HIIT Question

[Strychnine]

I was doing some reading on HIIT yesterday, and I'm thinking about trying it.

I was looking at this chart: http://www.musclemedia.com/training/hiit_table.asp

Basically, it says to do the HIIT workout 3 times a week, and every 2 times, add one minute to your time.
Starting at 4 minutes, after 8 weeks, you should be doing 15 minutes nonstop.

Having never done this before, I was wondering, can the first week or two of just 4-5 minutes really do as much for me as my normal cardio (1 hour on a bike)? Is it really going to bust my ass that badly? And is the HIIT more beneficial than my normal cardio workout, or is it just something to mix it up?


- Matt

[White_lightning]

IMO that HIIT table doesnt cater for everyone.. IE.. i dont run. and i dont jog.. if i had to jog for 2 min i would fall over and die ( over weight and asthamtic).. if you are fairly fit, then i think HIIT will work for you. I do my own version.
20 min Zone work ( ie keep myself in the target BPM zone) which is normaly 2* and 3.2-3.5 mph.
then i bump the speed to 3.5-3.8 mph and increase the angle to 15*.. granted.. at this stage i hold onto the handles because otherwise i would fall off the tread mill and this is kinda cheating, but i can bring my heart rate up to 165ish bpm at 15*@3.8 mph. I walk like this for 30 seconds. then drop it 1* every 30 seconds.once i get back down to 2* i drop it to 3.2 mph and walk like that till my heart rate is back to 135-145 bpm. and then repeat.
d.

[Strychnine]

Well, after doing my back/bi lifting, I went ahead and tried it today... albiet on a bike, and not running. I was pretty beat, so i wasnt planning on doing as much cardio as normal; I just wanted to give the HIIT a try.

On level 12 (of 20), i did a 5 minute warm up around 80rpm.
After the warmup, I alternated 1 minute hard pedaling (110-120rpm), 1 minute regular (80rpm).

At the end of each hard minute, my heart was racing ~175-180bpm. The "light" minute didnt seem to lower my heart rate any. It went down to maybe 170.

I did 10 minutes of this alternating, and then decided I'd had enough, and did a 3 min cool down to get back down to 145bpm.

For as much as I hate running, I'm damn glad I did this on a bike!
I think I'll try this for a week or two and see what I think. I might end up going back to my normal hour though.

Anyway, just though I would share my experience.


- Matt

[mustangpete4.6]

Do yourself a favor and stick with it for a month. Gauge your results prior to and after that month and you will be suprised by your results:D