The FastDay Forum

Hi Juliana,

"..@LastChance with 3 weeks into your HIT programs, you certainly seem to have a good plan in action. im hoping others that have just joined, not familiar with exercise routines let alone HIT can learn from people like you.

Do you record your session results somewhere?

Welcome to the HIT club. you are Member 28..."

Many thanks! I do keep a log and I'm seeing differences after a couple of weeks...

HIT Club member 27 reporting in! I've just completed my 2000m on the rowing machine, during which I did three x 30 seconds of increased speed. However, I seemed to recover quite quickly and didn't get the thigh-burn as expected by MM in his book.

It is hard on a rowing machine to increase intensity because the resistance lever is beyond reach when your feet are strapped in! I was hoping that increasing stroke rate/speed would be enough. Any ideas anyone whether that would be the case?

The good news is that for the first time, I achieved the 2000m without having to stop for a breather part-way! For me, after only six sessions on the rower, this is nothing short of a miracle! As you can see, I am counting my progress in very short steps!

@janeg I'm very happy to consider rowing as both an aerobic and strength exercise - unless that means doing it six times a week!

I have been reading the MM Fast Exercise book, and have started today on the basic level HIIT on our bike at home. It was easy and felt fine afterwards. Glad to read it is safe for the elderly ( who or what's that?!! ) I will continue to use the gym 2 or 3 times a week as I get other exercises for my shoulder injury and core muscles. I have also been guided in types of intermittent cardio training. I don't enjoy the length and stress of those, so these few minutes will be more fun! I want to reach my goal and keep fit.
Please may I join this club? .....need a number!

Member 25 here. Did my first day today, now I know just how much fitness I've lost not exercising the last few months.
I decided to do the strength trading hit from the book
Squats
Lunges
10 metre sprints
Tricep dips
You do 10 of each then 9 then 8 etc until you get to 1.
I got to 7, well it's a start. Wednesday it's off to find a hill to try the 20 second hill sprints.

I have been reading the MM Fast Exercise book, and have started today on the basic level HIIT on our bike at home. It was easy and felt fine afterwards. Glad to read it is safe for the elderly ( who or what's that?!! ) I will continue to use the gym 2 or 3 times a week as I get other exercises for my shoulder injury and core muscles. I have also been guided in types of intermittent cardio training. I don't enjoy the length and stress of those, so these few minutes will be more fun! I want to reach my goal and keep fit.
Please may I join this club? .....need a number!

Sure, @Katharina, you are member 30

Let us know when you have settled in with a plan.. e.g. times, how many days a week etc and ill put that against your name in Post 1. all the best

Member 25 here. Did my first day today, now I know just how much fitness I've lost not exercising the last few months.
I decided to do the strength trading hit from the book
Squats
Lunges
10 metre sprints
Tricep dips
You do 10 of each then 9 then 8 etc until you get to 1.
I got to 7, well it's a start. Wednesday it's off to find a hill to try the 20 second hill sprints.

Thanks wineoclock for reporting in. your statement can never be more true for ifear the majority of 5-2 forum members

now I know just how much fitness I've lost not exercising the last few months.

So many of us have the calorie consumption down pat now. and well done to everyone but i think the other side of the coin needs to paid attention to (strength and aerobic fitness) at which point the ultimate health goals will be reached

#26 checking in, just completed my 7th HIT session - heart rate still getting up to 160 by the end of 20 mins of 8 sec spints/12 sec recovery, but I haven't seen any more 164s. Then after 5 min cool-down still 130. I allow myself 10 mins sit-down on the front verandah & look at the garden, after that HR still 100.

Mentally still finding it tough - especially actually getting on my crosstrainer to start, then the last 3 mins are also a real mental battle. But at least today I got it done in the morning, previously I've had to psych myself up all day long!

I reckon it's really improving my cycling though, yesterday got a PB time by nearly 7 minutes over my standard 32.5 km route - and it was easy! Keeping it going then!

Hope everyone's HITs are going well!

[janeg]

]Oh, we are all doing so well. Pats on the back all round I say!
@stowgateresident you are really doing well. I don't increase the resistance , as you say, the lever is too far away. What I do is the warm up at about 50% of my effort, so I get loose, then the interval, where I pull like fury, and shove with my legs as though I'm propelling myself into outer space. Trying for 100% effort...
The 'recovery' is way back down to about 25% effort.
So, on the minutes to cover 500m display, it's about 4.00 for warm up, I've managed to hit 2'03 for interval, and about 3'30 for recovery. Just to give you an idea.

On another note which might interest @fatdog and other low carbers (not moi) I really wasn't hungry this morning after yesterday's fast. I'm usually ravenous first thing. Wondering if doing the intervals first thing on a fast day is boosting something and quickening me into ketosis? Just a thought...

@jools7 I try and exercise first thing then it's done and out of the way, otherwise I can nearly always find something to put it off. If I have something important to do, I do it first.otherwise I just can't seem to make time for it. Strange how we motivate and trick ourselves, isn't it...?

Checking in here too. Just completed my third twenty min session and my first of hopefully three this week. It's definitely getting easier but still so exhausting!

Finding our hiit club very motivational. Thank you

Well hello everyone,

Did my fast today sort of lol. As I need medication for my bells palsy I had to eat every four hrs. But hey I didn't over do it. I entered all my eating plan on my iphone app called net diary it's very useful. I had porridge with berries for brekkie boy was it hard to eat that with half face numb lol it took ages to eat eat, but in the end I did it. Lunch just a small tomato and cucumber salad. Tonight stirfry beef and veg very yummy and filling. Ive had 6glasses of water. Also I did 12 min on treadmill, didn't push myself as I wanted to do it slowly. I feel really good. Tomorrow night I will increase see how I go.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Connie

@jools7: love to know what your PB is for 32.5 km - 7 mins off is immense!

Reporting in at the start of my first full week incorporating HIT. I use a Cross Trainer and the plan for the week is to do 10 mins HIT on Mon/Weds/Fri with my regular 30 mins on Tues/Thurs/Sat.

I keep reading this post so I've decided to bite the bullet and ask if I could please join the club??

I exercise outside as I have no space at home and I can't afford the gym, so I have been doing HIIT in the form of 30 secs effort, 90 secs off for the last couple of weeks either running or uphill on my bike.

Yesterday I downloaded an app with tabatha intervals on it, so I tried my usual running routine that I've been doing for the last couple of weeks thinking that it might be easier, and gosh, I could only do three lots before I had to take a couple of minutes off as I was about to vomit, then I did two more, then another couple of mins, then the last three...I really didn't think I was going to make it!

Anyway the plan is to do two running/cycling sessions and one or two strength training sessions a week, in the hope of getting fit and fast enough for a 10k in May/June.

Member No. 14 (I'm not just a number! ) checking in. Just finished my 7th HIIT workout in my first 16-week program of 3 days per week. First one was a standard 4-minute Tabata (20s-up/10s-down x 8 repetitions), next five were 5-minutes long (10 reps), and all of the first six were on a stationary bike.

Today I'm on holiday from work so I don't have access to the stationary bike, but I'm pleased to report that HIIT is very, very flexible (a kind of flexibility that is very similar to 5:2 when you think about it) and I made-do with simply running outside and sticking a 6-minute Tabata (12 reps) in the middle of a ~4 mile run. Wow, that was not easy while doing it, but I feel great now that it's over!

Thanks to CreakyPete I have something else to monitor: the Cooper 12-minute pace. I track my outdoor runs with Endomondo and a smart phone, and they calculate the longest distance of any 12-minute period (2.30km today, not bad for me, personal best is 2.51km).

I think I like the stationary bike better for HIIT, however, because I can already feel today's workout in my knees. Maybe I'll pick up a bike at some point and do HIIT outside like CreakyPete. I should start using a HRM as well, just to quantify one more thing...

Here is the Sport Tracks output from this afternoons bike ride, 14.6 miles with a dozen hard sprints (usually uphill) lasting 30 seconds each followed by easier pedalling.
Average speed was 16.6 mph, slower than usual but actually faster than last Monday which was the first ride of the year

Zone----Avg.HR---Distance-------Time----Percent
Zone 1----95------0.09 mi-------0:21-----0.7 %
Zone 2---107------0.13 mi-------0:32-----1.0 %
Zone 3---127------1.61 mi-------5:57----11.3 %
Zone 4---142-----11.64 mi------41:29----78.7 %
Zone 5---151------1.12 mi-------4:25-----8.4 %
Total-----140-----14.59 mi------52:44---100.0 %

Surprised that the average HR was as high as 142 for over 40 minutes, the 12 sprints only added up to 4:25 (22 seconds each?). Should we be looking for 30 seconds at peak HR or will HR always lag the effort by a fixed amount? Am I working too hard between sprints (doesn't feel like it) or is the generally-elevated pulse to be expected? Would I be better able to get to 160 HR (max) if I rested better between intervals? Is it necessary, or should I stick to 85 - 90%?

Pete, check out this link:

http://www.brianmac.co.uk/vo2max.htm

There's a calculator and a nice table entitled "%VO2 max and Speed" towards the bottom of the page. An average HR of 89% of the max corresponds to a max VO2 of ~81%, or just a little more strenuous than your half-marathon intensity, so no, I don't think you're pushing yourself too hard for a 53-minute workout and you shouldn't worry too much about the elevated average HR during this workout.

Also the HIIT thing promises "EPOC" (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) so it would surprise me if the HIIT doesn't also significantly slow down your HR recovery during the workout itself. Hope this helps!