How do you do your HIIT cardio in the gym?

[egeorgeh3]

My new (since October) gym doesn't have cross ramps. I loved those for HIIT sessions. They're a cross between a stairmaster and elliptical. Smooth motion and no handles swinging back and forth and getting in my way. The elliptical seems uncomfortable for sprints. Do you sprint on the treadmills? I've done the bike but it's a little hard on the butt if you know what I mean. I'm not usually wearing bike shorts when i lft. I've also done the semi-recumbent bike but my hammies give out before the rest of me does. Can't wait for warmer weather so I can sprint outside. Most fields are covered with snow or mud right now. Sprinting on pavement gives me shin splints. Wah wah wah, I know. if you've done something in the gym that's worked for you, I'd love to hear it. My once a week hockey game counts but I want to blast some belly fat the rest of the week - even after some lifting sessions.

[chrisbute]

I do sprints on a treadmill or track for HIIT's training. Also doing the hill program on a treadmill is a form of HIIT. If you only have access to an Elliptical, just increase the resistance. I don't "sprint" on the elliptical, but try to keep at 160 Strides/minute normally and 120 strides/minute when I increase the resistance.

Hope that helps....

[CapitalJay]

I actually use an elliptical at the gym for HIIT. I increase the resistance to the max and then do 5-10 x 20seconds max effort (~280 strides/minute) / 40seconds recovery (>100 strides/minute). Of course I warm up and cool down properly.

I prefer to do HIIT at home on my bike (road bike with a resistance unit mounted for indoor use). The bikes at the gym don't fit right.

[egeorgeh3]

I actually use an elliptical at the gym for HIIT. I increase the resistance to the max and then do 5-10 x 20seconds max effort (~280 strides/minute) / 40seconds recovery (>100 strides/minute). Of course I warm up and cool down properly.

I prefer to do HIIT at home on my bike (road bike with a resistance unit mounted for indoor use). The bikes at the gym don't fit right.

That's cool! I'm assuming a bike shop would carry a resistance unit? I could use my road bike on off days.

[chodan9]

I actually use an elliptical at the gym for HIIT. I increase the resistance to the max and then do 5-10 x 20seconds max effort (~280 strides/minute) / 40seconds recovery (>100 strides/minute). Of course I warm up and cool down properly.

thats exactly what I do when doing HIIT, only i dont max out the resistance.
I keep it between 10-12, i try to get 20 minutes of that in before a few minutes of cool down

[domineaux]

Depends on how hard you want to push it.

I use treadmill. I run the speed up for 1 minute then I drop the speed for 1 minute and so on.

Sometimes I don't feel like running so I push the speed to about 4+ MPH and back off to 3+MPH in one minute intervals and I just walk. Oh, I elevate the treadmill to keep higher work rate very close to higher speed running.

You don't need but about 20 minutes of this kind of work to get results.

Workrate and/or speed should be high enough to build Oxygen debt that should be your goal. Then you bring down speed/workrate regularly to improve recovery from Oxygen debt.

The faster you recover the more you can increase speed/workrate.

[FitIron]

My new (since October) gym doesn't have cross ramps. I loved those for HIIT sessions. They're a cross between a stairmaster and elliptical. Smooth motion and no handles swinging back and forth and getting in my way. The elliptical seems uncomfortable for sprints. Do you sprint on the treadmills? I've done the bike but it's a little hard on the butt if you know what I mean. I'm not usually wearing bike shorts when i lft. I've also done the semi-recumbent bike but my hammies give out before the rest of me does. Can't wait for warmer weather so I can sprint outside. Most fields are covered with snow or mud right now. Sprinting on pavement gives me shin splints. Wah wah wah, I know. if you've done something in the gym that's worked for you, I'd love to hear it. My once a week hockey game counts but I want to blast some belly fat the rest of the week - even after some lifting sessions.

Ellyptical Machine

20 Minutes

Warm up the first 5 minutes, level 3-5. Stride pace is about 140-165 per minute.

The next 15 minutes is a 10-30 sec sprint ( depending on current condition ) every 2.5 minutes.

When sprinting increase your level of difficulty from the resting rate of levels 3-5 up to between 7-14, again this depends on your conditioning.

At the end of the 5 minute warm up I perform my first sprint for 30 secs at a stride pace of 235-250 per minute, at level 12.

Usually I've got my wind and pace towards the end and I will sprint at level 14, maintaining a stride pace of 225-230 per minute...

I've tested the difference between various machines, and I consistanly burn better than a 100 calories or more on the Ellyptical than the others in the same time period of 20 minutes...

[ectoBgone]

You live in MA so you should have a plethora of ice rinks in your vicinity. Put on a pair of hockey skates and go as hard as you can to each line, stop, and go back. It's a killer cardio workout!

[Most Muscular]

I keep my resistance on the eliptical very low (this is a cardio session NOT a workout session) so I be sure to move my legs as fast as they can go during the high intensity part. I go at a moderate pace (probably faster than most people do most of the time) for about 45-50 seconds and then my legs become a blur for 10-15 seconds. I do this for 20 minutes in the morning. That's my only cardio.

Since January I have dropped about 15 pounds of FAT. I have a six pack and feel great. Of course my diet has changed also... I just lowered my carb intake and presto... a new lean me.

And no, I am NOT planning a comeback. I just wanted to get into shape for the show I will be promoting and try and go through what my competitors are struggling with. Surprisingly I have not struggled with this cut.

This last weekend I held a free posing seminar for bodybuilders and to tell you the truth I was in better shape than 90% of them... so I did not take off my shirt.

I am a big believer in HIT cardio sessions... they've worked great for me so far!

nuff said...

[FitIron]

I keep my resistance on the eliptical very low (this is a cardio session NOT a workout session) so I be sure to move my legs as fast as they can go during the high intensity part. I go at a moderate pace (probably faster than most people do most of the time) for about 45-50 seconds and then my legs become a blur for 10-15 seconds. I do this for 20 minutes in the morning. That's my only cardio.

Since January I have dropped about 15 pounds of FAT. I have a six pack and feel great. Of course my diet has changed also... I just lowered my carb intake and presto... a new lean me.

And no, I am NOT planning a comeback. I just wanted to get into shape for the show I will be promoting and try and go through what my competitors are struggling with. Surprisingly I have not struggled with this cut.

This last weekend I held a free posing seminar for bodybuilders and to tell you the truth I was in better shape than 90% of them... so I did not take off my shirt.

I am a big believer in HIT cardio sessions... they've worked great for me so far!

nuff said...

Looks like an excellent routine!!

[namtrag]

Exercise bike

1 minute at 80-90% max heart rate
2 minutes at half the level needed to achieve the 80-90%

repeat 10 times for a total of 30 minutes

[fibesdrummer]

Rowing Machine HIIT

[AlexNJ]

Rowing Machine HIIT

Emphatic x2

[Hound53]

I do the tread mill and vary the incline and speed manually while monitoring the heart rate to take it up to 145 for 2 minutes then down to 110 for 2 minutes.

[egeorgeh3]

You live in MA so you should have a plethora of ice rinks in your vicinity. Put on a pair of hockey skates and go as hard as you can to each line, stop, and go back. It's a killer cardio workout!

Suicides are awesome. I skate in a weekly pick-up game but I'll have to see how busy public skating is. Not sure if they frown upon someone doing suicides during public skates . Might accidentally run down a second grader.

Thanks for all the replies. I'll give the elliptical a little more work and get the resistance right.