2011/09/27

Daily tip #23| HIIT

High Intensity Interval Training. You might have heard of it, you might have not, I'll explain what it is and what it does..



First of, what is it? It is basically performing at near your maximum speed for a few minutes, and then at an average speed for another few minutes, then near your maximum speed again, so on and so on.


What is near max or average? Let's make a scale, 1 being 'this is so easy I'll fall asleep' and 10 being 'OH GOD I am going to pass out'. Near max would be 8-9, and average would be 5-6. I think it's clear now? Alright, good.


Now, why choose HIIT? Research has found that normal cardio burns the same amount of calories like HIIT. But here's the catch, HIIT continues burning calories after you're done. HIIT also increases fat burning in muscle fibers. So? It burns more calories, it increases the burning of calories, how do you do it? Well, I'll have to let some hopes go, because HIIT should only be performed by medium-to-advanced joggers/runners/swimmers, whatever cardio you do, you can't be a beginner and do HIIT. HIIT really puts a lot of stress and demand on your body, if you're not used to it - you can easily get injured. Also, if you have joint problems, high heart pressure or some kind of heart disease you must talk to a doctor. You should have known to talk to him already if you have a good doctor though.




Let's get into how to do it. If you're just about to start HIIT, you should do a total of 20 minutes. 2 minutes intensively, 2 minutes moderately/lightly. It's very simple.

Run fast / 2 minutes
Run slow / 2 minutes
Repeat.

Swim fast / 2 minutes
Swim slow / 2 minutes
Repeat.

Cycle fast / 2 minutes
Cycle slow / 2 minutes
Repeat.

It's pretty simple, isn't it? Once in a while you can also attempt to do it like this once it a while:


Cycle/Run/Swim fast 1 minute
Cycle/Run/Swim slow 2 minutes
Cycle/Run/Swim fast 1 minute
Cycle/Run/Swim slow 1 minute 30 seconds
Cycle/Run/Swim fast 1 minute
Cycle/Run/Swim slow 1 minute
Cycle/Run/Swim fast 1 minute
Cycle/Run/Swim slow 30 seconds
Cycle/Run/Swim fast 1 minute
Cycle/Run/Swim slow 1 minute
Cycle/Run/Swim fast 1 minute
Cycle/Run/Swim slow 1 minute 30 seconds
Cycle/Run/Swim fast 1 minute
Cycle/Run/Swim slow 2 minutes
Cycle/Run/Swim fast 1 minute


Yeah? You've got the idea. Always make sure to keep the fast at 8-9 and slow at 5-6, or it simply will not work!


Before you run off to do HIIT, always remember to warm up, that is a must! Your goals should also be down to earth, always keep in mind the next day! Today you might feel fine, but after an intensive workout, the next day you will feel completely beat, not allowing you to exercise properly, maybe have a light day then? To continue improving with HIIT you should increase either intensity or duration, never increase both at the same time!




If you have no idea on how to make a routine, here you go. You want to do HIIT once or twice a week, not more - atleast while starting out HIIT. Remember - you can overtrain with HIIT, if you feel like you've gained nothing in a really long time, or you're getting weaker, ease off a litte.


Rest is key, water is factor and a good post work out meal is a must! A little bit more motivation wouldn't hurt either! Sleep well, eat well and rest well!

22 comments:

my day in a sentence said...

I heard of this! :)

Ruth said...

I kind of like this guy's video on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xfa197Xkvd0) because he counts out the seconds for you - I wouldn't be able to keep count on my own :)

Hasidic Plumber said...

This is the kind of workout that leaves you wanting to take a shower and go to bed afterwards hahaha

Major Mack said...

nice material you have here. keep it up

Rawr said...

hi, cool blog, followin you!

Milky said...

Haven't heard of this before.. I'm buying a bike when my loan comes in so Ima start cycling and shizz (:

Jay said...

i'd hiit it. ;)

J. Antonio said...

I heard of this before, thanks for sharing

Unknown said...

I've heard of this before but never tried! I'm not a medium-advanced workout person so I guess I better wait till I'm strong enough to do it! Sounds amazing though, thx for sharing :)

xx
Erika
http://www.erika-t.blogspot.com

Gizmo said...

there should be one whole post covering importance of warming up before training and stretching out after it

Dressing Up For Me said...

Thanks for the running tips because I really need those! Following you too. :)

DEZMOND said...

nice one, Neatty!

Unknown said...

nice one, thank u!

Mai Yang said...

run fast would be a good choice..^_^

Life, Liberty and Accountability said...

I know a girl does this as a fitness trainer, its super intense

Neon said...

I start sweating by only reading this lol

Anonymous said...

High intensity is not for me. :P

Lord Phrozen said...

My heart feels like it's about to burst and it gets harder to breath. I think I should take it easy for now since I'm probably not ready for this yet.

Movies on my Mind said...

I've always done HIIT on the cross-trainer. That's why I'm in optimum shape, minus the belly.

Anonymous said...

yess i loveee pink!! haha :)

Unknown said...

I love interval training! I have a hard time mentally staying with cardio workouts, but this breaks it up enough that I'm able to stick with it.

Thanks for stopping by my blog! I'm sad you don't get to celebrate Halloween. Just make sure to watch horror movies and eat lots of candy and you'll get the gist of the holiday. :)

Now following!

~ Angela
grahamandangela.blogspot.com

JKiMS15 said...

I've always been a fan of interval training! Now this validates it! Afterburn!!

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