What does the best kind of HIIT look like in terms of time resting/going all-out?

[siamesedream]

My cardio bike has this thing called the "Hill" profile, and it basically does moderate-intensity cardio for 8 minutes, then rests 1 minutes, then goes to a higher level for 1 minute, then rests for another minute, etc. until the last minute is absolutely all-out. I've been doing that program and bumping up the level on the last minute farther than the bike normally does and resting again for a minute and then cycling as fast I possibly can for 2 minutes and then using the last minute to cool down. Altogether it's 20 minutes. Is this an acceptable form of HIIT?

[Trainer Lynn]

HIIT is really anything where you go all out and then take rest periods. Everyone does it differently and that's fine. I say "as long as your moving..."

I prefer doing smaller intervals though. I like to go all out for 1-2 minutes and then go slow-medium for 1 minute. Then all out for 1-2 minutes and then slow-medium for 1 minute...until my 20-30 minutes is up.

I have found this works better for me and my body. 8 minutes of going all out seems a bit long to me. But that's just me

Lynn
http://www.strength-training-woman.com

[psychojoe]

you could try much smaller intervals - like sprint, for 10-20 seconds, which tbh is probably about as long as you could *sprint*. then jog for 30 seconds

What I did last time was to sprint the length of a "soccer" pitch, then jog back, and repeat 6 times

Just do it hard enough to feel sick and feel out of breath for hours, HARDCORE!!!!

[dirty-jersey]

I prefer to to HIIT on a gym bike because you can go as hard as possible without worry about falling off one of those ****in tread mills. When I do Max-OT cardio (very similar to HIIT) I do about 16 minutes of all out cardio 80%++.

Remember...Its not hardcore unless you throw up. =D

[A-man]

I prefer to to HIIT on a gym bike because you can go as hard as possible without worry about falling off one of those ****in tread mills. When I do Max-OT cardio (very similar to HIIT) I do about 16 minutes of all out cardio 80%++.

Remember...Its not hardcore unless you throw up. =D

I do the same, just curious as to what resistance you use and whether or not you perform intervals

??

[dirty-jersey]

Well the other day on the bike I did the "Hill Plus" profile. On the bikes we have the resistance goes from 5-60. The other day I did it on the "10" level out of "60" and I thought I was gonna die. Tomorrow I am going to try it on 5. =\

[Canadian Iron]

you could try much smaller intervals - like sprint, for 10-20 seconds, which tbh is probably about as long as you could *sprint*. then jog for 30 seconds

What I did last time was to sprint the length of a "soccer" pitch, then jog back, and repeat 6 times

Just do it hard enough to feel sick and feel out of breath for hours, HARDCORE!!!!

Bump to that. For me sprinting is the best form of HIIT, most machines just aren't as effective at being able to go "all out".
I did some soccer field sprints last night, love them.

"When it comes to cutting you up and promoting a nutrient-partitioning milieu conducive to building and maintaining a lean, muscular physique, sprinting simply cannot be beat. A simple look at competitive athletics demonstrates this pretty clearly."
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/par46.htm

http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/hiit_aerobics.htm

[dirty-jersey]

Yesterday in class ( I am taking a wellness and exercise class as a requirement) my professor said that intense cardio is not as good as a long slow cardio session, because you burn more fat when you go "low and slow". Is there any truth to this?

I need to blast some fat while bulking and it would be good to know which is superior. (yes I do know you can not get shredded during a bulk)

[Canadian Iron]

Yesterday in class ( I am taking a wellness and exercise class as a requirement) my professor said that intense cardio is not as good as a long slow cardio session, because you burn more fat when you go "low and slow". Is there any truth to this?

I need to blast some fat while bulking and it would be good to know which is superior. (yes I do know you can not get shredded during a bulk)

Your professer is somewhat right. Medium intensity cardio does burn more fat while you are doing the cardio. High intensity interval cardio burns more fat in the hours after doing th cardio because it revs up your metabolism. Overall the high intensity is much more effective.