ExRx.net

Hey everyone,

I would like to try the HIIT methods from the article sited: "Impact of Exercise Intensity on Body Fatness and Skeletal Muscle Metablism".

Here is the linkypoo:
http://www.exrx.net/FatLoss/HIITvsET.html

However, I am confused as to how many times a week I should perform the HIIT, and I am sure my questions will make me sound very silly, but here goes:

I know the article says " 25 continuous sessions; half completed before week 5"

So, does that mean HIIT training 2-3 times a week for the first five weeks, (10-15 Bouts) and then the remaining 15 weeks, 1 time per week? (10 + 15 Bouts = 25 sessions) I think I may have it right, but I am not sure.

Also, in the upper right box, the method reads:

"25 continuous sessions; half completed before week 5

Week 5-20: 19 long & 16 short interval sessions"

Altogether, that actually makes 60 sessions, not 25.


Could someone clear this up for me?

Thanks!

You're right, it is very confusing.



Does this mean "half of the subjects completed their 25 sessions before the fifth week"? I think it's saying they did 25 sessions in the first 5 weeks, and then 35 in the last 15 weeks.

2-3 times a week seems good; I always find it very hard to fit it in with all of the other things I do, especially weightlifting and competative sports.

Moved to the general board-TimD

With the help of a friend, Krista, who runs the super-cool website www.stumptuous.com, has helped me figure out what the article is saying:

"25 continuous sessions; half completed before week 5"
Thats two sessions a week, for the first 5 weeks.

"Initially 10 and later 15 bouts
15 seconds increasing to 30 seconds"

So, weeks 1-5, 2 sessions a week with the short intervals= 10

Weeks 5-20, 15 bouts, so that's one session a week. No?

"Bouts" meaning Intervals; i.e. first 15 second intervals, increasing to 30 second intervals, with rest intwevals that allow heart rate to return to 120 to 130 bpm.


However
"Week 5-20: 19 long & 16 short interval sessions" - this is still foggy.


If anyone here sees a flaw in this logic, please let me know!
All / any advice appreciated.

Well, I've tried to read it over and over, and it continues to bogle my mind. I can say this though, it was written by an exercicise physiologist, and some of us may not be able to follow the logic. Now, on the positive side, you mentionened Krista and Stumputuous. Great site. Supposedly for women by women, but men would gain a great deal of knowledge by going there. She's a regular over on Bryce's board, and can teach us guy's quite a lot
Tim

I think you should start with 30 second intervals at first and adjust it to how your body feels. I did 30 second intervals for my first 5 weeks. Then, one day, I just decided to try out doing 15 second intervals with the same amount of time. Since I'm mainly focused and shorter, faster sprints, I like 15 second intervals better because it lets me go all out every time, as opposed to pacing myself to an extent when there are 30 second intervals.

At one point this summer, I was doing sprints on my exercise bike where I would crank up the resistance and go all out. I started out doing 30 second sprints followed by 90 seconds of rest (rest = leisurely pace). I did that 8 times the first day, 9 times two days later, and 10 times two days after that. I thought I was going to die.

But the funny thing is when I bumped it up to 35/85 seconds of sprint/rest the next week, I cracked out 8 cycles without much trouble. I adapted to it that quickly. I eventually worked up to 45/75 and got better at it.

You don't have to start out excessive, but whatever you do start out with you should always keep an eye toward increasing your capacity just like you would with lifting heavier weights.

I agree about no need to start out excessivley. Like Drew stated, you will adapt, the body is amazing like that. There is a program written by Shawn Phillips over at the EAS site that could work for most people. He starts out with only 3 or 4 30/30 sec intervals and bumps it from there, but you could easily apply it to 30/60, 30/90 or whatever it takes to keep you interested and not burnt out. If you jump in too excessivly, you will probably lose your drive to continue. As an example, take crossfit. Some workouts are pure strength, others are exercises done as in intervals, with an effect similar to HIIT, although in most cases your using weights or bodyweight, and the guys over at Brand X martial arts take the Daily workout and scale it down for beginners, intermediates, big dawgs, etc. You can and probably should do the same with HIIT.
Tim

DELETED