HIIT questions

[bhiatt]

I started working out for weight loss in July 2006. I have experience with distance running since childhood, so that's what I did, along with watching calorie intake. My current regimen is 5 miles/3x week. I'm 6'1", 265 lbs (down from 330 when I started). However, I've plateaued a bit, and the long distance runs are getting harder to work into my schedule, which piques my interest in HIITs.

I found a schedule from another post in this forum that suggested 4 400m sprints with 90 second RI for a person starting out in good shape. Today, I ran 2 miles, alternating 1/4 mile jogs with 1/4 mile sprints. The idea would be to bump it to 5 sprints after a week or so (once I can comfortably finish out the fourth one) and work from there.

The schedule I have in mind would be 2-3 of the HIIT regimens during the week, with a distance run (5-6 miles based on where I'm at now) on the weekends.

Sound good? Any input would be appreciated.

[kyleb]

HIIT is great, but be prepared to vomit when you're on the program. It's very intense.

[bhiatt]

Yes, I nearly collapsed after running the fourth sprint.

[dethgrind]

I think instead of adding additional reps you should ramp up the intensity by shortening your rest periods. Most HIIT schemes I've seen have roughly equal time for work and rest, not equal distance. E.g. 30 seconds sprint, 30 seconds jog, repeat. So as you improve, try sprinting 1/4 mile then jog 1/8 mile.

I've never done HIIT for more than a few weeks because even though its way more interesting than long distance jogging, it still isn't nearly as fun as basketball or soccer or whatever. Those times I do it though, I usually do the Tabata protocol: 20 seconds sprint, 10 seconds fast jog, 8 times. I feel pretty pukey after that.

[LuckOfTheDraw]

I too have just begun to experiment in HIIT workouts. I tried it out on the same stationary bike I've used for the past year, so my leg muscles were already in decent shape and strong. It kicked my ass.

First 3 sessions:

*** 20-minute warm up.
*** 6-8 minutes of stretching
*** 5-minute warm up (a tad more intensive than the first warm up)
*** 15 minutes of HIIT (8 high-intensity 1-minute intervals followed by 1 minute rest intervals at normal intensity)
*** 5-minute cool down
*** More stretching

My last session was the same as the first 3, except I did 16 30-second high-intensity intervals with 30-second rest periods. It adds up to same amount of time spent peddling as hard as I can (about 300 watts according to the bike). I think I prefer the latter, but I'm not sure yet.

[zacd]

hi bhiatt,

congrats on your weightloss so far and good job choosing to try HIIT.

1/4 mile (400m) sprints are quite long and difficult. I would try to incorporate some shorter sprints into your HIIT program. Attaining 95% of your max heart rate (MHR) is important to really take advtange of HIIT. Doing lots of 400m sprints will wear you down quickly and near the end you might not be able to get to 95% MHR.

Try experimenting w/ different sprint lengths and base it using time as opposed to distance. For example a standard HIIT workout to start out with might be a 30 second sprint followed by 30 second rest (jogging) x 6. Each week you could add another minute (1 sprint and rest cycle) onto the regimen.

Remember the key aspect is getting up to 95% of your MHR. You should most likely be able to go faster during the shorter sprints than you were in the 400m (unless you happen to be an absolute beast or olympic athlete).

Good luck!

[Macdaddy Warsaw]

The regimen I read about was a 4 minute warm-up at half sprint intensity + 8 x (20 second sprint, 10 second rest) + 4 minute warm-down at half intensity. This is great because it's only a 12-minute workout. If you do it in the morning before you eat breakfast, you'll burn up to 3 times more fat than you would at a later time.

I think all of these other regimens have distances that are too long and rest times that are too long. The purpose of HIIT is to burn fat without burning muscle.