mph for 30 seconds, while for another individual, it could be running at 5.2mph for 60 seconds, and walking at 3.4mph for 30 seconds. What's high intensity for one person definitely differs from the next. I would suggest you be careful, stay hydrated and as Rich said, work your way into it.

    FYI: As I've mentioned, I don't have a HIIT routine, and the speeds and times I used, I just kind of "pulled out of the air". I'm NOT an expert.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    I do several types. Both Rich and LJV have made valid points. I think you can benefit from HIIT, but it is high intensity when done correctly (hence the name) and if your body isn't ready for it you can pull something and set yourself backwards.

    Probably best to stay away from sprinting HIIT workouts for now. Lot of stress, especially on the hamstrings. But you've got a rope and that is my favorite. Go for 45 secs of fast jumping, 15 sec rest (march in place if you want....I didn't, but some do). Repeat that and try to work your way up to 15-20 mins. When I started I could only do 30 secs on, 30 secs rest for like 8 mins. Now I do 60 secs on, 15 secs rest for 24 mins while doing some advanced rope moves. I also like to split the time, and do 12 mins before lifting and 12 after lifting.

    If you've got access to a gym with an elliptical, you may be able to do the sprint 8 without too much injury risk. That one is a 2 min warmup, 30 secs all out with resistance at it's highest, 90 secs of normal speed, 30 secs all out, 90 secs normal....for a total of 8 sprints followed by 2 mins of cool down. That should be 20 mins total, and if you're going all out on the sprints it will be hard. Check your ellipticals settings. Some have the Sprint 8 already, but they all have intervals and some you can program to your liking. I just put it on manual and use my HIIT timer to change the resistance when it's time.

    Use caution, common sense and good judgement and you should be fine. Good luck!
  • chandra38
    chandra38 Posts: 110 Member
    :happy: On the treadmill, I will do an incline of 4 or 5 for 4 minutes at a pace of 4 miles an hour, then 2 minute rest at 3.5 miles per hour. It gets the heart rate up, and I've built endurance doing this. I'm not an expert, but that's what works for me! I started out not even being able to walk 3 miles an hour without feeling winded, so the fact that I can walk 4 miles an hour at an incline is a huge accomplishment for me! Hope that helps. I also do weights Mon, Wed, Fri.

    Edited to say, good advice from the guy above me!
  • fozzie500
    fozzie500 Posts: 177 Member
    agree with davpul,you've got a perfect hiit training tool in your jump rope,just building up to 5 - 10 mins constant skipping, can be a real workout if you are not used to exercise.
  • mumof5
    mumof5 Posts: 328 Member
    i have a friend who has as much to lose as you and i have introduced her to HIIT - she loves it. like someone else said - you can do it, just at a different speed. warm up with a slow jog or a walk then we run on the the treadmill, 20 seconds on at max speed, 10 seconds off (standing on the side) for a total of 8 rounds then go into a slow jog for 2 minutes and finish with your normal cardio circuit. my max speed is 16km per hour hers was 8 but she moved up to 10km for the full 8 rounds last week. as long as you are putting in your top effort for the 20 seconds. of course before you start exercising or losing weight you should have a check up with your doctor :) good luck!
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    with 100 pounds to lose are you healthy enough to start HIIT? i'd say first make sure you can workout for 30 minutes at 75-85% of your max heart rate. i'm not meaning to be rude, just asking because even though i worked out i was still 80 pounds overweight and wasnt in too good shape cardio wise (walking up a flight of steps would send my HR skyrocketing)

    if you arent able to do that then first start working on your general aerobic endurance before even thinking about working in the anaerobic . you can still work with intervals, but definitely dont try rushing into HIIT if you arent already in reasonably good cardiovascular shape

    for me, I dont have any set HIIT routine in terms of speeds but I do have a sprint interval session where i alternate 15 seconds of sprinting and 15 seconds of slow walking. sandwiched between a 5 minute jogging warm up and a 5 minute walking cool down, i do 12-15 minutes of the sprint intervals . if i feel like i can go longer than 15 minutes then i know for sure i need to increase my speed on the intervals
  • nheilweil
    nheilweil Posts: 82 Member
    At the gym, I love the elliptical machine because it's much easier on my knees than running on a treadmill.

    Start off just trying for 20-30 minutes without HIIT. You might find that's enough of a challenge for several months!

    Once you are ready to increase your intensity, a great HIIT routine is to find a moderately hard level then warm up slowly for 2 minutes, then blast as fast as you can for 40 seconds then rest by glowing slowly for 20 seconds while catching your breath. Keep up that 40/20 routine as long as you can, then go slowly at the end for another 2 min. to cool down. See if you can do 20 - 30 min. If it's too tough, don't go quite as long (15 min). You should really try to "give it your all" during your work periods!
  • greggags2
    greggags2 Posts: 195 Member
    Ive done Insanity the Asylum which is a HIIT routine and it was awesome and really got me results. Would recommend it to anyone!
  • YoungDoc2B
    YoungDoc2B Posts: 1,593 Member
    So far, I've only done HIIT on the treadmill. I'll run at an incline of 6.0 for 60-90 seconds @ 7mph, then walk at the same incline for 60-90 seconds @ 4.0mph. I generally do this for 20 minutes. Intense doesn't even begin to describe it.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    I don't like running sprints for HIIT. I tend to get muscle strains that set me back. I do bike outdoors or stationary bike indoors or elliptical. I do 30 on, 90 off for 5 cycles after a 3 minute warm up, then 45 minutes of LISS (Low Intensity Steady State) like walking or leisurely biking. This is a Lyle McDonald protocol that is specifically for fat burning. He says the HIIT "mobilizes" the fat and the LISS burns it off. Not sure of the science behind that but I seem to get good results from it.

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