Getting HIIT

[D_Andy_Conda]

I know that there's a fair few fitness buffs on the site and was hoping for a bit of feedback regarding High Intensity Interval training.

I'm looking to shed about five extra kilos of fat without losing current muscle mass and through a bit of detective work, have latched on to the fact that interval training might be the best at achieving that. A few questions I have though that hopefully someone might help to answer:

• Can anyone suggest or point me to basic interval training programs to get started?
  
• Should HIIT supplement my current program or can I replace my program with HIIT? Effectively that would mean doing 4 days a week of interval training.

Any thoughts or suggestions are much appreciated :smile:

 

[D_Fiona_Farvel]

I'm curious as well, because I have not found any HIIT or interval programs beyond spin class, and p90x+ Intervals and Plyo. In preparation for a 5k, I'm currently using the treadmill with timing and level of difficulty close to this schedule: Interval Workout For Treadmill With Walking and Running

However, I am at least 6 months off from reaching my fitness goals and need extra cardio, more variety, etc., to use in concert with long duration cardio (60-70 min.) and to break through a plateau. Where are the fitness freaks when one needs them? Mule? Indy? MoT?

 

[ManofThunder]

Ok, I don't understand a lot of the fancy names for exercises, but essentially - I see 'HIIT' as an extreme workout that lasts a relatively short time - with good results. First of all, I'll mention diet. I've never had the need to lose weight because of my metabolism and a naturally slim-build. However, for the purposes of building muscle and losing weight - diet matters. In my mind, diet is a secondary thing but still a vital piece of the jigsaw. Eat 'light' foods, like salads etc. This helps to provide nutrients that encourages muscle-growth and keeps the unwanted weight off. When you eat meat and other 'heavy' foods - avoid frying and other fattier methods of cooking, this makes a big difference. I take multivitamins (one a day) and drink lots of fruit juice. I find this provides a healthy balance. Basically, just use your common-sense.

Onto more important things, the exercise itself. Now, my routine may or may not be suitable - but it will give you a framework to work from. Although some don't agree, I'm a big believer in what I call 'unlimited-workout'. This just means that you don't give yourself a fixed number of 'reps' or 'sets'. If you do give yourself a target, it is often either too easy or too difficult - by exercising until you drop (hopefully not quite literally) you get a lot more from the time you put in. Do as many/as much as you can. Cardiovascular exercise shouldn't erode muscle, it should tone and 'sculpt' it. In my experience, muscle only shrinks if you neglect it or if there is no fat to lose. If you have enough energy, and a reasonable diet, running and similar exercises shouldn't do any harm to muscle-mass and if you have very little muscle-mass, it can actually build thigh muscles etc. To build stamina and strength, I do both cardio and muscle building exercise. Do crunches, squats and press-ups to tone and keep/build muscle and jog, walk, run and sprint for general cardio. Remember, do as many as you can! You could add swimming into your regime, should you want to - but as you are looking for shorter training sessions, that may not be suitable for you. Any questions, please ask. I'll add more later, but for now I've got to go.

 

[ManofThunder]

I favour ground exercise for weight loss/toning. In other words, I like my feet to be on the ground. I don't like exercise machines, I find they hinder me. Try sprinting - this burns a lot of calories in a short space of time and is an important weapon in the fitness arsenal. Follow a sprint by a jog and deep-breathing, then repeat. This can also be applied to other exercises. For example, if you are jumping up and down, you can try a sprint-jump. A sort of super-speed jump that doesn't take you as far from the ground. Or a fast set of squats or sprinting on the spot (that can be really difficult!). Breathing is key - sometimes deep-breathing can assist you, at other times it can pay to 'hold your breath', this happens naturally at certain points of exercise and can improve stamina. So, try and adapt to what's most comfortable for you - don't force yourself to do one thing or another. As I find it hard to explain certain exercises, I've found a video of the sort of thing I'm talking about - here. My (non-muscle focused) program is quite similar and simple, yet still works muscles in a lighter way. It's important that you work-out with methods you're comfortable with and feel are focussing on the correct areas. Overall though, if you use methods similar to those shown in the video and eat well - you shouldn't go wrong. If you still feel your abs are disappearing, throw in a set of crunches to keep them toned. If the muscle you're losing is on the arms, do some press-ups etc. As I see it though, muscle-loss shouldn't be a issue. Whether you want to use a whole new system or incorporate it into your current system, it should still help and is entirely up to you. Fit as much into the time you have as possible but don't hurt yourself in the process; when you've had a good work-out, you'll know it. If you find it difficult to get started, try to build-up from whatever you can manage. I hope this helps in one way or another! :smile:

 

[TheRob]

if that pic of you is anything close to recent you don't have 5 kilos to lose baby

 

[TheRob]

I'm curious as well, because I have not found any HIIT or interval programs beyond spin class, and p90x+ Intervals and Plyo. In preparation for a 5k, I'm currently using the treadmill with timing and level of difficulty close to this schedule: Interval Workout For Treadmill With Walking and Running

However, I am at least 6 months off from reaching my fitness goals and need extra cardio, more variety, etc., to use in concert with long duration cardio (60-70 min.) and to break through a plateau. Where are the fitness freaks when one needs them? Mule? Indy? MoT?

forgive me, what's your actual question
are you just asking for a HIIT style program?

 

[D_Ernest Porknine]

I use HIIT only in cardiovascular training which works well for your goal. I do not believe in it for gaining muscle mass and trying to lose body fat and gain muscle with the same program means neither one will typically be successful.

For cardio I do 20-30 minutes on an elliptical machine, one minute at a moderate pace and one minute full bore. Minimum tension as you want to get your legs moving fast and your heart rate up there. In 20 minutes you have 10 minutes of very intensive cardio done and 10 minutes of moderate cardio.

 

[D_Andy_Conda]

Thanks for the feedback guys!

After a bit more research it seems to be that High Intensity Interval Training is mainly cardio and weight loss based but I'm slightly confused as you can both cut and bulk with HIIT.

@Kittie: Preparing for a 5k eh? Good on you, although I personally have never been determined enough to do a run. I give you serious props for that.

HIIT Cardio

Found this while browsing, it's got a few ideas in there that you might use to vary your training on the treadmill, that or just good for a quick read.

@MOT: Sounds like you're a supporter of spot training, do you find that it works? There's a bit of a grey area as to it's efficacy though I've never really focused on it myself so I can't say I lean one way or another.

@Flexxx: I'm generally tending to find sprinting/running programs for HIIT but there doesn't seem to be many weight training based programs for it, in which instance I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to bulk using the same principles. Any thoughts?

 

[D_Fiona_Farvel]

I favour ground exercise for weight loss/toning. In other words, I like my feet to be on the ground. I don't like exercise machines, I find they hinder me. Try sprinting - this burns a lot of calories in a short space of time and is an important weapon in the fitness arsenal. Follow a sprint by a jog and deep-breathing, then repeat. This can also be applied to other exercises. For example, if you are jumping up and down, you can try a sprint-jump. A sort of super-speed jump that doesn't take you as far from the ground. Or a fast set of squats or sprinting on the spot (that can be really difficult!). Breathing is key - sometimes deep-breathing can assist you, at other times it can pay to 'hold your breath', this happens naturally at certain points of exercise and can improve stamina. So, try and adapt to what's most comfortable for you - don't force yourself to do one thing or another. As I find it hard to explain certain exercises, I've found a video of the sort of thing I'm talking about - here. My (non-muscle focused) program is quite similar and simple, yet still works muscles in a lighter way. It's important that you work-out with methods you're comfortable with and feel are focusing on the correct areas. Overall though, if you use methods similar to those shown in the video and eat well - you shouldn't go wrong. If you still feel your abs are disappearing, throw in a set of crunches to keep them toned. If the muscle you're losing is on the arms, do some press-ups etc. As I see it though, muscle-loss shouldn't be a issue. Whether you want to use a whole new system or incorporate it into your current system, it should still help and is entirely up to you. Fit as much into the time you have as possible but don't hurt yourself in the process; when you've had a good work-out, you'll know it. If you find it difficult to get started, try to build-up from whatever you can manage. I hope this helps in one way or another! :smile:

Oooh, the Brandon Carter vid is what I consider HIIT and something I could do while in a hotel or something. Diet is generally an issue, but I have it pretty much sorted for the rest of the year.

Muscle loss is less of a concern, as I spoke to a trainer and he said the main issue is I'm not consuming enough protein. I won't discuss abs, as you know they are hidden. :09:

Ty, MoT!

 

[D_Andy_Conda]

Thanks for the compliment TheRob, but I reckon there's always room for improvement :wink:

if that pic of you is anything close to recent you don't have 5 kilos to lose baby

 

[92philip]

I am a personal trainer and what I would suggest is that HIIT should be used either as a supplement to a current exercise regimen, or in the short run. P90x and Insanity workouts are really good, but are hard to sustain in the long haul, plus if you do too much cardio and not enough weights then you will lose you muscle mass.
The best thing to do would be to do HIIT a couple of days a week, then do traditional weight training on the days that you don't do HIIT. Also supplement your food with protein powders and fat burning supplements, while you cut back on food calories.

 

[D_Fiona_Farvel]

Thanks for the feedback guys!

After a bit more research it seems to be that High Intensity Interval Training is mainly cardio and weight loss based but I'm slightly confused as you can both cut and bulk with HIIT.

@Kittie: Preparing for a 5k eh? Good on you, although I personally have never been determined enough to do a run. I give you serious props for that.

HIIT Cardio

:08: Thank you, for the link as well.

forgive me, what's your actual question
are you just asking for a HIIT style program?

I was merely cosigning to the the the question outlined in the opening post. If you have a HIIT-style program that works, I'd definitely give it a try.

 

[ManofThunder]

Thanks for the feedback guys!

After a bit more research it seems to be that High Intensity Interval Training is mainly cardio and weight loss based but I'm slightly confused as you can both cut and bulk with HIIT.

@Kittie: Preparing for a 5k eh? Good on you, although I personally have never been determined enough to do a run. I give you serious props for that.

HIIT Cardio

Found this while browsing, it's got a few ideas in there that you might use to vary your training on the treadmill, that or just good for a quick read.

@MOT: Sounds like you're a supporter of spot training, do you find that it works? There's a bit of a grey area as to it's efficacy though I've never really focused on it myself so I can't say I lean one way or another.

@Flexxx: I'm generally tending to find sprinting/running programs for HIIT but there doesn't seem to be many weight training based programs for it, in which instance I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to bulk using the same principles. Any thoughts?

'Spot-training' seems to suggest that exercising one particular area of the body will remove fat from that area. This I don't believe. I believe in building muscle this way, if you want more muscular arms - work the arms. Weight-loss wise, I find any 'sprinting' action an excellent way to lose weight from all over the body. Any cardiovascular exercise loses weight generally. If you are worried about losing muscle with the fat, my suggestion is to do 'spot-training' for the muscles as you work on losing the weight, (what I meant in the earlier posts) that way you are losing mass without losing muscle-mass.