First Experience with HIIT

[mojo85]

Well i broke down and decided to try HIIT for my cardio. I run around my neighbourhood (1.3km circle) doing pole sprints (running balls out from one telephone pole to the next, then walking to the next, then spring at the next..etc..) and wow, did this ever kill me. My sprints were maybe 6 seconds long but they were balls to the walls sprints for 2 laps. The whole thing lasted about 20 minutes and at the end i was dead, never on my 40 minute low intensity jogs have I had the sweat drip(im not a heavy sweater at all).

Anyway, it felt great, but I want to know if you think I went to hard. I mean i was pretty beat and was worried that since i was that tired that i tapped into my muscle protien and not just the fat, which im aiming to lose. Do you think this would have happened?? Afterwards I downed a shake then half hour later a 1/2 cup cottage cheese (mmmmm) before bed.

Also what should I eat and long before I run should i eat? Should the meal be carb heavy to fuel me though the run or little as possable to burn fat and the ones stored through the day?

[DerekB]

Your first couple of times you should be doing 5mins or so. HIIT is something you gradually add time (and rounds) to.

When I first did them, I did 30second sprints, 30second light jog, ect ect for 5 minutes.

The next workout is the same.

Every other workout you add one more round (30 sprint, 30 sec jog) until you get to about 20 minutes worth.

I never do more than 20 minutes of HIIT, as its unecessary and going longer may start muscle breakdown for energy.

Thats my advice. Dont want to just jump in and do the max amount of HIIT right away.

Also, make sure to not eat anything (creatine after workout is ok) for about 1 hr afterwards. Your body will still be looking for energy stores to replace vital nutrients you just depleted, and if you put anything in your stomach (protein carbs ect), it will use that instead of your fat stores.

[mojo85]

thanks for the advice. im not really new to HIIT, i should have said ive done it before, but not committed like i am now. I would maybe do it once a week or 2 weeks, just whenever i needed a change. I noticed though that my long jogs dont seem to cut it so im putting the HIIT in full term. I also tried to jog between sets but after a few burns its pretty damn hard Is there an approx. time range where you stop burning carbs/fat and start on the protiens? say after 20 min. or whatever.

ive also heard a banana an hour before you run can help u avoid cramps, maybe the potassium in it, true or false?

Annnnd Gotcha, no food or shake until after an hour, just my normal regular water bottle.

[DerekB]

Originally posted by mojo85
thanks for the advice. im not really new to HIIT, i should have said ive done it before, but not committed like i am now. I would maybe do it once a week or 2 weeks, just whenever i needed a change. I noticed though that my long jogs dont seem to cut it so im putting the HIIT in full term. I also tried to jog between sets but after a few burns its pretty damn hard Is there an approx. time range where you stop burning carbs/fat and start on the protiens? say after 20 min. or whatever.

ive also heard a banana an hour before you run can help u avoid cramps, maybe the potassium in it, true or false?

Annnnd Gotcha, no food or shake until after an hour, just my normal regular water bottle.

Its ok to have something (and good idea) in your stomach for HIIT sessions imo. Especially the ones over 5 minutes. It gives your body some instantaneous energy, and avoids cramps. You are really using alot of energy doing HIIT so its a good idea to have some simple sugars in your stomach for your body to grab as it needs so you dont get cramps, and dont feel weak and or woosy.

Just a small amount so its pretty much gone when your workout is over. 1 bannana, or 1 pint of gatorade seems to do the trick just fine. I do one or the other 30mins before my session.

[master_no_name]

isint 20 mins way too long for a first hiit>?

[sculli]

Originally posted by DerekB
Your first couple of times you should be doing 5mins or so. HIIT is something you gradually add time (and rounds) to.

When I first did them, I did 30second sprints, 30second light jog, ect ect for 5 minutes.

The next workout is the same.

Every other workout you add one more round (30 sprint, 30 sec jog) until you get to about 20 minutes worth.

I never do more than 20 minutes of HIIT, as its unecessary and going longer may start muscle breakdown for energy.

Thats my advice. Dont want to just jump in and do the max amount of HIIT right away.

Also, make sure to not eat anything (creatine after workout is ok) for about 1 hr afterwards. Your body will still be looking for energy stores to replace vital nutrients you just depleted, and if you put anything in your stomach (protein carbs ect), it will use that instead of your fat stores.

I do it the same exact way.

[DerekB]

Originally posted by master_no_name
isint 20 mins way too long for a first hiit>?

Yes. But he mentioned later that he's done it before; although personally, I suggest starting out at the beginning every HIIT cycle you do.

[sculli]

Originally posted by DerekB
Yes. But he mentioned later that he's done it before; although personally, I suggest starting out at the beginning every HIIT cycle you do.

Yeah, I've done several HITT cycles over the last couple of years and I always start off with 5 minutes and work my way up to 20 minutes over several weeks.

[I.B.V.King]

Originally posted by DerekB
Your first couple of times you should be doing 5mins or so. HIIT is something you gradually add time (and rounds) to.

When I first did them, I did 30second sprints, 30second light jog, ect ect for 5 minutes.

The next workout is the same.

Every other workout you add one more round (30 sprint, 30 sec jog) until you get to about 20 minutes worth.

I never do more than 20 minutes of HIIT, as its unecessary and going longer may start muscle breakdown for energy.

Thats my advice. Dont want to just jump in and do the max amount of HIIT right away.

Also, make sure to not eat anything (creatine after workout is ok) for about 1 hr afterwards. Your body will still be looking for energy stores to replace vital nutrients you just depleted, and if you put anything in your stomach (protein carbs ect), it will use that instead of your fat stores.

cool awesome advice i never knew that, like an idiot i assumed my muscles would be depleted after HIIT, so any food i took in would go to recovery... how did you arrive to 30 seconds as a figure? whats a correct ratio of high intensity to low/rest intensity? what i do is i sprint all out for like 20 seconds, then jog/walk for 40 seconds... i like that because it works out to 1 minute per set, so its easy to count where i am... and about the intensity, if you sprint all out like i do, do you find that towards the end, your muscles are no longer as fast, and you basically are at running speed instead of sprinting speed?

when im done, i got aching leg muscles its like i had a friggin workout, which is why i instinctively eat right after...

[mojo85]

but with my cycle (only thing I really can do now, its the most convienent, already have telephone poles and such) has to last longer. My sprints are only say 5 or 6 seconds, and then maybe a 30 second walk, after 5 minutes im pretty much fine but after 20 is a different story.

[DerekB]

Originally posted by mojo85
but with my cycle (only thing I really can do now, its the most convienent, already have telephone poles and such) has to last longer. My sprints are only say 5 or 6 seconds, and then maybe a 30 second walk, after 5 minutes im pretty much fine but after 20 is a different story.

Personally, I'd suggest you not use telephone poles to measure when to alternate, since sprinting will obviously be much less time.

Just grab a cheap watch with a timer on it (or just a watch), and use 30 second intervals. You dont want such short sprints, and much longer walks.

Sprint 30 secs
JOG (not walk) 30 secs.

Thats my advice. Just try that for a week and see what a difference it makes :P

[DerekB]

Originally posted by I.B.V.King
cool awesome advice i never knew that, like an idiot i assumed my muscles would be depleted after HIIT, so any food i took in would go to recovery... how did you arrive to 30 seconds as a figure? whats a correct ratio of high intensity to low/rest intensity? what i do is i sprint all out for like 20 seconds, then jog/walk for 40 seconds... i like that because it works out to 1 minute per set, so its easy to count where i am... and about the intensity, if you sprint all out like i do, do you find that towards the end, your muscles are no longer as fast, and you basically are at running speed instead of sprinting speed?

when im done, i got aching leg muscles its like i had a friggin workout, which is why i instinctively eat right after...

After workouts (lifting) you do want to give your muscles lots of nutrition. After HIIT, however, since its high intensity, your body continues its burning of energy for about 1 hour afterwards, even though your workouts are much shorter. You want it to use your fat stores as much as possible.

After 1 hour, you should have a nice balanced carb/protein/fat meal (or a MRP).

As for the 30second/ 30 second, I just found that it works the best that way. You just go all out for 30 seconds, and yes you do slow down a little at the end but you are still going all out, and then slow it down for 30 seconds ect.

I personally can barely walk at the end of my HIIT, and feel like I may fall over if I try to walk to fast; and hell if I'll go anywhere near a staircase or car right afterwards :P

[mojo85]

how often would you say to do it? Once every other day? 4-5 times a week?

[DerekB]

Originally posted by mojo85
how often would you say to do it? Once every other day? 4-5 times a week?

3 times a week is what I do. You can do it 4-5 times a week if you really want to. Make sure to do it at least 8hrs apart from your lifting if you do any on the same day.

[youthman]

Hey bro I got this advice from another post, you should read it before you do the empty stomach before and after cardio thing, especially HIIT. Alan seems to be extremely knowledgeable I would at least read his post in the link below as well as the other article and then make a more informed decision. Just trying to share what I thought was great reading.

holy crap you must hate your muscle
what you do, creates the perfect muscle burning enviroment

this empty stomach cardio thing, and not eating an hour after your workout have to be 2 of the MOST ANNOYING myths EVER!, they just dont seem to die
i mean at least people arent going on about how fruit is evil anymore, but this cardio thing never goes away!!

read alan's posts in this thread....
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...threadid=287373

and read this article (both parts!)
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/satter2.htm

[DerekB]

Originally posted by youthman
Hey bro I got this advice from another post, you should read it before you do the empty stomach before and after cardio thing, especially HIIT. Alan seems to be extremely knowledgeable I would at least read his post in the link below as well as the other article and then make a more informed decision. Just trying to share what I thought was great reading.

I never train on an empty stomach. I do, however, eat a meal after 1 hr after finishing HIIT. All lifting days are immediately followed by a MRP and creatine.

I also eat right after regular cardio, but not after my HIIT. In fact, after I'm done with my HIIT, I usually just walk around for 30 mins since I continue to sweat (workout still affecting my body).

Then I take a shower, and prepare my food for my 'after workout' meal. Takes about 1hr total.

The first link isn't working btw.