I'm posting this in "losing fat" cause this is what people who are serious about losing fat should be doing imo.
I've been doing HIIT type exercises irregularily all my life. Lately i've been doing it like 5 times a week. I feel that i'm in a position of enough experience to share some helpful things I use when doing this not only physical, but mental exercise. Why is it mental? Well, if you are doing it by yourself it is extremely easy to cheat yourself. Even when you have someone yelling at you (a coach) they don't know for sure if you're really goin 100%. To get the best results of HIIT having the mental mindset to push yourself that extra 10seconds can make a HUUUGE difference. I'll make this as simple as possible to read so I'll give my tips in an itemized fashion I hope this helps someone. You won't find any physical tips, all mental preparation here.
-If you want to make sure you start your interval with all your effort. Before you start, remind yourself clearly why the hell you are even doing this in the first place. When i'm about to do my dashes, I grab my love handles and think in my head.."awww hells no..this **** has to go"
-Now, all kinds of things are goin through you head when you are panting, huffing and puffing, but through the entire interval I paint A SOLID picture of what I'd like to look like in the future after all this hard work. This might not work for some but man this keeps me running as hard at then end as i did at the beggining.
-when you are walking/jogging or on your lower interval part of the exercise...if you can..TALK to yourself. I do it under my breath. I say things like...yeah good one!!..or this **** is easy...or i could do better on the next one...or imma get ripped off this ****. Encourage , critque...just say something to get you hyped up. When you do this you are programming your brain to believe you can do the **** you are saying. read "burn the fat, feed the muscle" if you don't believe me.
-Before you even step onto the track, elliptical, whatever!! imagine completing the exercise successfully before you even start it...i do this all the time.
-One that works HELLA good for me is thinking about how guilty and stupid and weak i'll feel if i finish my workout knowing i didn't give it my all. Tell yourself your gains and results will be delayed if you half ass it. You just wasted your time, afterall...aren't we doing HIIT to save time?
-If you play sports this applies to you. You like soccer? do your hiit on a soccer field somehow...you like basketball? run liners on the court (what i do )...you like football? do your HIIT on a football field. If u've been on a team before u'll feel like your on it and you are competing, if you don't...then try to feel that way. Works wonders for me.
-Try to do a HIIT that you find FUN..omg this is a big one for me. I would never go to the gym and HIIT on a bicycle or any machine for that matter( my personal opinion sorry), why? cause i find it boring and the odds of me working hard as hell on it would go down.
Well these are the ones i can think of, it you guys have others i'd like to hear them as well. Personally i LOVE HIIT cause it challenges you and boy do you see some quick gains in your stamina. You become instantly more athletic, and plus you get the crazy looks on the track people pass you and think you are lazy but then a second after you zooooom right by them lol.
Ok i'm back with some more (IMO) good mental/technical info on HIIT. I'm sure if you do HIIT u are always wondering if you really went all out? (unless you have a trainer/coach bitchin' at you the whole time..i'm sure u don't) I noticed that this type of exercise requires you to pay alot of attention to the intensity level. Here's a few things that I've picked up from experience and also read about from various sources. Hope this helps!
*Your answer better be "HELL YA!!" to most of these questions that you should continually ask yourself*
-Do you feel like no matter how hard you breath you are still suffocating for about 20-30seconds?
-Are you thinking "aww **** my rest time is up already? i'm not ready" when it's time to run/pedal/ect. hard?
-At the end, when you stand on you tip toes..do you feel your calves start to cramp up? (very situational)
-Are you blinded by your sweat? ...lol, i hate that
-in the middle of the interval or whole set do you feel your legs building up lactic acid ( i think this is very important ) as if you were doing high rep low weight squats
-(for HIIT on track people) Do you find yourself working just as hard to walk w/o falling down as running at max near the end.
*This one should be a "helllsss NO!!*
- A big one here...at the end...do you feel like you can do more? without half assing it?
With HIIT(IMO) for the best results it's good to treat it like lifting weight. When you do bench press you start to feel the burn on the 3rd or 4th rep right..but do you stop? NO! you typically stop when u barely can put the last one up right? Why should treat HIIT any differently. When i get on the track i don't set a time ...20min 25min, whatever(but works great for some)..i typically set a number of reps/intervals. On my 12th rep i'm crying and running the whole way till then end, as time goes on u increase it to 13,14,15 and so on. Actually if you find your reps getting to high, cut your rest time or concentrate on running faster..that'll do the trick. CRAP..i wrote physical stuff didn't I? oh well i hope this helps.
Good advice, I've always felt cardio is much much more mental than physical...if you put a gun to someones head they're gonna be able to run a lot farther than they normally think they can, its all about finding the motivation you need
Good advice, I've always felt cardio is much much more mental than physical...if you put a gun to someones head they're gonna be able to run a lot farther than they normally think they can, its all about finding the motivation you need
I picture a lean, ripped, version of me during my sprints. It helps me. When I do my HIIT in the neighborhood, what i have found helps, is choose a spot way out in the distance that seems like u could sprint there in about 30 seconds... Now, when your sprint comes, run to that spot as fast as u can, and picture a big angry dog behind u.. works for me lol
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Ok i'm back with some more (IMO) good mental/technical info on HIIT. I'm sure if you do HIIT u are always wondering if you really went all out? (unless you have a trainer/coach bitchin' at you the whole time..i'm sure u don't) I noticed that this type of exercise requires you to pay alot of attention to the intensity level. Here's a few things that I've picked up from experience and also read about from various sources. Hope this helps!
*Your answer better be "HELL YA!!" to most of these questions that you should continually ask yourself*
-Do you feel like no matter how hard you breath you are still suffocating for about 20-30seconds?
-Are you thinking "aww **** my rest time is up already? i'm not ready" when it's time to run/pedal/ect. hard?
-At the end, when you stand on you tip toes..do you feel your calves start to cramp up? (very situational)
-Are you blinded by your sweat? ...lol, i hate that
-in the middle of the interval or whole set do you feel your legs building up lactic acid ( i think this is very important ) as if you were doing high rep low weight squats
-(for HIIT on track people) Do you find yourself working just as hard to walk w/o falling down as running at max near the end.
*This one should be a "helllsss NO!!*
- A big one here...at the end...do you feel like you can do more? without half assing it?
With HIIT(IMO) for the best results it's good to treat it like lifting weight. When you do bench press you start to feel the burn on the 3rd or 4th rep right..but do you stop? NO! you typically stop when u barely can put the last one up right? Why should treat HIIT any differently. When i get on the track i don't set a time ...20min 25min, whatever(but works great for some)..i typically set a number of reps/intervals. On my 12th rep i'm crying and running the whole way till then end, as time goes on u increase it to 13,14,15 and so on. Actually if you find your reps getting to high, cut your rest time or concentrate on running faster..that'll do the trick. CRAP..i wrote physical stuff didn't I? oh well i hope this helps.
lol so true. when im done i feel like my legs (thighs esp.) are totally wasted. i like to swear/curse at the end of each sprint, makes me feel good haha
i just finished a 35 mintue HIIT session, i'm done.
another thing that helps me is if i'm listening to music i rap or scream along in my head(pretty much all i listen to while working out is pretty harsh stuff) and it just pushes me, or i think about something that gets me angry, example - kerri, ahh i'm doing another hiit right now!!!!!!!!!
j/k
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started a fat ass, lost 50 pounds now i'm bulking the f*** up
Oddly enough, 5 years out of high school, almost 6 outta football, but I can still think of my high school rivals to get enough hate to plow through my hiit days....
lol so true. when im done i feel like my legs (thighs esp.) are totally wasted. i like to swear/curse at the end of each sprint, makes me feel good haha
haha yea i cursed really loud on the last set i did the other day.. haha "**** **** **** ****" haha good one.. the act like dog chasing you is brilliant as well..i'll definately use that one!! haha
I love being blinded by sweat or my shirt being soppy wet after a workout or run. The last 100 or 200 yards I sprint is the best feeling when its over cause of NO QUIT!
I set my goal length wise before I start and no matter what happens I make that goal..stomach pains..sprain ankle...i know that sounds extreme and can even injure yourself but many times i started my run and within seconds i would get a sharp pain in my ankle and i just fight through it and within about 3 minutes its gone...I think most pain can be fought through and in the end you are the victor over yourself.
I am sure I like so many here welcome the pain because when its over there is no better HIGH than knowing you beat it.
One thing that I think of while I do HIIT is it is only 1 minute. I do intervals on the treadmill of running at 10mph than walking at 4mph. I do that for 20 minutes.
The reason I tell myself its ?only? one minute is because I always tell myself I can do ANYTHING for one minute.. Its only 60 seconds!
My first Boxing match I was so hyped and had a huge adrenaline rush going I was going so hard and I was gassing really bad. I than heard my coach screaming from my corner saying 1 minute!! Push your self!! you CAN do ANYTHING for 1 minute!
That has stuck with me to this day.
I go in with the mentality that it?s ONLY 1 minute. And I can do anything for only 1 minute.
MENTAL tips on doing HIIT(it's all in the head)
)...you like football? do your HIIT on a football field. If u've been on a team before u'll feel like your on it and you are competing, if you don't...then try to feel that way. Works wonders for me.
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