HiiT or Reguar Cardio

[BornReady86]

hey guys im new here! basically my goal is to lose the fat around the middle of my body (i'm and endomorph). I've been lifting weights for about 5 months or so, and running for about a year and have lost around 30 pounds in all.

Basically i want to know what kind of cardio i should do......HIIT for 15 mins or Regular paced Cardio for 40 mins? I've done both on and off, but never really stuck with the HIIT too long....maybe about 6 weeks i did it. BTW i run on an elliptical machine because of my bad knees. Any adivce would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

[BornReady86]

and my diet has been pretty clean for the most part...I'm eating about 2200 cals a day.

[UCFknight84]

both.

alternating between HIIT and regular cardio is the most effective way to lose fat so your body doesnt get used to what your doing

a recommended schedule to go by
monday-hiit
tuesday-cardio/weights
wednesday-hiit
thursday-cardio/weights
friday-break-
saturday-hiit
sunday-cardio/weights/break

[FARTMAN]

Yup, it doesn't have to be or....

Do both. What you're doing is your incorporating HIIT into your regular workout routines.

More info here http://www.best-abs-exercises.com/burn-stomach-fat.html

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http://www.best-abs-exercises.com/

[plateau_max]

HIIT can be difficult to stick with because it's so ungodly exhausting.... which in fact is exactly why you DO need to stick with it. The thing about extended cardio (30 minutes or more) is that it's very easy to let yourself get complacent and not really challenge yourself to your full potential.

HIIT fixes the challenge portion because no matter what your abilities the idea is that you are to put forth 100% effort. If you're always doing 100%, you'll always continue to progress.

The answer is still "both" though, the extended cardio will keep your Type 1 muscles in check, and the shear number of calories you burn will further help you keep fat off. Remember always that the best way to stay in shape is to be as diverse as possible with your workouts, both with weights and cardio.

[BornReady86]

i dont know if i have the time to do cardio and weights on the same day (school/work) but if i was just going to stick with one of the cardios, HIIT 3x a week with a caloric deficit would be the way to go? i've hit a plateau at 210 for the last month....and have actually seen my weight increase by about 5 pounds over the past 2 weeks.

[Lil Freek]

I always found that doing HIIT after my workouts was favorable.

After my workout, I just wanna get out of the gym, so 15min of HIIT and I'm BURNT, completely tapped... which is what I want.
On cardio days, I just switch it up. 20min on bike, 20min on stairmaster, 20-45min on treadmill.

[BornReady86]

so would this be OK?

Monday: HIIT
Tuesday: Weights - Chest, Triceps, Legs
Wednesday: HIIT
Thursday: Weights - Lats, Biceps, Middle Back
Friday: HIIT
Saturday: Weights - Shoulders, Traps, Lower Back
Sunday: Off Day.

and its suggested i still do a low intensity cardio on my weight training days?

[CommoSoldier]

So I have been wanting to do some HIIT training of my own but dont really know where to start. What is a good starting excercise? I run outside usually around 2 miles a day and alternate that with running up a steep hill about 5 times. So would a good HIIT excercise be something like 60, 120s? Sprint 60 seconds, jog 120 seconds, alternate for like 15 minutes? I just need to go at least 2 miles and concentrate on getting faster.

[Lil Freek]

sprint shouldn't last more than 30sec... if you can sprint more than 30sec, you're not sprinting hard enough.

[UCFknight84]

I disagree Lil Freek

especially if your on a treadmill, a 60 second sprint would be great since you can control how fast you can go

Whats been working for me is a 15 minute light jog (if i didnt do weights before) and then sprint for 60 on 9.0 treadmill speedthen very light jog for 60 on 4.0 treadmill speed repeat 5x.

commo for your weight jogging for 120 secs during ur hiit sounds fine to me

[UCFknight84]

so would this be OK?

Monday: HIIT
Tuesday: Weights - Chest, Triceps, Legs
Wednesday: HIIT
Thursday: Weights - Lats, Biceps, Middle Back
Friday: HIIT
Saturday: Weights - Shoulders, Traps, Lower Back
Sunday: Off Day.

and its suggested i still do a low intensity cardio on my weight training days?

that looks good, but if you find yourself fatigue by friday give your body a break and rest that day.

and yes i suggest you still do low intensity even on weight training days for 40 mins, if you could do low intensity pre breakfast and weight training in the afternoon/night that would give you the best results.

I also recommend that before you hit the weights to go on the treadmill for 5 mins a medium intensity jog and get your heartbeat up and RIGHT after your done with the jog go straight to your weight training.

[ponshoe]

HiiT + LISS + Medium Intensity = Success!

a mix of them its always the answer no matter of what, at least for my body.

[Antz1980]

Try this out.


If u can get to a 400 metre running track, jog around as a warm up then simple sprint 100 metres then walk/jog 100 metres. If this is the first time you've done, you'll definately feel it by the end of the 2nd lap.


You really want to focus on intensity. If you can still walk or you haven't vomited after 15mins, you haven't gone hard enough. You really need to hit those 100 metre sprints as hard as you can for it to be effective.


EDIT: I do this once a week. I also jog for 30mins for 2 other days in the week.

[soopamyko]

I found HIIT in the morning is effective for myself.

then i hit weights in the evening and another session of cardio after the weights..paced cardio that is...

again this has been effective to me..
but ill switch up the HIIT and the paced cardio here and there.

[nghall]

I do both, and have had good results. Heres my routine:
M: Chest/Tricep AM, 6k Run PM.
T: 15 mins HIIT
W: Back/Bicep AM, 6k Run PM
T: 15 mins HIIT
F: Legs/Shoulders AM, Off.
S: Off
S: 6k Run (Depending on how my legs are feeling)

I think the main advice I'd give is don't over do it. Easy yourself in slowly. When I was running 10k combined with HIIT, my knees started to give me a bit of trouble - though I believe this partly to be because I was trail running at quite a fast pace - I try to control my pace to make it slower now.

[jimsmith9999]

so would this be OK?

Monday: HIIT
Tuesday: Weights - Chest, Triceps, Legs
Wednesday: HIIT
Thursday: Weights - Lats, Biceps, Middle Back
Friday: HIIT
Saturday: Weights - Shoulders, Traps, Lower Back
Sunday: Off Day.

and its suggested i still do a low intensity cardio on my weight training days?

I would consider an alternate split if I were you that dedicates a day to legs.