CAn someone please explain what is meant by doing HIIT cardio workouts, I see that John did 60% for 1 minute 70% for 1 minute and so on, 60%, is that jsut my preception of 60% or on the machine at the gym change the intensity to 60%? :confused: :confused: :confused:

CAn someone please explain what is meant by doing HIIT cardio workouts, I see that John did 60% for 1 minute 70% for 1 minute and so on, 60%, is that jsut my preception of 60% or on the machine at the gym change the intensity to 60%? :confused: :confused: :confused:

Perception of your effort. For instance, if that absolute most you can do is X intensity, then do 60% of that intensity, then 90%, then 60... etc...

either your perception or go by your bpm.

in reality, you just need to "rest", back off from your hard rate to a level where you are still working but are definatly resting and recovering from the 1 min of intensity, the actual rates aren't as important, most people figure their own levels for resting.

I personally tend to rest at around 75rpm on my bike with my peaks at 100rpm, as a comparison, 82-84rpm is my aim when doing a 30 min 75% standard cardio session. Each bike is different so don't try to match thos figures, but they should give you an idea of the effort levels.

In my experience, it's too hard to properly gauge your level of effort without using your heartrate as a guide - especially early on. When you're first training, you're not used to serious exercise and it becomes easy to confuse "effort" with "pain" and wind up low-balling your level or exertion as a result. Using your max heartrate (and percentages of that number) will keep you "honest" with your HIIT. Get a decent heartrate monitor and use it to help you stay on track.

As a caveat, keep an eye on how you work out as well. Resistance is as important as, if not more important than, RPMs, if you work out on a machine. Hitting 100 RPMs is probably an indication that you should increase the resistance a fair bit so that you can maintain consistent, more controlled movements and avoid frantic motion that can lead to injury and can also break the machine fairly easily.

I agree, i forgot to mention that i up the resistance 2 knotches for my peaks and drop it back down 2 for my rests. I personally find 100rpm to be the max i'm comfortably able to apply effort at, any faster and the machine and me can't evenly apply hard effort. I used to use level 3 as a basic for everything, i found i was going over 100rpm for my peaks so started using level 4 for peaks, eventually i had to use level 5.

So yes, resistance is as important as speed, remember it's effort that is the key, how you get to that effort level isn't really important.

I think it´s probably good if you are in good shape. But I suspect it could be dangerous to do HIIT if you have problems with your heart. And that is rather common for people that are a bit older and with extreme overweight. If someone like that is also a smoker it could be very dangerous I think.

Personally I think it feels a bit safer to do low intensity cardio for one hour. But you will have to waste more time on that compared to HIIT of course. But it works.

Regards!

Whether it be cardio or weight training, it is best to have a physical exam before starting any workout program, and periodically during workout programs.

In the case of John and his sore shoulder, that should be checked by a doctor before he continues working out in any way that uses the shoulder joint or related muscles.

High intensity workouts are more strenuous that normal workouts, and its even more important to be in good condition before beginning this type of program. When checking with a doctor, describe the type of workout program you intend to begin. Don't jump into high intensity without maintaining a less intense program first.

High intensity cardio is for increasing cardiovascular capacity and conditioning, not for fat loss. Lower intensity, maintained conditioning burns fat.

In the case of John and his sore shoulder, that should be checked by a doctor before he continues working out in any way that uses the shoulder joint or related muscles.
Agreed, which is why I saw a doctor about about my torn rotator cuff a few months ago. :)

High intensity cardio is for increasing cardiovascular capacity and conditioning, not for fat loss.
That's not entirely correct. The goal of HIIT is not to burn fat while you are doing it, but it does raise the metabolism so you burn more calories as you go about your day. HIIT cardio is very effective for fat loss. I do HIIT cardio exclusively and have lost most of my fat doing it.

I find HIIT to be a lot more fun than a typical cardio session. It really challenges you to push yourself and it feels great when you've feel you've hit that next "level" when you previously thought you couldn't. I actually look forward to my HIIT sessions. It's certainly more fun than spending 45 boring minutes at the same old pace, even though I do that as well ever now and then just to change things up a bit.

Thanks for the advice, I will test it out tonight and see how it goes. :jumping:

I did my first HIIT session the other night on the elliptical, it was quite interesting.

After I did it, I felt like I had exerted myself even more than doing a moderate intensity 40min session on the treadmill. I also sweat PROFUSELY within 12minutes which never happens while doing a sustained 150hr on the treadmill.

I got to 183 on my HR(my theoretical max is 189) It was quite disconcerting and yet exhilierating to see my HR that high! I did a 25minute session including warmup and cooldown. I plan to alternate between HIIT and moderate longer session cardio from now on

CAn someone please explain what is meant by doing HIIT cardio workouts, I see that John did 60% for 1 minute 70% for 1 minute and so on, 60%, is that jsut my preception of 60% or on the machine at the gym change the intensity to 60%? :confused: :confused: :confused:

Here is a webpage that has a great explanation

HIIT explanation (http://www.musclemedia.com/training/hiit.asp)

Here is a webpage that has a great explanation

HIIT explanation (http://www.musclemedia.com/training/hiit.asp)

Thanks for the link, I've been wanting to know this myself!! :claphigh: