The FastDay Forum

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to get started doing HIIT? I am very late to the party and had never heard of it till seeing some posts on it here. I wasn't able to do high-intensity exercise till recently and anything that gives me the benefits of lots of exercise in little time has me intrigued...

Many thanks!

I have a countdown timer on the kitchen windowsill set to 3m50s.
I start it and run on the spot for 20s, wait 10s, repeat until timer goes off.

As well as running on the spot I do explosive star jumps and "virtual skipping" (no rope) for variety.

[carorees]

The Dr Mosley recipe is 20 secs flat out biking (or running on the spot or whatever as long as you can do it really fast), followed by about a minute recovery and repeated twice more so you have 1 minute of high intensity exercise with 3 minutes of recovery time. The recovery time is not so important...just long enough to get your breath back however long that is. My heart rate goes up to around 145 so around 85% of maximum (maximum being 220 minus your age), which is the target you should aim for. If you don't see a drop in heart rate of 12 beats per minute at the end of the minute's rest you should consult your doctor before continuing with the regimen.

Carorees -- thanks for the 85% target. I was pushing myself into the 95-100% range...

There's some conflicting info out there wrt HIIT. Not sure what to make of it.

[carorees]

I think it's OK to push yourself harder once you have got used to it and as long as you are seeing a good drop in heart rate in the first minute after stopping. I was really writing the above for someone starting out, so it's wise not to overdo things at first don't you think?

Agree -- definitely 85% is a good target for someone just starting out. To contrast, I saw an article on HIIT that said, "if you do it right, you will see God."

Hello. I do a variety of HIITs on the treadmill using running, walking, on a flat then on various inclines. I'm an experienced exerciser. My heartrate goes to 90/95/100% alot of the time - is this okay? I feel absolutely fine and HR recovers well but I don't want to harm myself!

Thanks for the replies. Do you just do the "recipe" for one 4ish minute circuit or do you do more than one circuit? How many times a week do you do it, and what other kinds of exercise do you do alongside it?

I do 3 cardio sessions a week, each at 45 mins, comprising:
15 mins HIIT on treadmill (flat walking, incline walking)
30 mins solid-state cardio eg running, stepper machine

I also do 2 weights sessions a week at 45 mins each.

Thanks for the replies. Do you just do the "recipe" for one 4ish minute circuit or do you do more than one circuit? How many times a week do you do it, and what other kinds of exercise do you do alongside it?

Following the Tabata protocol (the 3m50s one) you do it once a day maybe 6 days a week. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8897392

I go to around 100% HRmax I would think - the monitor won't usually stay on.

I do an occasional 40-60 minute bike ride at 120 - 150 bpm maybe once or twice a week. Sometimes do the C25K programme or 5K improver from rundouble.com running and walking intervals.

I'm anaemic so the heart hammers along at 175 bpm to compensate. GP seems OK with that (as he can't fix the anaemia).

[carorees]

Dr M says if you do the 3 x 20 secs three times a week, it will have a big effect on your health but ideally you also need to do plenty of walking around/standing up as well, so not exercise as such but not sitting down either.

I've got a tabata app (called Tabata Timer, free version) on my phone, so just hit start on that. It then does 8 lots of 20 sec on, 10 sec rest. I do it 1-2 a week (aiming for 2-3 a week, but things keep getting in the way, always need at least 1 rest day between). I always do squats, and either do all 8 squats, or alternate with either box jumps, jumping jacks or lunges. I count my first lot of reps, and try to get to that each time (because by the time you hit set 5 or 6, it HURTS). Amazing how much you can sweat in 4 minutes!

I just started doing the Dr M exercise plan after watching his Truth about exercise video. Since I don't have a stationary bike, I am doing it on my treadmill. I do full out for 30sec, rest for 30-45sec, and then repeat 2 more times. My heart rate is closer to 100%, which I believe is fine for such a small exercise time, but check with your Doc (The Disclaimer). I thought the 75-80% heart rate guideline was for longer workouts, so I think you need to be close to 100% because you are doing it for such a short amount of time and need to push your muscles to exhaustion I have only been doing it for about a week now, but the next day I feel like I did a whole workout so I think its working, and I was already walking and doing a few other things a few days a week before. I am doing the HIIT 4 days a week, and also doing a short Ab workout 3 days a week, and walking a few days a week as well.

I understand the Dr M excercise routine provides the fat burning benefits of working out but not sure if it gives any of the Cardio benefits longer workouts would and not sure if it give the strength training equivalent to working out with weights. I personnally found the exceise video to not be as informative or well done as the fasting one. Maybe a book is on the way that will provide more support, otherwise it may need a bit of supplementation as it seems it would only develop your core.

[carorees]

The HIIT gives improvements in insulin resistance, blood glucose levels and VO2max, but the latter only if you are a responder. It does improve heart health and had been tested for use in patients with heart disease. It does not give fat burning effects because at high intensity you are burning glycogen not fat.

I've been doing Josie Gibson's 30 second slim for almost 4 weeks now. I love it! 4 mins warm up 12 mins of 30 sec high intensity alternating with active rest exercises, then a 4 min cool down. It's hard, and was the first time for me doing HIIT. It doesn't feel like it's getting easier but it does feel like it's getting more doable...if that makes sense! I do that four times a week and as a result my energy levels have increased and I've added interval jogging into the mix to build up my strength for running (something else which is a first for me!!)
What I like about the DVD is that that's all you need, I use jars of coconut oil for the weights so it's not really necessary to spend on dumb bells. And also, I can fit it in any time I want without having to allow for time to get somewhere to do it!