How regularly can you perform HIIT?

I was just wondering how regularly you can do HIIT and what is the recommended number of times to do it a week?

I'm doing it x2 times a day, five days a week at the mo but have been told thats too much. I simply do a 30 min session of alternating 1 min jog/1min run on the spot.

It's very knackering and I sweat loads but my legs don't feel sore afterwards (even though they're starting to look more defined). Would you say this is normal? as I've always had good stamina/fitness even if there is quite a bit of fat on my legs (weigh 158lb, 5ft 9inch).

+Is there any health issues with performing HIIT every day?

Thanks,
Steve
 
ive read that it should be done once a week, and do normal cardio the other day. for the fact that it can be rough on the joints, etc etc. but really, i can do it everyday no problem when i want to. im not recommending anything, but if you feel like you can do it, go for it. just dont hurt yourself. pssh which i doubt it, you seem tough ;)
 
ok, cheers corple. I've just been looking in the running forum, and theres a lot of talk of if you run everyday you'll have dodgy knees when your about 50. So i suspose i'll drop it to once a day, 5 days a week.

Keep the posts coming in if anyone knows better about this tho ;)
 
Actually, I perform HIIT 3 times a week, 20 minute session with a 5 minute warm up, 5 minute cooldown. I perform moderate cardio on lifting days. A HIIT session is a very advanced workout and your body needs recovery time from it.

If your legs aren't sore from it, your probably conditioned to run, which by looking at your routine, thats great! You are tiring from it, so your getting the benefit. I would take a day off though, maybe jog on the off days if you feel like running.
 
I think between 2-4 days per week is best, depending on your goals and recovery abilities.It's individualistic.

What has worked best for me is 3 non-consecutive days per week, with the first and third workouts being high-intensity and the 2nd workout more moderate in terms of intensity and duration.
 
I think I'm gonna stick with once five days a week for now, with the two rest days somewhere in between them. The only thing that bothers me is if I get injured or anything like that. I do spend one day a week focussing on leg work with weights anyway so that should help matters.
 
I just started doing HIIT. I do 60/60 seconds 90/40 intensity for 10 minutes. You sweat like a mofo believe me. I do it every other day. So far no results though...oh yea, I only did it once :p. It's so much more fun though. And I'm someone who HATES treadmills and HATES cardio.
 
Shinra said:
It's so much more fun though. And I'm someone who HATES treadmills and HATES cardio.
I also despise wasting time on cardio and especially on treadmills - but HIIT goes by soooo fast. Surprisingly, too, since you're always watching the clock.
 
Yea I love it how instead of looking at the clock and seeing 5:30 and knowing i haveta run at least til 20:00 just totally kills me mentally, and little bit physically. with HIIT, i start running as fast as possible, and before i know it, the next minute is up and i haveta switch it up! fun fun..
 
so overall, is it better to do MORE than 3 days HIIT per week if you can cope with it than to do 3 days or less? Or will it have the same adverse effect on everyone?

I'm currently doing 3 mornings of HIIT every week, 10 minutes each morning. But I feel like I could do it all over again a few hours after each workout.
Would it be even better if I threw in something like a 1 hour low intensity jog for 1 day per week?
 
jonny100 said:
so overall, is it better to do MORE than 3 days HIIT per week if you can cope with it than to do 3 days or less? Or will it have the same adverse effect on everyone?

I'm currently doing 3 mornings of HIIT every week, 10 minutes each morning. But I feel like I could do it all over again a few hours after each workout.
Would it be even better if I threw in something like a 1 hour low intensity jog for 1 day per week?
The biggest benefit of HIIT is that you don't have to do it more than 2-4 days - even if you feel like you can.

10 minutes of HIIT isn't that long - usually the whole work-out (including warm up & cool down) is about 25-30 minutes. Perhaps you need to find a real HIIT routine and start doing that.
 
ballast said:
I think between 2-4 days per week is best, depending on your goals and recovery abilities.It's individualistic.

What has worked best for me is 3 non-consecutive days per week, with the first and third workouts being high-intensity and the 2nd workout more moderate in terms of intensity and duration.
i agree with balast on this
i used to do distance running, if you want to run at a certain speed then at some point you must train at that speed.
the best way to train for that is fartlek,or interval training (now known as HIIT) basicly the same.
try this on a treadmill,but you can use stepper,rower,crosstrainer.
4min L7 warm up..L for level
1min L8
1min L7
1min L9
1min L7
1min L10
and so on untill you cant get any higher then stay at that level so if its level 10 drop to 7 then 10 then 7 then 10.untill you get faster and can go higher.
you dont have to do 1min it can be 2 or 3min intervals,you can also do on the road using a watch or a certain distance.
you could also do long steady cardio with tabata after it.
http://www.warriorforce.com/newsletter/warriorwire3.htm
http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?art...04-046-training

good luck.
 
I just wanna say HIIT has helped me tremendously in a matter of 2 weeks!
Firstly I havent ran in about 10 years!
I have 36 DD breasts and rheumatoid arthritis, which has made it impossible to have a high impact workout, run or jog...

Ive tried the HIIT workout on the treadmill and its great!
5 days a week!
5 minute warmup powerwalk
1 minute sprint
1.30 min powerwalk
alternate 15 minutes
5 minute cooldown

When I started I was at 10 minutes, in a few days i maintained 20 minutes, and im definitely gna try 30 mins in the next few weeks. Perhaps switch powerwalking to jogging.
It is a great workout, yes the sweat is great too! seems like I see more definition now in 2 weeks than i did in the last 6 months of low impact.

I recommend everyone stay on the HIIT and advance yourself as you go along. I do 5 days a week because I need to lower body fat, but looks like a maintenance level would be 2-3 days a week.

If anyone has any suggestions to help my program please reply to me!:)
 
BajaBabe said:
I just wanna say HIIT has helped me tremendously in a matter of 2 weeks!
Firstly I havent ran in about 10 years!
I have 36 DD breasts and rheumatoid arthritis, which has made it impossible to have a high impact workout, run or jog...

Ive tried the HIIT workout on the treadmill and its great!
5 days a week!
5 minute warmup powerwalk
1 minute sprint
1.30 min powerwalk
alternate 15 minutes
5 minute cooldown

When I started I was at 10 minutes, in a few days i maintained 20 minutes, and im definitely gna try 30 mins in the next few weeks. Perhaps switch powerwalking to jogging.
It is a great workout, yes the sweat is great too! seems like I see more definition now in 2 weeks than i did in the last 6 months of low impact.

I recommend everyone stay on the HIIT and advance yourself as you go along. I do 5 days a week because I need to lower body fat, but looks like a maintenance level would be 2-3 days a week.

If anyone has any suggestions to help my program please reply to me!:)
 
Back
Top