Just started HIIT on elliptical & bike at the gym... I follow the routine, basically warming up, build to ~70%, and then I alternate periods of basically as much as I can do for about a minute with a moderate "rest" pace for another minute or so.

The problem is my legs are on fire! I get a bit out of breath when I hit my peak, but after my "rest" pace I get my breath back no problem. But my legs are absolutely burning after about 3 or 4 intervals. I stretch it out as long as I can and wobble away from the machines after about 15 minutes or so.

I know my legs will come around, but has anyone else been through this? I'm guessing when my legs used to this I will start to get myself out of breath from the intensity? Or will I?

I'm in decent shape but I figured I would be gasping after 20 minutes of HIIT. Any guidance is appreciated.

Everybody is different. Some people can do it for 20 minutes and hardly break a sweat, but they are still working their ass off! Just look for results. Push yourself as hard as you can and work your way up. You may get winded you may not. Your legs will definitly numb to the exerscise after awhile.

Good luck!

I find when I first attempt exercise after a period of inactivity, my leg muscles hurt the worst. I have been inactive for a few months now and I just started running this week. But I generally haven't been really in shape for a few years. My first two days this week my legs muscles hurt a lot even at a pace where I couldn't get my heart rate up at all. In order to counteract the muscle pain (which persists throughout the day usually, and definitely the next morning) I stretch before and after my workout for about 10-15 minutes. But there is really nothing you can do the first few times. Just go at a slow pace.

The third day I took off from running as my leg muscles, especially my hamstrings, hurt so bad when I woke up. But I still stretched that morning as if I was going to workout. Then on my fourth day (today) I really felt good on the treadmill as I was able to get up to speeds where my heart was pumping and my legs were not hindering me. I also tried going fast for one minute and then slow for another. It was pretty fun and made the time fly by.

So I think some important things is that when you are first starting out, don't try to go everyday. Your leg muscles may really benefit and recover a lot from at least one day off. But I wouldn't take two days off in a row. The next thing is definitely stretch, and not just for ten seconds, but a good 5 minutes. I noticed that not much is mentioned about stretching on this site. I just really need to do it and got in the habit from running in highschool.

I first found John's site on 1/18/04, and it immediately spurred me to start a fat loss program, as I look strikingly similar to John's before photo. I was 210 lbs and 29% body fat. I haven't seen much progress yet, but hopefully in another week. Thanks, for everything John! I'm getting married in July and I can't wait to transform myself before then.
Just started HIIT on elliptical & bike at the gym... I follow the routine, basically warming up, build to ~70%, and then I alternate periods of basically as much as I can do for about a minute with a moderate "rest" pace for another minute or so.

The problem is my legs are on fire! I get a bit out of breath when I hit my peak, but after my "rest" pace I get my breath back no problem. But my legs are absolutely burning after about 3 or 4 intervals. I stretch it out as long as I can and wobble away from the machines after about 15 minutes or so.

I know my legs will come around, but has anyone else been through this? I'm guessing when my legs used to this I will start to get myself out of breath from the intensity? Or will I?

I'm in decent shape but I figured I would be gasping after 20 minutes of HIIT. Any guidance is appreciated.

Like Super Fink said, everyone is different. Just because one person does HIIT a particular way doesn't mean the results will be the same for you. Experiment with different cardio equipment and pacing if you are unsure about your current regimen.

For comparison's sake, I do my HIIT on my treadmill. I alternated between 4.5mph at no incline (low intensity) and 10mph at 3.5% incline (high intensity). My timeline for my HIIT looks like this:

5 minute warm-up
40 seconds low intensity
20 seconds high intensity
40 seconds low intensity
20 seconds high intensity
50 seconds low intensity
10 seconds high intensity
50 seconds low intensity
10 seconds high intensity
42 seconds low intensity
18 seconds high intensity
42 seconds low intensity
18 seconds high intensity
48 seconds low intensity
12 seconds high intensity
48 seconds low intensity
12 seconds high intensity
44 seconds low intensity
16 seconds high intensity
44 seconds low intensity
16 seconds high intensity
46 seconds low intensity
14 seconds high intensity
46 seconds low intensity
14 seconds high intensity
4 minute cool down

This comes out to be 17 minutes of HIIT and 9 minutes of warm up/cool down. I find this particular method very effective, although I've never had the opportunity to try the 1 high/1 low method on an elliptical machine. I have done the 1/1 method on my ancient stationary bike before, but that particular bike leaves a lot to be desired, and I feel I get more of a workout on the treadmill.

Thanks for the replies. I think GravityHomer has got it right.... my legs are feeling the pain of me getting back into shape. In time the the lactic acid threshold will increase and I won't have to fall out of bed in the morning.

I do stretch and occasionally do some Yoga (sun salutations) to balance my lifting. I think that's great advice for anyone who trains regularly.

I started getting lazy and quit lifting regularly about 5 years ago (I won't blame it on the job and baby). Props to John for inspiring me to get back into shape.

I'll let you know how my HIIT improves!

It's definatly your legs feeling the pace. I have exactly the same problem, even after a long lay off of doing nothing at all i still have pretty good cardio abilities and a good resting heart rate.

If i tried to do HIIT at the moment it just wouldn't acomplish anything becuase my legs would give up LONG before i'm putting in any real cardio effort.

I am doing now what i had to do last time i really picked up some cardio, do a week or 2 of normal cardio before moving on to HIIT. Basicly once my legs stop burning after simple cardio, i'll consider moving to HIIT, which i much prefer.

I am trying to figure how HIIT Works..


can anybody show me the detail :confused:

how it works in practice or the theory behind it?

Basicly it is training with intervals of high intensity and intervals of rest/low intensity.

The common example is to do a warm up, then have 1 min on a bike or whatever at 90% effort, followed by 1 min 60% effort, then another 90% effort etc etc, usually for 15-20 mins per session.

I got my bike today and am going to go ahead and start my cardio work a little earlier than I planned (which doesn't hurt). I KNOW I am not ready for HIIT yet, but I had a question about correctly working my body thru the bike.

It has a built in LCD panel that measures time (which will help keep track of the training) and also has a "speed" guage. I was wondering if anybody else had one of these and what exactly they got their's up to. I know that the main workout comes from guaging your heart activity, but as a beginner it might take some time for me to judge it and I just thought some helpful tips might get me started.

In case you need to know - I'm 19, 5' 6'', 160 and am basically just trying to cut right now. For the past year or so I have led the sedentary lifestyle so I am not in the shape I would like to be.

Thanks to anyone who can help out! :D

Like Super Fink said, everyone is different. Just because one person does HIIT a particular way doesn't mean the results will be the same for you. Experiment with different cardio equipment and pacing if you are unsure about your current regimen.

For comparison's sake, I do my HIIT on my treadmill. I alternated between 4.5mph at no incline (low intensity) and 10mph at 3.5% incline (high intensity). My timeline for my HIIT looks like this:

5 minute warm-up
40 seconds low intensity
20 seconds high intensity
40 seconds low intensity
20 seconds high intensity
50 seconds low intensity
10 seconds high intensity
50 seconds low intensity
10 seconds high intensity
42 seconds low intensity
18 seconds high intensity
42 seconds low intensity
18 seconds high intensity
48 seconds low intensity
12 seconds high intensity
48 seconds low intensity
12 seconds high intensity
44 seconds low intensity
16 seconds high intensity
44 seconds low intensity
16 seconds high intensity
46 seconds low intensity
14 seconds high intensity
46 seconds low intensity
14 seconds high intensity
4 minute cool down

This comes out to be 17 minutes of HIIT and 9 minutes of warm up/cool down. I find this particular method very effective, although I've never had the opportunity to try the 1 high/1 low method on an elliptical machine. I have done the 1/1 method on my ancient stationary bike before, but that particular bike leaves a lot to be desired, and I feel I get more of a workout on the treadmill.

I tryed that today on my bike and it worked out pretty good.

I was running but I started getting alot of pain in my legs today when I tryed to run, maybe I'm too heavy for my legs, so I'm going to stay on the bike for about one or two months till I loose some more weight and get in better shape.