HIIT - High-intensity interval training

I'd be interested to know if any of you know HIIT , are using it (or not) and what is their opinion about it.

It seems quite interesting to me as I don't have much time nor the willingness to spend long hours on the training bike or rower where HIIT promises even better results in less time, at the price of a more intense exercise.

Thanks for your feedback !

Alain

As much as there are a few athletic types on this forum, you might get better results searching / posting this on a performance sporting forum somewhere in cyberspace.

Most people here will only reach this level of intensity if there's Free Beer at the finish line.

HIIT works, but it really works best for people who are in excellent physical condition already and use the High Intensiy Intervals to increase thier fitness level or push a workout to the next level. It works best if you already have high muscle mass and can raise your heart rate to the highest possible and then bring it back down fast enough that you are ready for the next interval fairly quickly. If you need alot of recovery time between intervals it defeats the purpose. Usually it is 2min hard and 1 recovery.

If you are trying to lose weight or if you are not in shape good old fashion exericse (30-45min a day) is the way to go.

I use HIIT after weight training it and can burn about 25%-35% more calories per minute but hire someone who knows about it to put you on a program so you get it right and go buy a heart rate monitor.

Is High-Intensity Interval Training (H.I.I.T.) in any way related to Special High Intensity Training (S.H.I.T.) ? My guess is that most people have been subjected more to the latter than the former.

Interval training is better than monotonous training. Any exercise is more effective when the body is surprised and challenged. Vary speed and resistance continuously. A cycling analogy would be to ride a mix of uphill/ downhill/ flat at a mix of low/ high/ medium speeds.

The HIIT is for those in top form, as suggested by another poster.

A good forum to discuss this topic is:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/index.php

HIT also known as interval training is the way to go. No matter what your level of fitness is. Needless to say one should always start slowly and build up gradually (consult a doctor etc.).

Benifits of HIT are numerous. From your angle it will give you more benifts in a shorter time span than most conventional excercise done over longer period of time.

Sure, aerobic exercise burns calories. However, if you're already dieting studies show that distance running does little to further enhance fat loss. Most likely this is because aerobic exercise doesn't boost your metabolism after your workout. But that doesn't mean cardio can't help: High-intensity intervals -- such as short sprints of 30 seconds or more, interspersed with a slow jog -- are great for accelerating fat loss. Why? Because they're similar to weight training.

One of the greatest advantage of HIT is that it continues to up your metabolism rate well after you end your session and even next day or so. With aerobic excercise, i.e. running or jogging, swimming, rowing, cycling etc. the fat burning benifit ends within 30 minutes of ending your session. (Weight training gives you the same benifts as HIT)

That plus by putting your heart rate in the 90 percnt maximum range for your age group, for a short time, followed by dropping it to 65% for a short while repeatedly, will not only strengthen your heart but will increase your stamina and resistance. But careful not to do it more than 2 times a week. It may burn calories but it can also burn you out.

Instead of hoping to get the aerobic HIT pattern right, why not do some weekly sessions of weight training? Get added benefits of stronger muscles, better posture, resilience to injury, etc.

I think with HIIT you have to be careful with what exercises you choose. For example, many people use hill sprints for HIIT. Great, if your built like a greyhound, but otherwise you will probably shred your knees quite quickly. Cycling, rowing or swimming are a better choice to start with.

I used to do 40sec/80sec intervals on the indoor rower over 30min. Felt more results from that than a flat 60 min row.

Ideally HIT two times a week together with weight training two to three times a week. As a combination they are a deadly duo. However alone neither of them is sufficient enough. Cardio is essential which ever way you look and hence only weight training will not cut it.

So we all agree. High intensity endurance gives the most bang for your buck. I have always thought that most running plans are too slow & high mileage. If you are going to run and you're not getting out every day then make it count. Warmup, 20mins fast then warm down. Or if you're headbanger like me, leave out the warm bits. Do fast/slow if you must, but I doubt that it raises the metabolism any more than my method. I, at least, could get pretty decent results (35 minutes for 10k) off about half the mileage that the running magazines recommend. And my weight has increased 2kilos in 20 years.