Questions regarding my HIIT training

T

TekToN

0
Hey there. I just have a few questions concerning my HIIT training. This is my routine.

I do HIIT training every 2-3 days
1 Mile warm up jog
10-15 x 160 yard 90-100% sprints (very very exhausting) with about a minute or so rest between them. (10-15 sprints depends how I feel)
1 mile cool down jog

(takes in total about 40 minutes ish)

Also, it's worth noting, the days I DON'T do HIIT training I jog for about anywhere for 5-8 miles. I know it's probably not necessary, but I -truly- love running, it helps me clear my mind.

Anyways, my question is... is 160 yard sprint too far for interval training? I typically am just absolutely drained after about 7 but I push through because I think that's when it does the most good, but who knows.

Does jogging as often as I do and as far as I do slow down my metabolism, or is it counterproductive when I mix HIIT and long jogs throughout the week?
 
Well your classic HIIT workout should only last about 25mins in total.

and your sprints should last about 1min at max speed, then job for 1-2 mins. not complete rest.
 
Elan said:
Well your classic HIIT workout should only last about 25mins in total.

and your sprints should last about 1min at max speed, then job for 1-2 mins. not complete rest.
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well I was including the 2 miles cool/warm up jogs when I said 40 minutes.

And I'm just going to be honest. This has always bothered me. I would absolutely love to see someone sprint MAX speed 10-15 times for SIXTY seconds then continue to jog. I don't know what you mean by max speed, but I get up and just over 21 miles per hour each sprint and after about my 3rd or 4th sprint I can hardly stand and hold myself up. I question what "max" speed is, and if someone can run balls to the wall absolutely 100%, everything they have, for a 60 seconds even more than just once then again after a 'cool down' jog, I would be insanely impressed.

I don't run my sprints like a "fast run", but more like I'm running a 40 at a combine, I puke about every other HIIT session. I KNOW I wouldn't be near as fast, nor would I get my heart rate near as high, if I did that method of jogging between. That's just my honest opinion.
 
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well if you cant complete the workout without puking then your going too fast.

your max speed is somthing you have to work out. knowing your body and learning to pace yourself is just as important as fitness.

learn to run at a speed you can maintain for 60seconds and continue to walk fast/jog afterwards. your workout will obviously get progresivly harder and if you time it perfectly, you will be totally pooped on your last high intensity interval.

It sounds like your being pretty silly. running so fast you make yourself ill is not a good idea, and if you think for any reason that it is, then maybe you should be talking to a doctor.
 
Elan said:
well if you cant complete the workout without puking then your going too fast.

your max speed is somthing you have to work out. knowing your body and learning to pace yourself is just as important as fitness.

learn to run at a speed you can maintain for 60seconds and continue to walk fast/jog afterwards. your workout will obviously get progresivly harder and if you time it perfectly, you will be totally pooped on your last high intensity interval.

It sounds like your being pretty silly. running so fast you make yourself ill is not a good idea, and if you think for any reason that it is, then maybe you should be talking to a doctor.
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Well, i understand what you are saying, and in-part agree. But I don't have to tell you that puking from working hard is completely different than growing 'ill' puking.

As for max speed. It seems pretty straight forward to me. "MAX" means maximum, as in VERY TOP SPEED. Not 80% not 93.43 % but 100%. Obviously, if I were to get light headed or something to that magnitude, i'd call it quits, but I have yet to hit that barrier.

And you are right I suppose. What I'm doing isn't traditional HIIT training, it's more like sprints at your sports teams conditioning at the end of practice. I think both are very beneficial, I personally believe what I am doing, is better, at least, to get your heart rate up. And I am totally pooped after honestly probably 4 or so, but If you never push yourself you never grow, breaking barriers is apart of fitness, as we all know. But I def. see what you are saying...
 
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All depends on the individual in my opinion. Our bodies are so different form person to person on a metabolic level that it is hard to have a canned program for everybody. The trick here is to maximize the benefits of your cardio and trigger the metabolic response of your body to burn extra calories for the next 24 hours. That's what HIIT is really great for but again that response varies from person to person. I am not sure what your goals are but I would not overdo your cardio workouts as this will up your cortisol levels and start eating into your muscles reducing your metabolic rate. Personally I do HIIT for no more that 25 min with 60 sec intervals between run and jog. My cardio is 40% of my overall training with weight lifting being the remaining 60%. Maintaining or increasing of the muscle mass is the key to higher metabolic rate and weight loss.
 
Elan said:
If that was true then that would be how pros would do it. they dont.
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Believe it or not, I don't need a professional to take MY heart rate after jogging then paced sprinting intervals in comparison to dead sprinting to determine which gets my HR higher. I can do THAT on my own.
 
Ok then, you know best. I'll start a fresh.


TekToN said:
Anyways, my question is... is 160 yard sprint too far for interval training?

Does jogging as often as I do and as far as I do slow down my metabolism, or is it counterproductive when I mix HIIT and long jogs throughout the week?
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1 - No, as long as you can complete your workout without being sick. do not rest fully, walk fast between the high intensity periods.

2 - No, any exercise will rase your metabolism. however, your CNS will be taking a miassive hit. if you have been doing this for more than a couple of weeks I would suggest you take a FULL 4 DAYS REST. And no less.
You'll notice a vast improvement when you resume.

You can train every day and if you are only doing it to 'clear your mind' then it wont matter that you are not improving at your full potential.

You would improve faster if you stuck to a good program which included weight training and HIIT.
What are your goals? sport improvment? weightloss etc...
 
Elan said:
Ok then, you know best. I'll start a fresh.




1 - No, as long as you can complete your workout without being sick. do not rest fully, walk fast between the high intensity periods.

2 - No, any exercise will rase your metabolism. however, your CNS will be taking a miassive hit. if you have been doing this for more than a couple of weeks I would suggest you take a FULL 4 DAYS REST. And no less.
You'll notice a vast improvement when you resume.

You can train every day and if you are only doing it to 'clear your mind' then it wont matter that you are not improving at your full potential.

You would improve faster if you stuck to a good program which included weight training and HIIT.
What are your goals? sport improvment? weightloss etc...
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Hey thanks for the response. In part sports improvement, I'm on the university Freesbie team and play recreational volley ball, football, and basketball so that would be nice. But I'm basically doing it to burn body fat and get my abs to show though and look even leaner.
 
TekToN said:
But I'm basically doing it to burn body fat and get my abs to show though and look even leaner.
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Well in that case you really want to get yourself into some weight training. bodyweight if you dont have access to a gym. there is loads of info on here.

If you have plenty of time to exercise i would suggest doing full body workouts and HIIT.
work 5 days in a row and have 2 full rest days a week.

day 1 - FBW (full body workout)
day 2 - HIIT
day 3 - FBW
day 4 - HIIT
day 5 - FBW
day 6 + 7 - rest
day 8 - HIIT
day 9 - FBW
day 10 - HIIT
day 11 - FBW
day 12 - HIIT
day 13 +14 rest
 
Here's my take on HIIT.... to state what alwyn cosgrove mentions... an 'interval' can be as long as several miles... because alwyn cosgrove has articles about a different philosophy of running hard intervals... and to sum up, some of the intervals are for endurance athletes who run long road races... and he states he break up the distance of the race by three of four... which equals several miles... and to do that at 100% is HIIT... just a long interval at 100%..

To answer your question... 160 yards is not too long.. it may be just right, or may be way too short... it all depends on what you are trying to do.
 
i think people get mixed up between HIIT (high intensity interval training) and just simple interval/fartlek training.
interval/fartlek is were you run a certain distance and during that run you do faster intervals
HIIT is short sprints (all out) with short rest periods (usually active recovery walking etc).
 
I guess my response is this... and not to say I'm right or wrong....and definitely not looking for an argument... but what defines an interval? and then the intensity at different lengths makes this tough. One truly can't keep up the same speed for a true 60m or 100m? 60m and 100m are two completely different distances.... as long as I'm going 100%, or near it... that's high intensity(in my mind)... I try to achieve the same intensity for whatever length interval achieving the same fatigue level whether I'm doing my sprints or my miles...

Food for thought. Just my take.
 
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