Cardio along with HIIT

[ShootTheMoon03]

So I'm doing HIIT roughly 3x per week with 25s sprinting - 30s rest for 10 intervals (working on going longer and less rest). But after warm-up this only amounts to about 15 minutes on the treadmill. I do HIIT on the days I don't do resistance training (and do 30 min of moderate cardio on the days that I weight lift) and I would like suggestions on what to do along with HIIT. I like doing cardio and would like to complete a full 60 minutes but after doing HIIT all other cardio routines seem to fall flat. Anyone have any good suggestions?

[kimm4]

Your post is confusing and it doesn't sound like you're doing true HIIT? What are your goals and why the idea of so much cardio??

[ShootTheMoon03]

I'm doing a 25 s interval at a sprint followed by a 30 s interval rest, and repeating 10 times (after warming up of course). I don't want to overtrain and do HIIT every day so I only do it three days a week, but I want to include cardio on the other days, mainly because I enjoy it and I like the way it makes me feel. I was just wondering if anyone had any recommendations on what type(s) of cardio would complement HIIT

[lSOFit]

I was under the impression HIIT was supposed to be longer intervals then just 25 and 30. but i may be wrong, I do HIIT 60 rest, 30 sprint, along with elipical or bike because i cannot stand the treadmill. I dont see why it matters what type of cardio your doing. cardio is cardio in my opinion

[gwnorth]

There are various protocols for HIIT, but the ultimate is 1:1 with :30s on and :30s recovery. Any more than :45s on though and it's not HIIT anymore, intervals yes, HIIT no. To work up to :30/:30 you can do 1:2 with :30s on and 1:00 off or even 1:3 with :30s on and 1:30 off. As your fitness improves, you reduce the rest interval. The key is to make sure you recover sufficiently to let you go all out again for :30s. Typically you would start with 6 reps and work your way up to 12. Regardless of how you structure your intervals, a typical session would include a warm up and a cool down at an easy pace. If you want to extend your HIIT session, fill it out with the same activity at a steady state pace after you've completed your intervals for however long you want to go.

Out of curiosity, how many days a week are you training legs because HIIT if done correctly places a big demand on your legs. Are you certain you are giving your legs sufficient recovery time between workouts?

[freebirdmac]

You posted in the fat loss section but said nothing about fat loss being a goal. Why?

[ShootTheMoon03]

I am doing HIIT three times per week, on the days I don't do resistance training. I do three days of resistance, three days of solely cardio and abs, and one day of rest per week (not in that order).

I posted it on the fat loss section because I'm working on losing a little bit more body fat and I wanted to know what a good cardio routine (besides just HIIT) would be for that along with the resistance training.

[freebirdmac]

I am doing HIIT three times per week, on the days I don't do resistance training. I do three days of resistance, three days of solely cardio and abs, and one day of rest per week (not in that order).

I posted it on the fat loss section because I'm working on losing a little bit more body fat and I wanted to know what a good cardio routine (besides just HIIT) would be for that along with the resistance training.

Now we're getting somewhere. You don't need any more cardio. Cardio does very little for fat loss. You can skip it completely. Fat loss is 80-85% diet followed by lifting. So if you're not losing, check your diet. If you are losing, have some patience.

What lifting routine are you doing and how long have you been doing it?

[ShootTheMoon03]

Now we're getting somewhere. You don't need any more cardio. Cardio does very little for fat loss. You can skip it completely. Fat loss is 80-85% diet followed by lifting. So if you're not losing, check your diet. If you are losing, have some patience.

What lifting routine are you doing and how long have you been doing it?

I am losing weight currently (yay!) and I can see the results in decreasing body fat (double yay!) due to my diet. I've been lifting twice a week for about 2 years now but I've just recently started to focus more on lifting and less on cardio. I lift 3 times a week (1 time upper body, 1 time lower body, 1 time full body) and always take my rest day after my lower body workout because my legs get pretty sore because I've just upped my focus and lifting over the past 2 weeks. I guess I was just wondering what to do besides HIIT and abs the other three days I workout (I only do abs twice a week though). Suggestions?

[freebirdmac]

I am losing weight currently (yay!) and I can see the results in decreasing body fat (double yay!) due to my diet. I've been lifting twice a week for about 2 years now but I've just recently started to focus more on lifting and less on cardio. I lift 3 times a week (1 time upper body, 1 time lower body, 1 time full body) and always take my rest day after my lower body workout because my legs get pretty sore because I've just upped my focus and lifting over the past 2 weeks. I guess I was just wondering what to do besides HIIT and abs the other three days I workout (I only do abs twice a week though). Suggestions?

What I'm saying is you don't need to do anything. Get out of the gym and have a life. Surely you have other interests

[ShootTheMoon03]

What I'm saying is you don't need to do anything. Get out of the gym and have a life. Surely you have other interests

Haha as a fourth year biochem major about to go to med school the gym is one of my few spaces to stop thinking and relax (my mind at least). But yay, good to know that my routine is a good idea

[SuperSaucy688]

Seems like she has some very strong love for cardio and thats a good thing, I mean like what shes trying to ask is if there is anything else besides HIIT on her non-cardio days, as of to swap HIIT with something else, you know keep the variety going, I can just easily name a few right here. Do some mma workouts, or circuit training, swimming, sports, badminton, baseball, um and sparring with friends as well! Also better yet go around kicking some other guys nuts for the fun of it, you got skydiving as well to look into(I never tried it but its fun from what I seen on youtube). Just have the best support you can get from elite professional skydive instructors. That way when you implement other things that'd be as good as HIIT you wont be hurting your legs much. Working out now a days is more scientific, psychological, and biologically strategizing. Its not just all grunt work, you can never run out of cardio ideas with alot of amazing actionable things to do;D. Pool is fun as hell too, I'm addicted to it dunno about you though

[JenMc14]

Honestly, you probably don't need more cardio. But, if you like it, why not try something new and fun? Take a hip hop class or kickboxing or try a new sport, join a volleyball league, etc.