most effective HIIT intervals?

[MakaveliThaDon]

I'm thinking of trying something a bit different, I haven't done HIIT in a couple of years. I think I'm gonna try replacing my 30 minute moderate intensity elliptical sessions with 20 minutes of HIIT on the elliptical instead.

When I used to do it years ago on a treadmill I liked 2 and a half minute segments, 2 and a half of running, 2 and a half of walking, rinse and repeat.

I see that most people however like short 30 second intervals.

My elliptical I have at home is really nothing too impressive (hey it was 400 bucks on craigslist, lol) But can anybody give a good recommendation on a basic point to start at with intervals? 30 seconds all out, 30 seconds slow, for the entire 20 minutes?



Thanks

 

[bla55]

My personal experience with it has been 30 / 1.30

I go every time the timer goes even and sprint as fast as I can and then relax for 1.30. I do this at an incline level of about 8. So I walk at 3.3mph on 8 for about 1.30, then sprint at around 12mph for 30secs, reduce and walk again.

I will throw in a random exhaustion period in there too, aka, at 10:00 mark I will speed it up to 7mph, run for 1-2 minutes and then relax for 2 minutes, and go back to my regular routine that I did for the first 10.

That is how I do my HIIT, it seems to work fairly well. I also will do just regular eliptical HIIT but on 1/1 ratio as ellipticals are not as demanding as running uphill.

 

[MakaveliThaDon]

My personal experience with it has been 30 / 1.30

I go every time the timer goes even and sprint as fast as I can and then relax for 1.30. I do this at an incline level of about 8. So I walk at 3.3mph on 8 for about 1.30, then sprint at around 12mph for 30secs, reduce and walk again.

I will throw in a random exhaustion period in there too, aka, at 10:00 mark I will speed it up to 7mph, run for 1-2 minutes and then relax for 2 minutes, and go back to my regular routine that I did for the first 10.

That is how I do my HIIT, it seems to work fairly well. I also will do just regular eliptical HIIT but on 1/1 ratio as ellipticals are not as demanding as running uphill.

thanks bro. What time interval do you use for the 1/1 ratio on a regular elliptical?

 

[Rosie Chee]

I'm thinking of trying something a bit different, I haven't done HIIT in a couple of years. I think I'm gonna try replacing my 30 minute moderate intensity elliptical sessions with 20 minutes of HIIT on the elliptical instead.

When I used to do it years ago on a treadmill I liked 2 and a half minute segments, 2 and a half of running, 2 and a half of walking, rinse and repeat.

I see that most people however like short 30 second intervals.

My elliptical I have at home is really nothing too impressive (hey it was 400 bucks on craigslist, lol) But can anybody give a good recommendation on a basic point to start at with intervals? 30 seconds all out, 30 seconds slow, for the entire 20 minutes?

Thanks

Well, real HIIT is short, sharp sprints followed by adequate recovery. Anything longer than ~30 seconds for an interval and you no longer doing HIIT but just high intensity cardio.

I personally do 20 second sprints followed by anywhere from 10-40 seconds easy or rest - i.e. variations/extensions of Guerilla Cardio or Tabata Intervals. The purpose of HIIT is to be as explosive and maximal during your efforts as possible.

You don't need to do the complete 20-30 minutes as intervals. I do 4 minutes easy, then 8-12 x 20 second sprints/10 seconds easy, and finish the rest off just just running (if doing 20 minutes). I started though at the regular Guerillla Cardio protocol of 12 minutes - only four minutes of intervals (you can read this in my The 3 Keys to Fat Loss article). I generally run as well for HIIT - since that's the best mode of cardio to do it in, IMO, but I have also done it cycling, skipping, rowing, and boxing.

~Rosie~

 

[bla55]

thanks bro. What time interval do you use for the 1/1 ratio on a regular elliptical?

I usually go 1 min / 1 min.

I have tried the smaller intervals as Rosie suggested, like 20/40, and so on but I have bad endurance, so I am worn out and by 10 minutes I am unable to do much more at the same intensity, so I increase my rest time for a bit.

I tried doing 20/40 and when in comparison to the 30/130 I actually ended up going through less miles than the second, just because I wasn't able to sprint as hard as the rest time was just not enough for me.

Then again, I'm a big guy and not the best fatigue / endurance, so it will vary.

 

[Rosie Chee]

I usually go 1 min / 1 min.

I have tried the smaller intervals as Rosie suggested, like 20/40, and so on but I have bad endurance, so I am worn out and by 10 minutes I am unable to do much more at the same intensity, so I increase my rest time for a bit.

I tried doing 20/40 and when in comparison to the 30/130 I actually ended up going through less miles than the second, just because I wasn't able to sprint as hard as the rest time was just not enough for me.

Then again, I'm a big guy and not the best fatigue / endurance, so it will vary.

It's not about how far you go during this, but the INTENSITY of your efforts. if you need more recovery time, take more recovery time - hell, you can even take 2-3 minutes easy/recovery between 20-30 second sprints if that's what you need, as long as you make your sprints as HARD AS YOU CAN.

Your endurance and speed endurance will actually improve from HIIT, trust me.

~Rosie~

 

[bla55]

It's not about how far you go during this, but the INTENSITY of your efforts. if you need more recovery time, take more recovery time - hell, you can even take 2-3 minutes easy/recovery between 20-30 second sprints if that's what you need, as long as you make your sprints as HARD AS YOU CAN.

Your endurance and speed endurance will actually improve from HIIT, trust me.

~Rosie~

Yeah, I guess then that's what I usually do; the 30 secs at 12 - 14mph on a 8 incline are pretty much my capacity before my heart rate gets over 195...

 

[Rosie Chee]

Yeah, I guess then that's what I usually do; the 30 secs at 12 - 14mph on a 8 incline are pretty much my capacity before my heart rate gets over 195...

Why don't you just go outside and do it? That's the best way to do it, IMO. And don't focus on what your heart rate is - MAXIMAL effort during efforts!

~Rosie~

 

[MakaveliThaDon]

20min HIIT 2x a day too much?

 

[Rosie Chee]

20min HIIT 2x a day too much?

You do NOT need to do HIIT twice a day. Remember that it elicits a similar hormonal response to resistance training, so you want to make sure you give yourself adequate recovery time - hence why it is recommended to do it only ~3 times a week, with a day between sessions.

~Rosie~

 

[MakaveliThaDon]

Thanks for the input. It's not really about NEEDING to do it. Hell, most of us on here dont NEED to do 99 percent of the things we do. We do it because we love to.

 

[EasyEJL]

Thanks for the input. It's not really about NEEDING to do it. Hell, most of us on here dont NEED to do 99 percent of the things we do. We do it because we love to.

I hate doing it, but it makes me look good.

I guess i'll start doing some HIIT outdoors come June as part of precontest. downloaded an app for my phone to set off a chime at definable intervals, i'm probably going 30 seconds high effort, 45 seconds low

 

[MakaveliThaDon]

I hate doing it, but it makes me look good.

I guess i'll start doing some HIIT outdoors come June as part of precontest. downloaded an app for my phone to set off a chime at definable intervals, i'm probably going 30 seconds high effort, 45 seconds low

haha, yah that's basically what I meant. I hate doing it as well, matter of fact I loathe it, however if it's going to help me achieve the physique goals I want then bring it on. If somebody told me eating dog poop would make me look like a god I'd be walking behind every dog in the park just waiting for the goods to drop.

 

[Rosie Chee]

Thanks for the input. It's not really about NEEDING to do it. Hell, most of us on here dont NEED to do 99 percent of the things we do. We do it because we love to.

No worries

Just remember too, more is NOT always better!

~Rosie~

 

[Red Dog]

I'm not sure how anybody can run with absolute maximum effort for any more than 25-30 seconds.

 

[DaJaP]

usually do 60seconds/90seconds on elyptical. 60@ 15 res between 10-11 mph, 90@ 7 resistance bewtween 6-8 mph. not HIIT by strict definition, but it works well

 

[Beelzebub]

been alternating 2:1 intervals, but I don't believe I'm doing 'real' HIIT. I just go fast as I comfortably can for 2 minutes, then back off for a minute. HR usually gets to around 150-160 on the fast, then drops to about 120 on the slow. whatever that is, lol.

 

[MakaveliThaDon]

been alternating 2:1 intervals, but I don't believe I'm doing 'real' HIIT. I just go fast as I comfortably can for 2 minutes, then back off for a minute. HR usually gets to around 150-160 on the fast, then drops to about 120 on the slow. whatever that is, lol.

This is somewhat what I do as well. I don't believe I do true HIIT, I do 1:1 intervals on the elliptical, 2 minutes rest, 2 minutes of resistance plus as hard as I can, 2 minutes rest, rinse and repeat for 20 minutes.

I did it yesterday, and again this morning, man my lungs were burning. Its been a while since I've done anything more than just long durations of moderate intensity cardio.

I only burned 10 less cals in 20 minutes than I usually do in 30 minutes, according to the gauge on my elliptical anyways. And we all know how accurate those are, lol.

 

[bla55]

Why don't you just go outside and do it? That's the best way to do it, IMO. And don't focus on what your heart rate is - MAXIMAL effort during efforts!

~Rosie~

Well, main problem is living in Michigan and having the weather crappy 10 months out of the year...

Also, I feel like the incline gives me a pretty good extra, and considering how flat footed I am it really takes it easier on my shins preventing me from getting horrible shin splints from running 2, 3 times a week.

 

[Beelzebub]

This is somewhat what I do as well. I don't believe I do true HIIT, I do 1:1 intervals on the elliptical, 2 minutes rest, 2 minutes of resistance plus as hard as I can, 2 minutes rest, rinse and repeat for 20 minutes.

I did it yesterday, and again this morning, man my lungs were burning. Its been a while since I've done anything more than just long durations of moderate intensity cardio.

I only burned 10 less cals in 20 minutes than I usually do in 30 minutes, according to the gauge on my elliptical anyways. And we all know how accurate those are, lol.

lol, i admit i use the calorie gauge too. it may not be accurate but i figure as long as i'm punching in the same values, it will at least give me a gauge as to whether i'm doing better or worse in calories burned.

 

[Resolve]

I gave up on unweighted HIIT a while ago. I like plate pushes, farmers walks and sled drags too much!

 

[Rosie Chee]

Well, main problem is living in Michigan and having the weather crappy 10 months out of the year...

Also, I feel like the incline gives me a pretty good extra, and considering how flat footed I am it really takes it easier on my shins preventing me from getting horrible shin splints from running 2, 3 times a week.

I see.

"Shin splints" is a blanket term to cover all the injuries possible to the lower leg, so if you have them, then it pays to find out just WHAT you have and are experiencing - if you don't know, you can't take measures to prevent or deal with it.

lol, i admit i use the calorie gauge too. it may not be accurate but i figure as long as i'm punching in the same values, it will at least give me a gauge as to whether i'm doing better or worse in calories burned.

What you burn DURING HIIT is far from indicating what you are REALLY burning because of it!

~Rosie~

 

[Beelzebub]

eh, not that important to me what the machine says i burn, just more of a guide. it'd be kinda hard to take into account of what your sped up metabolism burns afterwards. if the weekly measurement is where i want it to be, then it was a success.

 

[Joeshmoe]

Right now I do 30/60 intervals, 12 in total. Do them on an elliptical, bike or sprints. Last month I did 30/90, next month i'll do 20/40. Keep mixing it up

I usually crank the resistance up at the intense part and go all out, its likely i only really do about 25secs and HR is up at 95%. When im done im shattered, totally, but usually then do 20 mins of steady state on same machine to flush the lactic acid out the legs

Do this 3 times a week and a 10k run on the weekends, i found more than that i was always tired, hungry etc

I dunno but the people who say they can do this twice a day cant be doing it right surely?

 

[JohnRock]

I didn't read every response, so this might've already been said, but it depends on your fitness level. Personally, if I pick a few different moves to do in a circuit for 1-2 minutes each, I can keep my heart rate @180 for 5 minutes, then take 1-2 minutes to get it back down and start again, but that would be overwhelming for someone who hasn't pushed their conditioning hard.

 

[EasyEJL]

I didn't read every response, so this might've already been said, but it depends on your fitness level. Personally, if I pick a few different moves to do in a circuit for 1-2 minutes each, I can keep my heart rate @180 for 5 minutes, then take 1-2 minutes to get it back down and start again, but that would be overwhelming for someone who hasn't pushed their conditioning hard.

and thats good High Intensity Training, but not really High Intensity Interval Training.

 

[JohnRock]

and thats good High Intensity Training, but not really High Intensity Interval Training.

I'm not trying to be argumentative, but it follows the exact same principles, the only difference being that some people can maintain the all-out phase longer than others. If your work interval is only 30 seconds and you could've gone for 60, then you *should've* gone 60 IMO. I don't mean that to you specifically, but on principle. This is how the most calories are burnt and the most improvement is made cardiovascularly. But, it depends on each person's fitness level. For some people, going 30/60 is all they can handle. The interval principles are still in effect either way. There are many different variables one could apply to HIIT, like the Tabatta format, for one. Anyway, that's just my opinion, but I suppose I'm focusing more on what's effective than what fits the specific definition, because otherwise it seems arbitrary to me.

 

[EasyEJL]

I'm not trying to be argumentative, but it follows the exact same principles, the only difference being that some people can maintain the all-out phase longer than others. If your work interval is only 30 seconds and you could've gone for 60, then you *should've* gone 60 IMO. I don't mean that to you specifically, but on principle. This is how the most calories are burnt and the most improvement is made cardiovascularly. But, it depends on each person's fitness level. For some people, going 30/60 is all they can handle. The interval principles are still in effect either way. There are many different variables one could apply to HIIT, like the Tabatta format, for one. Anyway, that's just my opinion, but I suppose I'm focusing more on what's effective than what fits the specific definition, because otherwise it seems arbitrary to me.

Actually you are incorrect though, the most cardiovascular improvement is made with the shorter intervals. Studies back that up particularly based on Tabata. Similarly although more calories may be burned in the short term the way you are doing it, more lipolysis and calories are burned in the following 24 hours using shorter intervals. Again this is based more on studies than any personal observations. Personally I get on an elliptical, tack heart rate up to 160-170 and keep it there an hour.

 

[JohnRock]

Actually you are incorrect though, the most cardiovascular improvement is made with the shorter intervals. Studies back that up particularly based on Tabata. Similarly although more calories may be burned in the short term the way you are doing it, more lipolysis and calories are burned in the following 24 hours using shorter intervals. Again this is based more on studies than any personal observations. Personally I get on an elliptical, tack heart rate up to 160-170 and keep it there an hour.

Every time I've seen one of those studies, it's made the comparison to steady-state cardio, which I'm not doing. HIIT is effective because of the intensity, not the specific amounts of time spent in each mode. So, if you're doing anything at absolute full intensity, you should get the same effects. And if your all-out interval lasts a little bit longer, then you're burning more calories at the same time. That's the way I interpret it, anyway. I'm not the most muscular guy around, but my cardio is pretty exceptional and I've gotten it to this level by not stopping because my timer hit an arbitrary number, but going all-out for as long as I could safely, effectively do so, then recovering and starting again.

 

[bla55]

This is kinda random...

But are there scientific studies proving the efficiency and effectiveness of HIIT training?

I have been looking and found a few, but was hoping for some more conclusive evidence; reason I ask this is pretty petty, I have gotten into an argument with a "Personal Trainer" who is a kinesiology graduate, who claims that any aerobic exercise below 30 minutes is a waste... Could he really be anymore in the 60's? I know... But he has been giving HORRIBLE advice to a friend of mine and all he relies on is the fact that he has a degree and I'm speaking "broscience". Would love to smack him in the face with some conclusive evidence so my friend doesn't have to suffer and pay him any longer for ****ty advice...

 

[EasyEJL]

This is the most commonly cited study I believe

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8897392