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10-09-2006, 07:56 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 NORTON 
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10-10-2006, 12:52 PM
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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, 07:12 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, 09:46 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, 11:09 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, 05:24 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, 06:51 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, 06:56 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.
__________________
TEAM NORTON
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10-18-2006, 07:09 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.
__________________
"Train beyond the pain... and death is your only release." Steve Michalik 5'10" 195 lbs. 10-12% bf B: 345 S: 405 D: 475 Total: 1225 Last edited by Merk0135; 10-18-2006 at 07:11 AM.
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10-18-2006, 07:48 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, 08:13 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? 
__________________
never trust a bunny
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10-18-2006, 09:27 AM
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Quote:
edit: Maybe that's why... Quote:
__________________
"Train beyond the pain... and death is your only release." Steve Michalik 5'10" 195 lbs. 10-12% bf B: 345 S: 405 D: 475 Total: 1225
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10-18-2006, 10:49 AM
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My bad:
http://the-personal-trainer.com/Arti...dingcardio.doc http://the-personal-trainer.com/Articles/hiit.doc Let me clarify something first off: if I use numbers, they are for example purposes only. I'm not saying anyone needs 2000 calories of whatever, those are for examples. It never fails, everytime I post this ****, someone says "Yah but this is wrong because i cut better on 1200caleryes lol i suck at speling and gramer." Understanding Cardio By Boyd Myers I think, in training, the word "cardio" is as mis-used as the word "diet." Let's go over a few things: -For fat to be the primary source of fuel, you need to be in the 55% (Maximum Allowable Heart Rate) MAH range. -The 55% range does NOTHING to stimulate the heart and lungs. It will NOT increase your VO2 capacity (how efficiently your lungs/heart use oxygen) -Training in the 55% range must be done for relatively long periods of time (>30-35 mins) to maximize fat burning benefits. -75-80% MAH DOES train the heart/lungs, and THIS is what is actually meant by "cardio". -75-80% MAH, unfortunately, primarily burns glycogen for fuel. Longer durations of the 75-80% range, however, will force your body to catabolize muscle in search of fuel (via BCAAs) -Your heart is arguably the most important muscle. If you want ALL of your systems (hormone, digestion, ATP production, recovery, etc) to work optimally, you need to strengthen your heart. Thus, training within this range is important. Also remember that a stronger heart MORE EFFICIENTLY burns fat while at rest. 99% of the bodybuilders I know are TERRIFIED at training at this range, but it is a MISTAKE to be that way. You MUST, but of course, you have to ensure that you are giving you are "fueled" for it. -Obviously, IF done for a shorter amount of time, you will burn more total calories (and, contrary to popular belief, more of those calories will actually be from fat than the slower version) with the 75-80% range. This information should be pretty basic, but I repeatedly see asanine quesions like "Should I be doing cardio while bulking?" "How much cardio do I need?" Etc, etc. Look at the information above and don't be afraid to use common sense. It seems like when it comes to building muscle and burning fat, people leave common sense at the door. I realize that the body works in mysterious ways and many times, it goes against logic (eating MORE to lose weight? drink MORE water to fight water retention?) But so many things DO work the way they are expected. To be perfectly honest, cardio isn't even the most efficient means to create a caloric deficit (diet IS). It's a hell of a lot easier to remove 500 calories from the diet than it is to burn 500 calories on a treadmill, plus it's less impactive on the recovery systems of the body. Also, it's a little easier to manipulate what nutrients are consumed as fuel (via macronutrient manipulation). Think about it in terms of math. Lets say after a full day of activity, including lifting, your body burns 2500 calories a day and to lose weight, you need to create a 500 calorie a day deficit. There are a few ways to do that. Here are some EXAMPLES: 2000 calorie a day consumption -Negative: the heart will get NO training. -Positive: you don't have to do cardio 2500 calorie a day consumption minus 500 extra calories from cardio -Positive: You CAN work your heart (if you get in the range) -Negative: Unless your nutrition is perfect and you plan for it, you're going to tap into muscle. Also, you have to bust your @ss doing cardio. 2200 calories consumed minus 200 extra calories from cardio -Positive: best of both worlds. Less time in the gym and you can eat a little more When burning fat, I typically like to combine the two, like in the last example. IN my case, I don't WANT to be in a caloric deficit. I am focusing on building muscle WHILE training my heart. This is basically what I'm doing (an EXAMPLE, not exact): On a typical day, I burn 3200 calories. When I add cardio, I burn 300 additonal calories, bringing it to a total of 3500 calories burned. I want a caloric surplus to ensure a positive nitrogen balance and optimization of recovery, so I will consume 300 additional calories, bringing it to 3800 calories. ************************************************** *** Same thing with this one - 5-6 intervals is an EXAMPLE. There are days when I run 20 40 yard sprints. It really just depends on a lot of other factors... Again, it doesn't have to be 30 seconds. Hell, I like to sprint the length and jog/walk the corners. Be creative... HIIT Right now, I'm training my cardiovascular system for maximum-response to my weight training. I want to recover faster between sets (I admit, it has become a weakness due to the fact that I haven't trained at the MAX % I should). I think everyone knows the premise, but for me, it's an easy way to get the lungs and heart fired up and avoid getting bored. Remember that doing slow-go cardio (55% range) is good for burning fat as fuel, but it really does nothing for the cardiovascular system. So many people fail to train their hearts as hard as they train the rest of their body, and I don't think anyone would debate that it is the most important muscle. This is a way to integrate both: your heart really pumps and you burn a relatively high number of calories in a short amount of time. It's fast, it's explosive, and it works. I recommend doing this on a track, but it can be done on a treadmill, bike, stairs, street, eliptical machine or whatever: Warm-up with a brisk 3-5 minute walk. Stretch, and walk again for 2 minutes before starting. I recommend it 2-3x per week. It may be strenuous on the CNS, so anymore may not be beneficial. Week 1 3 intervals Each interval-30 seconds sprinting (as hard as you can go for 30 seconds for whatever you're doing) /30 seconds walking Week 2 4 intervals Week 3 5 intervals Week 4 6 Intervals So on and so-forth Keep this up for 6-10 weeks, and I guarantee you'll see some fat loss with minimal, if any muscle loss. I believe that it is an excellent type of cardio to complement heavy lifting, because of how brief it is. If you're looking mainly for fat loss, I recommend this for individuals that are already somewhat lean and in decent cardiovascular shape, and are just trying to get rid of stubborn fat or tune up their cardio systems. Note-After a long lay off, I personally start at 5-6 intervals, because my cardio conditioning is pretty decent. I would generally recommend starting at 3-4 intervals, especially if you haven't sprinted in a while. If you do this on a treadmill, remember that a treadmill takes a few seconds to adjust, so take this into consideration. Also, maybe you'll want to use the incline feature to make it more intense. When I use the treadmill, I look for one with a higher top speed (12mph) and I raise the incline to 4-6%. It's a lot harder than it sounds, ESPECIALLY after 5-6 minutes. As far as different types of calories burned, although the duration is short, your total calories will be higher. A lot of the calories you burn will be from glycogen, but your fat calories burned will be quite impressive as well... Since the duration isn't too long, muscle should be spared. However, don't do this on an empty stomach (just like you shouldn't be for any cardio, IMO). By now, I hope you are aware that you need to have a source of BCAAs to ensure your body isn't tapping into muscle stores for aminos to burn as fuel... It's really important to remember this - high intensity work (like HIIT and sprints) relies on glucose for fuel, but forces your body to burn fat for fuel for the rest of the day to compensate. Likewise, lower intensity cardio may use more fat for fuel (after stored glycogen is exhausted) but forces the body to burn glucose for the rest of the day for fuel, which is obviously an undesirable event for someone looking to maintain muscle. Think of the difference between Olympic sprinters and tail backs (always muscular and lean) and marathon runners (look like cancer patients).
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10-19-2006, 10:07 AM
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Thanks for the article, great read.
Ya, those sites are blocked. 
__________________
"Train beyond the pain... and death is your only release." Steve Michalik 5'10" 195 lbs. 10-12% bf B: 345 S: 405 D: 475 Total: 1225
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