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10-09-2006, 06:56 AM
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HIIT Cardio
I figured I would make a sticky on HIIT Cardio. There are a lot of questions about it so I figured it was time for a sticky. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training for those that dont know. Below is how I normally do my HIIT routine. I know there are several other HIIT advocates out there so feel free to post your routine, thoughts, etc. on this subject. Boyd also has a good article on HIIT as well.
HIIT is High Intensity Interval Training. HIIT cardio is done for the most part because it has the least muscle loss not to mention the training session is quicker than moderate cardio. They both have thier place, dont get me wrong but HIT is gaining more popularity. When I am in my cutting phase for a competition, I like to do some low/moderate cardio on the days I lift weights. On the days I dont lift weights, I do the HIIT. When doing moderate cardio, say 30-45 minute sessions, yes you will most likely tap into your fat stores for fuel during this session and more calories but its the after-effect of cardio that we are striving for. This is where the HIIT comes into play. See, with HIIT, you use carbs as your primary fuel. And after you are done training, it will increase your resting metabolism as well. This is when you will start burning more fat after your training and thats the key. As Ive said, it also minimizes muscle loss. How HIIT is done.. See its done in either 10-15 minute lengths. You then do "intervals" or spurts, however you want to say it, of higher intensity during this time frame. For example, if Im at a track, I like to do a 10 minute session. I will start off with a light jog to get loosened up, then I start my actual session. What I do is 50 seconds of light jogging, then I do 10 seconds of a sprint and then back to the 50 second jog again. I keep repeating this until my 10 minutes are done. You can do this on a treadmill or elliptical machine as well. When Im on those pieces of equipment, I like to do it for 15 minutes.The key to using a treadmill is do random periods of higher intensity by increasing the speed or incline of the treadmill. Although your fat burning potential is lower during higher intensity than moderate intensity, the bursts of higher intensity will increase blood flow to fat and muscle, causing you to release fatty acids. And the effect of this method increasing your resting metabolism. You can start with a low number of intervals and work you way up. Always trying to improve upon each workout but increasing the intervals or the resistance. If you are doing 15 minutes on an elliptical, you may opt to do an interval every 2-3 minutes. I also like to take a serving of BCAA's and some carbs before HIIT. 2-3 times a week is plenty. I usually only do it twice a week along with my weight training and have great results. Now I also say keep your HIIT sessions seperate from your weight training days. The reason is that both use glycogen for their main fuel source. Also your body's hormonal responses to both weight lifting and HIIT are the same. So I always keep them seperate. __________________
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TEAM 7 MOTOROLA 
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10-10-2006, 11:52 AM
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ive been doing this style of training for a while now when getting close to race season (cycling).
Now that i am doing it more to lose some extra body fat as apposed to gaining efficiency at my Max heart rate zone i think i have to change my routine up a bit. currently, i am doing 5 - 10 min warmup - then 1 minute max effort, 1 minute easy spin for 15 minutes... then 10 min cooldown. should i reduce the amount of hard efforts? What im doing right now results in 8 seperate minutes of hard effort, and 7 seperate minutes easy efforts.
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10-12-2006, 06:12 PM
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But, you've done a good job with that article. I'd love for Boyd to put his in here too....but I thought his was around here somewhere. Can't you quote it and put it in here, or is that not allowed? I will also say that I do HIIT on the same day that I do weights. I just do HIIT in the morning before work, and then do weights in the evenings. BUT...in your article, it says you do HIIT for either 10 or 15 minutes. I think it's important to say that you normally have to build up to that, if you're not in decent condition already. If you're doing HIIT properly, you should be exhausted after only 5 minutes of it. Most of the time I do mine for 15 minutes, but that's with a 2.5 minute warm up and cool down. So, I'm actually only doing HIIT for 10 minutes. I do it about 4 times a week. One day a week, I'll do it for 20 minutes total (so HIIT for 15 and a 2.5 minute warm up and cool down). It doesn't sound like a lot, but honestly, it's really all I need to keep my bodyfat low. If I did anymore, I'd be invisible...LOL.
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10-13-2006, 08:46 AM
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hrmm.. im still confused about the durations.
see, like i said, i do 1 minute high intensity, 1 minute low intensity, for a total of 15 min, plus 5 min warm up and 5 min cool down. is this too much intensity? say, should i change to maybe 1 minute rest, 30 seconds intensity? that way i get more intervals in, but break it up a little more....?
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10-13-2006, 10:09 AM
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I do 30 high/30 low. Every once in a while I'll do 45 high/1 min low...but I like 30/30 better.
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10-18-2006, 04:24 AM
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Great thread!
I'm going to give HIIT a try today or tommorrow. Just curious to know what is the problem with doing HIIT and weights together (i will be doing them seperated by about 4.5hrs). My main goal at the moment is to burn fat but I don't want to loose too much muscle "on the way down" so i'll be doing HIIT/Cardio 5-7x a week and weights every other day. Sound OK? Also with this HIIT how do you know when your 1min/30secs is up? Do you just have to keep an eye on your watch or do you have some interval training watches etc? Thanks, MB
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10-18-2006, 05:51 AM
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Some people like to keep them separated because they are both very taxing on the body, and both use glycogen as their main source of fuel.
It's not NECESSARY to keep them separate, but that is why some choose to do so. I do mine the same day. HIIT in the morning, weights at night. It shouldn't be a problem if they're separated by about 6 hours. Also, it's easier to keep your intervals timed if you're using a machine, such as a treadmill, or an elliptical. But, if you're doing it outside you can do it a bunch of different ways.... Go to a Football field and sprint the length of the field, and walk/jog the corners. You can do that on a track as well. You can sprint the length of the track and walk/jog the curves. If you're running on the street, you can sprint the length of a block (depending how long your blocks are) and walk the ends. If I'm outside on the street, I sprint the length of my block and I walk the end around and then sprint up the other side of my block, etc.
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10-18-2006, 05:56 AM
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Here is the reason to keep them seperated...
Now the reason I say to keep your HIIT sessions seperate from your weight training days is that both use glycogen for their main fuel source. Also your body's hormonal responses to both weight lifting and HIIT are the same. So I always keep them seperate. Not necessary but most beneficial if you keep them seperate. I recommend treating them the same. If you are on a machine, they should have a timer or clock on there that you could watch or set for the times you want. Also on a track, just wear a watch or stopwatch to do it correctly.
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TEAM 7 MOTOROLA
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10-18-2006, 06:09 AM
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I honestly don't know how you look at your watch while sprinting outside. If you're going all out effort I'd say that's pretty impossible.
Recently I've been taking my HIIT sessions outside. There is a strip of road right outside of the trailor I'm staying in. I sprint one direction and jog the opposite direction. I don't do a warm-up, I just simply jog the strip first. I do have a watch and limit the session to 15 minutes, with a 5 minute cool down. My jog is about 45 seconds and the sprint is about 20 seconds, I like to keep a 2:1 ratio. I make sure I take BCAAs before my session and also eat some carbs before doing HIIT. I try to lower my overall calorie intake on days of HIIT as opposed to weight lifting days as I'm not expending as much during a 15 minute HIIT session as opposed to a 1.5 hour workout. Sometimes I do ABS before HIIT, but that's it.
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"Train beyond the pain... and death is your only release." Steve Michalik Last edited by Merk0135; 10-18-2006 at 06:11 AM.
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10-18-2006, 06:48 AM
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Merck,
My writing is somewhere here, but there's no definite one way to do it. As any all out training, I'd treat it like weightlifting. Here are some things I wrote a while ago: http://the-personal-trainer.com/understandingcardio.doc http://the-personal-trainer.com/hiit.doc I'm writing an inclusive article right now about training stimulus and overload response, burning fat, understanding diet and including good, better, and best scenarios for each, and I plan to include a bit on when to use the different types of cardio. With that being said, Merck, I think someone with your lean build would benefit tremendously from predominantly doing sprints and other high intensity forms. Hopefully I will find time to finish it before the weekend.
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10-18-2006, 07:13 AM
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The file you are looking for, /understandingcardio.doc, cannot be found on this server. The file you are looking for, /hiit.doc, cannot be found on this server. I must read these articles...can ya fix the links, por favor? 
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never trust a bunny
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10-18-2006, 08:27 AM
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Quote:
edit: Maybe that's why... Quote:
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"Train beyond the pain... and death is your only release." Steve Michalik
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