HIIT Training

[Gardner Barnes]

So I started incorporating HIIT training into my workouts mainly because I have heard such good things about the results with HIIT, but also because I am a fast twitch type of guy and have a hard time with endurance exercises.

I am getting good results based on the Heart Rate monitor I am using - burning about 550 kcal in a 20 minute session that includes 5 minute light jog warm up, 6X 30 sec sprint followed by 90 sec recovery (i have to walk). then a 3 min cooldown.

Questions
1. I love the track work, but since I travel, it is sometimes hard to find a track like the one near my house in Austin. Do any of you all have any HIIT workouts that you do either in a hotel "fitness center" or perhaps outside w/o a track?
2. How should I progress: More reps or shorter recovery?
3. If I do HIIT on m,w,f and run for endurance (usually 3 miles in 30-33 minutes) on S, Tu, Th, am I over training? I feel no pain and the weight loss and lean tissue gain have been tremendous, but I dont want to push it and have to take an extended period of time off.

 

[vy2005]

About time you got your fat gordon gecko *** to the gym gl bro!

 

[TXHookem]

Big fan of HIIT - I can't do steady state cardio anymore. Find it too boring and it takes too long.

 

[Mack Tripper]

I've gotten good results with a higher intensity 20 second sprint followed by a shorter recovery period of 10 seconds.
The Link

 

[notreally]

it isn't over training, but it might be hard to keep up depending on your body type and other factors. your body will tell you if you are over training. most people that are over training deep down know they might be... but are so focused it is almost like denial. if you start getting sick, or your workouts regress, then you might consider looking at that. at this point you are just pushing your body. that is the way you are supposed to train. you are doing it right.

are you lifting also? if not, i would start incorporating some of that on your off days. hopefully you are already lifting some, because the body change you have already had will only be amplified with some resistance training (preferably heavier type lifting). plus, it is easier than cardio.

 

[Gardner Barnes]

notreally: I lift on the 3 days that I do HIIT and then drive over to Westlake HS to use the track. The entire workout takes about 90 minutes including travel time so my HR is not dropping much after I am done with the strength training.

 

[Summerof79]

The best way to tell if you are over training is your resting heart rate before you even get our to bed. If your body is not fully recovering then you will find your resting heart rate will rise.

It is VERY IMPORTANT to remember that ALL of your fitness gains are actually achieved by.... recovery! You stress your body, your body recovers trying to adapt to the added stress and over time this results in improved fitness.

In hotels you could run up stairs and then walk down a hall catch the elevator and do it again and again. You could integrate a weight workout with jump roping in between sets to keep the heart rate up.

Remember that you CANNOT sustain improved fitness levels without periods of rest or reduced activity to allow your body a week long recovery period. Most triathlon, marathon and other long term fitness regimes allow for a training work load reduction every 4th week of the programs. Usually you increase the work load by no more than 10 percent per week, then in that 4th wee you cut your work load back by 10-20 percent to a level similar to what you did two weeks ago. Then when you come back up you go back to the level you would have been at had you increased at a steady 10 percent each week. So rest, the considerably more stress that first week back on.

 

[TXHookem]

...another thing you can do to help with strength/resistance training is to one-up yourself during every workout. That is, imagine that on Monday you did a 3 sets of 6 deadlifts at 195 lbs... the next time you do deadlifts, maybe the following week, try 3 sets of 6 and 200 or 4 sets of 6 or 3 sets of 8... or whatever... just a little bit that pushes your body/muscles without overdoing it. Even adding 5 pounds makes a difference . I've seen this endorsed by guys like Jay Feruggia... also talked to one of the personal trainers at my gym about it and he advocated the idea. He works with Astros prospects in the minors.