Good morning!
Wow did I have a horrible sleep last night! My body did not want to go to sleep an extra hour early and I tossed and turned all night. My alarm was set for 6, but I didn’t get out of bed until 7:30…so I feel like I am running behind yet again today! The good news is today is a rest day for exercise, so I sort of have an ‘extra’ hour in my day today. ;)
I finally got around to trying out HIIT yesterday after many of you raved about it and told me I should try it out.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
[Note: Picture is from last summer]
What is HIIT?
- It is exercise that involves intense bursts of exercise (e.g., sprinting) followed by moderate intensity exercise (e.g., jogging) repeated in an interval format.
How To Do HIIT:
- “A HIIT session consists of a warm up period of exercise, followed by six to ten repetitions of high intensity exercise, separated by medium intensity exercise, and ending with a period of cool down exercise. The high intensity exercise should be done at near maximum intensity. The medium exercise should be about 50% intensity. The number of repetitions and length of each depends on the exercise. The goal is to do at least six cycles and go for about 15-20 minutes.” [Source]
Potential Benefits of HIIT:
- A great way to maximize a workout that is limited on time!
- Increase Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) for the following 24 hours post-exercise
- Might improve VO2 max (maximal oxygen consumption) more effectively as compared to traditional long aerobic workouts. [Source 1 & 2]
A few different types of HIIT:
For all of you HIIT pros, feel free to add your own info in the comments. I just did a quick read up on it and have a lot more to learn about it!
Yesterday I decided to try the 60-second HIIT advanced level workout. I typically train at an intense level during my normal workouts, so I thought I would be able to handle the 60-60 second split.
My HIIT Workout:
For my intense 60 second interval, I chose 8 mph, even though I probably could have done 9 mph. I decided to play it safe and see how it went. I can always build up over time.
Warm-up: 10 minute walking at incline 2%
HIIT:
- 6 mph (10 min/mile) for 60 seconds, at incline 2%
- 8 mph (7:30 min/mile) for 60 seconds, at incline 2%
- Repeat, repeat, etc.
- Number of sets: 14
- Total time of HIIT: 28 mins.
Cool down: 5 mins. walking
My thoughts:
- This HIIT workout made my tempo runs look like a walk in the park!!! It was crazy intense and I loved it.
- I love that you can tailor HIIT for your own needs. I think it could be applied to a variety of exercises like cycling, swimming, or gym equipment like the Stairmaster.
- I stopped for two quick water breaks around 8 minutes and 20 minutes. You will need water in a crazy way during this workout.
- I zoned out and forgot about everything else.
- I sweat a TON, much more in 28 minutes than I do for some runs that are an hour or more! Make sure to drink lots of water and have a post-workout snack within about 30-60 minutes of the HIIT.
Overall verdict:
I can’t believe I haven’t been doing this!!! I have done intervals before, but nothing as effective as this. I was blown away by how tough this was and by how amazing I felt afterwards. Total runner’s high. I will definitely be experimenting with HIIT on a weekly basis.
Thank you to those of you who suggested I try HIIT out! I will be forever grateful. :mrgreen:
Do you ever include intervals in your training? Have you ever tried HIIT, if so, what did you think?
Updates:
- Need motivation to drink more water? Check out Project Hydrate.
- March 15th-20th is Health Tip Week on OSG! Stay tuned all week for the most valuable tips, tricks, and lessons that I have learned along my road to health! :)
Stay tuned…
The best way to predict the future is to invent it. ~Alan Kay
I love HITT as well. My fav workout is the 60-60 split, but I change the incline as well as the pace. For the ‘meduim’ intensity, I do 4.1 mph at a 4.5 incline and then I change the higher intensity as I get higher in the reps (starting at 6.5 mph and working my way up to 9 mph by the last rep) and lower the incline to 2 during these reps. You definitely zone out and can’t concentrate on anything else! Makes the 30 min go by so quickly.
So glad you got around to trying HIIT! I swear by it (haha, I just made a typo and wrote ‘sweat’ instead of ‘swear’ which is true too!). In fact, I love it so much, I’m trying to incorporate more ‘endurance-paced’ days into my routine (the way you do!). I actually find that to be a lot more of a mental game! I’m all for mixing up my workouts as much as possible, it’s the funnest way to do it!
oh i like tips week that sounds fun!!
HIIT is a great tool. I try to vary it with doing other things like tempo work. great job!!
I do something similar on my elliptical. Obviously I can’t choose the speed, but I vary the resistance & will run as fast as I can for 30 or 60 seconds, then slow back down to a normal pace for a couple minutes, then repeat, etc. I also do this going backwards on the elliptical & it’s a fun challenge! Makes the time go quicker, too!
I also do hiit on the elliptical sometimes, it is great and makes time go faster. I’ve never tried backwards but I’ll certainly give it a try!
ahh HIIT love, it, do it and its so easy to do on any cardio machine! I have a whole page in my exercise section dedicated to HIIT and showing my readers how to and the benefits, just like you did here! :) awesome job!
I just did a HIIT workout on the beach while on vacation! It’s amazing and I believe it is the one quick way to get back on track if I’ve had a bad day of eating or if I’ve been low on intensity or if I just need a that kick-butt feeling. I adore HIIT.
I can’t wait to read the health tips!
Oh I LOVE HIIT workouts!!! Granted they kick my behind like no other but I love them.
Here is what I have seen with weekly HIIT sessions:
– huge increase in overall stamina (can climb our 4 flights of stairs at all day with barely a change in my breathing)
– feel more power in my legs, more bounce
– higher calorie burn after workout than other forms of cardio
– great way to save time, workout hard and sweat even more!
I think HIIT should be a part of every fitness program to keep your body from acclimating to your routine. It is also a great way to change things up and you can do HIIT anywhere!!! :)
HIIT is like a cold shower, it stings at first but then it totally rejuvenates YOU! great job!
I have never tried HIIT, I sometimes push myself for 1 minute on the elliptical and then take 1 minute “easy” and do intervals of 5 – 10 minutes of high speed on the treadmill, but that’s probably the extent of it. I want to give it a try though! Thanks for this great post :)
I recently read an article saying that short, less frequent high intensity workouts are much more effective than long and/or frequent low-moderate intensity workouts.
Man I love intervals but I’ve never tried this specific kind. Might have to try it out on the elliptical tonight!
Ooh you made that workout sound incredible- I actually want to try that now! Seems pretty cool, even though I’m sure it’s killer.
Wow, that sounds…well, intense!! I’d love to give it a go!
Great post, I need to incorporate more HIIT workouts into my schedule.
Great workout! I love how intervals make the time fly by.
I try to do some form of interval training once a week if not more. My favorite is to do it with weights. I have been doing barbell complexes more lately and in the summer will go back to throwing in some hill sprints!
Here is an article with some weighted complexes:
http://alwyncosgrove.com/store/metabolicaccelerationtraining/
you back is banging!!! so hot and strong!
can’t wait for the healthy tips – the graphic is gorg
Thank you so much for this info! I only get about 20-30 minutes of workout time in the AM so this will be perfect on those days I want something really intense!
HIT is the way I can run on a treadmill ! i get bored any other way.