HIIT on an elliptical

J

junkfoodbad

2
I was wondering if it would be possible to do a HIIT on an elliptical or if anyone has tried it. Sprinting on an elliptical seems kind of ackward. Wondered if anyone has any ideas

thanks
 
A good idea is to chose an exercise that allows you to increase your heart rate nice and quick. For some, an elliptical is ideal, for others a treadmill.
Track your heartrate and see if you can get it into the ideal range without killing yourself :)

good luck, let us know!
 
whats the minimum heart rate to raise to during the sprint stage to yeild significant results? While using my elliptical, my usual non-HIIT workout i try to get myself to around 145-150 bpm within the first 3 minutes and maintain it for 25-35 minutes.

I've tried a HIIT while running on the street but i havent checked my heartrate so i really have no point of reference.

Thanks
 
There are different ways to do HIIT, some say that it is dangerous to perform HIIT on a hypocaloric diet, so if this is the case.. Just be careful and listen to your body.

You could try something like this:

warm up and a moderate pace for 5 minutes.
go for 5-15 seconds MAX capacity
then go 45 seconds of walking.
Repeat that 10 times.

See how you feel after that and track your results.

Im sure others have different ideas regarding HIIT that you could take a look at as well, this is one way to do it.

EDIT:
On second thought, I personally would not do HIIT on an elliptical, but that is my preference, give it a go and let us know how you do with it!
Good luck :D
 
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Ill try it for the next couple of days and see how i feel. I've just reached a plateau in weight loss and am looking for something to change cause standard level cardio just doesnt seem to be working.

I'm also thinking my diet might be the culprit. My friend who lost a lot of weight told me to cut my calories to below 2000. I kept it at 1500 and worked out 5-6 days a week. It worked for a while, but im thinking ive put my body into starvation mode. Cause i havent lost anything in the last month.

So I'm adding some healthy calories and trying a new workout. Hope to mix things up a little. Tossed my treadmill cause it was acting funky and replaced it with an elliptical so ill let you know how it works.
 
In answer to the original question, HIIT on an elliptical is fine. I used to do it quite a bit. I would use a setting with a slightly higher resistance rather than go just for speed as sometimes your legs can kind of get away from you.

I wouldn't worry too much about monitoring your heart rate as HIIT involves maximum exertion - maximum is flat out. If you're doing it right, you'll know about it ;)

Personally, I did 5 mins warmup, 45secs max, 75secs recover, repeat to 15mins. 5mins cooldown. Worked for me but, give it a try and see what you're comfortable with.
 
junkfoodbad said:
I'm also thinking my diet might be the culprit. My friend who lost a lot of weight told me to cut my calories to below 2000. I kept it at 1500 and worked out 5-6 days a week. It worked for a while, but im thinking ive put my body into starvation mode. Cause i havent lost anything in the last month.
Click to expand...

Diets are major factors in weight gain and weight loss.. what you eat and when you eat it can play a big role in how much progress you make.
What body type are you? You are working out 5-6 days a week and you have plateaued?

Hmmm.. Well.. In my completely unprofessional opinion I would recommend the following.
TAKE A BREAK. take a week or two off from training and supplements.
Eat well, and keep your calories moderately low.
It is very likely that you have over trained. It is also possible that your body has reached a comfort zone in terms of BF (even though you might not agree with it)
Post up all your stats and your diet if you can. Lets all figure this out! :)
 
Stats : 5'10" 200 lbs

I usually run on the road, 2 miles about 45 minutes. Elliptical trainer for 30 minutes or so, or raqcuetball for an hour or more. Never less than 5 days a week.

Diet consists of the following
Breakfast : Meal Replacement Bar
Lunch : Low Carb Wrap, Jello, 100 calorie wheat cracker package
Snack : Apple
Dinner : lean meat (chicken or beef) and broccoli
Dessert : Apple and Low Fat/Carb Granola Bar

This is usually about 1600-1800 calories.

Any help would be appreciated
Thanks
 
my previous reply seems to be going a direction different than that as the topic states so i created a new post to cover that topic...

http://www.fitness.com/forum/showthread.php?p=85710

Back on topic, I tried the HIIT on my elliptical today. All i have to say is WOW. That was an awesome workout. had my heart rate way up there and it never dropped below 155 the entire time. I did it as 30 seconds sprint, 1.5 minute jog and did it for 25 minutes.

Definately going to be part of my regular workout routine.
 
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