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Working on cardio to improve endurance with HIIT, good or bad? Any tips?

VickiK

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'd opt for MIIT (moderate) rather than HIIT. For example, per the Fit Cookie, start with a 15 minute workout 1 time/week, at 30 second work and 1 minute recovery intervals.

HIIT cautions.jpg
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
I'd opt for MIIT (moderate) rather than HIIT. For example, per the Fit Cookie, start with a 15 minute workout 1 time/week, at 30 second work and 1 minute recovery intervals.
Need to be careful with the concept of "moderate." While doing fewer HIIT workouts and being active for shorter periods with longer rest times makes sense, the actual active interval still needs to be based on pushing as hard as possible in order to build endurance. If you finish a HIIT workout but haven't broken a sweat by the end, then probably haven't accomplished that much.

I can see where doing the Fit Cookie weight and cardio HIIT workouts can lead to "risk of injury" if doing too much, too soon. There are plenty of ways to raise heart rate without weights or high impact exercises. The recommendation of no "more than 3 HIIT workouts each week" assumes pretty intense workouts. Clearly the man who did the basic 7-min HIIT workout 5-6 days a week wasn't running any risk of overdoing it. He usually did the workout twice since he was in decent shape.

While I do bodyweight exercises, with or without TRX, as part of HIIT workouts, I'm not interested in mixing in weights. Would rather do weights separately so that I can focus on good form and eccentric motion, which requires going slowly. Also, for bone building the weight needs to be relatively heavy.
 

Little Lightning

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I love AMRAP workouts. Helps to show my progress and is a good challenge for me. Yesterday I did 5 rounds + 1 set of Thrusters and 1 Sled Pull/Push of this work out in 25 minutes.

Thrusters, 8 reps w DB, 24 lbs weight
Sled Pull/Push
Spiderwalk
KB Swings, 20 reps, 32 kg kettlebell
TRX Burpees-10 reps

Prior to the AMRAP I warmuped with kicks, skipping, karoke, 8 jump lunges and 8 kettlebell snatches. Finished off with 2 sets TRX side planks holding for 40 sec. each.

This workout is 1 of 3 workout sessions that my trainer programs. When I complete 4 weeks he changes my workouts.

The 1st time I tried an AMRAP workout I completed 2 rounds. I was thrilled when I could do 5 rounds after 4 weeks. It's been awhile since I've done this kind of workout and I completed 5 rounds and worked up a lot of sweat.
 

Soujan

Angel Diva
If you're just starting a workout program that includes HIIT, you shouldn't start with weights. Body weight exercises are more than enough. The point of HIIT is exercising with short bursts at 100% to get your heart rate up. If doing some jumping jacks and sit-ups does that, than you're doing good. At some point those exercises will no longer be as challenging enough and you will have to change them to something more challenging. I workout about 4 times a week now. I'll do two days of weight training (deadlifts, squats, bench press, overhead press), and two days of cardio (still trying to loose fat). I do HIIT for my cardio because it takes less time to do than going for a run and works more parts of my body. Because I've been doing it for awhile, I add weights to up the intensity.
 

VickiK

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I was feeling a little stale in my approach to my workouts, so I created a 5 week workout plan for myself, comprised of DVD workouts I own, Youtube videos focused on using a Kettlebell, once-a-week Pilates at a studio, and a few water fitness classes at the YMCA for the sake of variety. I just finished week 5 yesterday. Today, surfing around the fitness posts on this site, this jumped out at me:
HIIT is about cardio, not developing strength.
(@marzNC )

I would agree. I did 20-25 min HIIT workouts with a 10 lb kettlebell, and they did not help me build as much strength as I needed to get through a 30 min weight training workout using a 10 lb dumbbell. I had to scale back a few lbs. I guess I thought that the HIIT workouts would be building strength since they involved a weight. This is good to know, because it'll help me design my next workout plan.

P.S., @Soujan , somehow I missed your last post, and based on my experience, I'd say you're right on the money!
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I run single-track technical trails in New England. I'm aware of where the sustained uphills are. I choose a run depending on how many sustained uphills I want to run. At the top of these climbs I'm out of breath, and I keep going at a slowish pace. I think that counts as HIIT, since for every uphill there's some sort of downhill, with flats in between. My personality is not such that I'm willing to go to the gym, track high intensity vs low intensity timing, and keep records of that.

What I'm doing is about as close as I'm going to come to doing actual bonafide HIIT. It's worked for me in the past, and I expect it will work for this next season. Here's a trail photo:
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
So today I did a run and decided to take some pictures. This run was supposed to have some climbs in it, which for me count as the high intensity part of the run. The flats are the low intensity parts, and the drops are just please-don't-stub-a-toe-and-make-a-face-plant-on-granite technical challenges. But there weren't many climbs. Not sure if it counts as HIIT then. But since I stopped to take pics, then started up again, those are intervals of some sort, right?

Heading down to the bog from the main trail; must find places to put my feet. 1. heading down to the bog small.jpg
Crossing the bog on the boardwalk; easy part of the run.2. boardwalk in bog copy small.jpg
Bog moss alongside the boardwalk3. bog mos small.jpg
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
The trail along the bog is flat, but obstacle-filled. Roots are the worst; spaces in between don't fit my feet.4. bogside trail small.jpg
Here's a technical section. Dodge granite rocks and roots. There's another section of boardwalk to the left of that downed tree.5.. technical section small.jpg
Fungi beside the trail on a dead log. So cool.6. fungi trailside small.jpg
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
More bogside trail. Lots of big granite boulders everywhere in these woods.7. roots and rocks on the bogside trail small.jpg
Onto the other boardwalk to get out of the bog. Water!
8. boardwalk out of the bog small.jpg
Now for the climb up. Rock garden.
9. rocks on the bogside trail small.jpg
More rocks and now there are roots. I'm breathing heavy by this point. High intensity, even if there aren't any intervals.
10. Climbing up from the bog small.jpg
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
At the top of the climb there's this huge boulder. The trail I take goes off to the right into pine needly woods. In that direction the trail is new, with little erosion and fewer exposed rocks and roots underfoot.
11. The rock at the top of the climb small.jpg
But there's this. Dunno what it is, but there are several of them. The trail can be hard to find in here. It actually goes off to the right of this entity.
12. Don't know what this is but there are several of them small.jpg
Here's the end of the run. A little beyond this rock is the parking lot. Can you see the trail? Neither can I. I usually stumble around to the right of this thing.
13. just beyond this rock is the parking lot small.jpg
Fun run. It took me 72 minutes, including quick stops for pictures. I don't go to the gym, I go to the woods. I can't do planks or push-ups. But I'm usually good for a full day of skiing when the season starts. And I can usually sit down on my skis and get back up without the help of poles, on the flats.
 
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marzNC

Angel Diva
:bump:
Anyone find a new HIIT routine lately?

I just gave this TRX HIIT routine a try today. Only 7 exercises but it's a very intense workout. Best for people who are pretty familiar with using TRX. I ended up doing a fair number of substitutions during the second and third rounds because some of the exercises require putting feet in the straps, which is hard to do quickly.

 

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