HIIT or variation, right for me?

[milehighadam]

For a while I simply walked for exercise, but recently that hasn't been giving me much of a work out. Literally, yesterday I walked to a buddies house who lives exactly 4.5 miles away from me, door step to door step according to google maps using the route I took. The walk is about half up hill at a pretty substantial grade, about 1/4 downhill and the rest flat. I walked this with my school backpack on (carrying my school books - which weighs in at 20lbs). It took me exactly 1 hour and 10 minutes, which includes 5 minutes somewhere in the middle where I slowed down to answer a phone call. When I got there, sure I was sweating but I wasn't sore and I didn't feel like my breathing was elevated much at all. Also, I checked my heart rate and it wasn't much higher than it is throughout the day. This same walk even 1 month ago would have taken me close to an hour and 45 minutes and I wouldn't be able to move once I arrived. Now, I'm starting to feel like walking for exercise is a complete waste of time. I walk at least 3 miles a day at a pretty brisk pace, and many days do more than that (walking and the bus/lightrail are my only reliable means of transportation right now).

I've started jogging a bit, and it is hard for me. I want to get to the point where I can jog, or even better run, for miles at a time. I would rather be at that point sooner than later. Right now I can jog or run for about 1.5 minutes before I have trouble keeping my breathing under control. My heart is pounding and I usually stop and walk for about 2-3 minutes before doing it again. I can do this about 3 times before I am completely worn out. My question is, Would a continued routine like this benefit me more than simply running or jogging at lower speeds over a longer period of time by increasing weight loss more quickly and build more endurance faster? I really don't care how much my muscles hurt or how hard it may be to catch my breath as long as I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Also, I am a bit concerned about how hard it is to catch my breath after stopping, I literally slow to a crawl when walking because it feels like someone is standing on my chest; my muscles don't ache after this either probably because of how much walking I do (?), is this normal?

So, the questions are: Would a continued routine of jog/run for 1-1.5 followed by walking for several benefit me more than sustained running/jogging at lower speeds for longer distances, in relation to weight loss and building endurance faster?
Should I change the routine at all? For example, run/jog for less time, walk for less time and aim for more sets? Or anything else.
Is it safe for me, i.e. my heavily labored breathing?
Do I need to get a bit more conditioning first; perhaps by sustained running or jogging? Or can I will myself to do it (I'd prefer this because I'm all for more work/pain for a higher pay off)?

On a somewhat unrelated note, I don't have a treadmill but my parents are willing to give me theirs if I want it. I do all of my walking, jogging and running on the street, I find it easier if I am actually going somewhere (even if that somewhere is around the block). Is there any benefit to a treadmill other than convenience (I'm sure it would be nice once the snow hits the ground)? I live in Denver so I have no problem finding all different types of inclines in close proximity to my house.

 

[milehighadam]

I am going to assume that since no one has replied there is no problem with me at least trying it. So, a little later this afternoon I will write out a plan and set some goals then start it either tonight or tomorrow night.

 

[KaraCooks]

Hm. I didn't see this thread originally. I don't know why it didn't show up in the "new posts".

Here are my thoughts, fwiw.

For a while I simply walked for exercise, but recently that hasn't been giving me much of a work out [...] When I got there, sure I was sweating but I wasn't sore and I didn't feel like my breathing was elevated much at all. Also, I checked my heart rate and it wasn't much higher than it is throughout the day. [...] Now, I'm starting to feel like walking for exercise is a complete waste of time.

Keep in mind that your body does adapt to exercise - that's part of the POINT of exercise - to become MORE fit. So as your body becomes more fit and more efficient, it will take more effort to see benefit. It's just like any skill. I like to use learning to play the piano as an example: When you first start even playing scales is hard. You practice and practice and practice and suddenly one day you realize you're playing scales without even thinking about it and it's so easy it's boring. Now you could keep playing scales for hte rest of your life, or you could push yourself to learn a song. So then you start playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - and that's hard, so you practice and practice and practice and eventually you can play it without thinking about it. And so then you learn to play something else ... and something else ... and so on. You don't just start out being able to play a symphony, but you also don't want to play scales forever, right?

Your body is just like your mind - it "learns" what you're teaching it. When you teach it how to exercise, it learns that and if you want to continue learning, you have to move forward.

I've started jogging a bit, and it is hard for me. I want to get to the point where I can jog, or even better run, for miles at a time. I would rather be at that point sooner than later. Right now I can jog or run for about 1.5 minutes before I have trouble keeping my breathing under control. My heart is pounding and I usually stop and walk for about 2-3 minutes before doing it again. I can do this about 3 times before I am completely worn out. My question is, Would a continued routine like this benefit me more than simply running or jogging at lower speeds over a longer period of time by increasing weight loss more quickly and build more endurance faster?

Every "learn to run" program I've ever seen teaches you to run by doing an interval type of training. The Couch to 5k plan is probably the most well known one - it starts you off with 60 secs of running and 2 mins of walking and moves up from there in steady increments.

It's fairly normal to have a hard time with it at first. If you feel that it's too much - that you're in pain (as opposed to discomfort) or if you really start to feel like you can't breathe (as opposed to just being out of breath), then it might be a sign that you're doing too much too fast.

I do want to clarify one thing. You titled the post HIIT - understand that HIIT and intervals are not the same thing. Running intervals is a great way to train yourself to run. Intervals are also a good way to add variety to your cardio. HIIT are a very specific type of interval that includes High Intensity cardio (hence the HI part of HIIT). If you're going all out during your intervals - pushing yourself to the limit of your endurance, then you're doing HIIT. Otherwise, you're just doing intervals. Each have their benefits, but they're not the same thing.

 

[milehighadam]

Wow, thank you. That was exactly the type of response I was looking for. Great example of learning to play piano!

When I was running those intervals I would push myself as hard as I could then try to push myself even further. Perhaps this isn't the best way to start out. I am happy to know that interval training is a good starting point for newbies like myself.

I did mean HIIT when I said it, as I read about it in the pinned topic. But, I think I'll try working towards it. It seems like a more moderate approach will benefit me at the beginning than just trying to jump right into it.

Thanks for the response and the info!

 

[KaraCooks]

Gotcha.

Yeah, moving straight into HIIT isn't necessarily something that most people can do. I don't think I even tried HIIT until I'd been exercising steadily for over a year. It's hard when done properly - usually after a round of HIIT, I can barely stand up. I've been known to trip over the carpet walking to the locker room.

I do it 1x to 2x a week usually. The rest of the time (the times I do cardio I mean) I either do some form of steady state cardio, or interval work from the Couch to 5k program.

 

[milehighadam]

That couch to 5k program looks pretty sweet, I think I'll give that a shot.
It recommends doing it 3 days a week, would there be anything wrong with doing it more frequently? Say something like 4-5 days a week? If there is one thing I'm good at doing when it comes to exercising is telling my body to stop it's complaining and deal with it. So, if I am able to over come the pain and soreness would it benefit me more by doing more, or do I need to take those 4 days off a week?

 

[KaraCooks]

You really do need to give your body recovery time. Muscles and nerves need time to recover and heal. Even more, tendons and cartilage need time to heal as they take longer to adapt than muscle does. Overtraining can result in injury by adding stress upon stress upon stress.

I know a lot of people who do some form of cardio every day (I tend to do cardio at least 5x per week myself) but I vary the type of cardio I do - not just in intensity, but in type, so as to kind of spread things out around my various muscles and joints.