How to do HIIT in 3 Steps (x-post from r/HIIT)

howardrf

New member

How To Do HIIT In 3 Steps​




Hey all! I decided to write a simple how-to guide on /r/HIIT. This is a three step process to help you create your own workouts with the exercises listed below or any other exercises that you prefer. Please let me know if you have any questions.



1. Pick the exercise​




AerobicRunning, Cycling, Rowing, Swimming, Walking, Jump Rope, StairMaster, Elliptical, Hill Repeats, etc.
BodyweightBurpees, Squat Jumps, Lunges, High Knees, Push-ups, Bear Crawls, Jumping Jacks, Pull-ups, Sit-ups
ResistanceKettlebell, Battle Ropes, Prowler, Farmer Walks, Bulgarian Bag, Boxing Bag, Weights

Type
Exercise



2. Pick the protocol​




Meyers (Beginner)13 sets of 30 seconds (moderate resistance) and 60 seconds off
Little (Intermediate)10 sets of 60 seconds (moderate-to-high resistance) and 60 seconds off
Gibala (Intermediate)3 sets of 20 seconds on (high-resistance) / 2 minutes off
Tabata (Advanced)8 sets of 20 seconds (high-resistance) and 10 seconds off
Wingate (Advanced)4-6 sets of 30 seconds (high-resistance) on and 4.5 minutes off

Protocol
Details



3. Set the timer and go!​




Warm-Up3-5 minutes (light to moderate intensity)
Intervals(As chosen above)
Cool-Down3-5 minutes (foam rolling, walking, or stretching)

Workout
Details
 
@howardrf Maybe I'm doing it wrong...

I pick 5 resistance exercises, varying by what equipment is available. (battle ropes, kettlebells, etc). One of these is always step-ups onto a raised platform.

I start with one minute of step-ups. Then I do 10-16 reps of the other four exercises. I order them into opposing muscle groups to spread the love around/avoid searing burns.

So today I did 1 minute of step ups, 12 overhead presses with a light barbell, 12 goblet squats, 12 bent over rows, and 12 slam ball slams.

The whole circuit takes about 2 1/2 - 3 minutes. The step-ups don't really feel that intense, it's sort of a warm-up. But by the end of the whole circuit, my heart is pounding and I am gasping hard. My heart rate gets up to at least 180bpm.

I don't know what percentage of my max heart rate that is, as my max is obviously greater than 220 - 47, but I have never really tested to find out what my absolute max is. I just know I'm gasping raggedly and pouring sweat.

I rest until I feel up to doing it again. I would guess it's roughly a 1:1 but I don't think the rest period matters as much as the exertion. I suppose my heart rate peaks for about one minute out of the whole circuit.
 
@need This is really good! It seems like this is on the longer side and would be more of a muscular endurance workout, but you mentioned you are working out different muscles with each circuit.

How long have you been doing this and what are the results? At the end of the day, it's about doing things that you like the most which give you results.
 
@howardrf I guess it works? I just want cardiovascular health in the shortest possible time.

I think I can shorten it by doing 6 resistance exercises instead of step-ups for a minute followed by 5 exercises. That would make it 2 minutes.

I like the variety of it and I like that I'm only miserable for about one minute. And that no one muscle group is miserable for more than a few seconds.

I suspect that switching the exertion from one part of the body to another taxes the cardiovascular system more. Like, all the blood rushes to my quads during squats then seconds later I'm doing overhead press and the blood gets pumped up to my upper body... that's when I start to gasp.
 
@howardrf i'm a total HIIT noob but i've been doing a 5 minute warmup (a light jog on the treadmill--usually 6.5mph) followed by 10 or 15 sets of 30 seconds sprinting (~11mph on treadmill) and 30 seconds rest (feet on the sides).

is this effective? i pulled it out of my ass and now i'm curious if it's actually even good for me. my cardio has definitely improved, at the very least.
 
@shilohmark This is a good routine for cardio, but sprinting on the treadmill can be dangerous because of your speed.

If you have a high school near by, I would recommend running a similar Modified Wingate at the track instead. I've noticed a lot of people do sprints on the treadmill then stop completely, but I like to keep walking during resting intervals.

One of the extreme cases I know about was Sheryl Sandberg's husband who passed away a few years ago after falling off the treadmill. Just think there are safer options.
 
@howardrf oh man that is scary. i unfortunately don't live near a high school or a track but maybe i could go to the park... so lazy though. we do have an elliptical in our small gym--when doing HIIT on there do you simply increase the resistance level during the "on" intervals?

thanks for your advice!
 
@shilohmark Yeah it was. The treadmill is convenient, but I wouldn't say it substitutes running outdoors or at the track whenever you have time.

For the elliptical, I increase both the resistance and my speed during the working intervals. You can use a combination of both variables or either one. For example:

Resistance - You start the machine on Level 7 for low-intensity then you bump it up to Level 10+ for high intensity.

Speed - If you are starting around 130 strides per minute, you increase your speed to 200+ spm during the working intervals, then back down again during your rest intervals.

Check this out: https://www.reddit.com/r/hiit/wiki/workouts#wiki_8.29_elliptical
 
Never claimed that I'm an Olympic level coach or that I'm training anyone for anything beyond general fitness. Whoever is training for a race has a different goal and people should follow that plan. My fastest marathon was 3:18, so no I'm not an elite. But I can read the research.

My goal is time efficiency. How can we help people who say they don't workout because they don't have enough time? Any thoughts on that?
 
@howardrf Time management advice is the same no matter what: look at your priorities, decide which are most important, and execute. In fact, everyone I know who is (or was) at- or near-Trials fitness either works full-time or is a full-time student, pulling 80-120 mile weeks. Got kids? I recently saw someone who works full time and has a 2 year old run a 1:16 half marathon while pushing a stroller. Obviously extreme examples, but if time management is the issue, there is no sports-specific solution. The only true solution is discipline and prioritization.
 
@howardrf Just as a heads-up for others, coming in with some (hopefully constructive) criticism, here from when OP posted something similar on /r/running, and many knowledgeable users contributed, this doesn't provide a particularly comprehensive understanding of aerobic vs anaerobic vs lactate threshold training. Not to get into too much of the nitty-gritty, but the notion of the described warmup/cooldown alone (3-5 minutes each, seriously?!) is INSANE! As a non-elite (not even sub-elite, realistically) runner, even for just a fairly standard track workout (let's say 10x400m at goal 5k race pace, w/ 90sec active recovery jog between each rep), the bare minimum warmup I'd do to prevent injury would be a 2 mile slow warmup jog (15-16 minutes), followed by ~10 minutes of dynamic movements and plyometrics. I get that that's still more "intense" (is it? it's not maximal) than any of the protocols OP describes here, but regardless, 3-5 minutes of warmup before high-level exertion is truthfully borderline dangerous. It's impossible for your muscles to both be loose enough and responsive enough be prepared to fire (near) maximally with that little warmup.
 
@shawntavia We should probably reach out to these researchers and tell them about the insanity of using shorter warm-ups. Here are the warm-ups that were used in the HIIT research protocols:

The Meyer Protocol (does not mention a warm-up)

The Little Protocol (3-minute warm-up)

The Gibala Protocol (2-minute warm-up)

The Wingate Protocol (does not mention a warm-up)

The Tabata Protocol (10-minute warm-up)

Another study comparing Meyer and Tabata (both using 5-minute warm-ups)

Another study using the Tabata Protocol (with a 5-minute warm-up)

Another study using the Little Protocol (with a 3-minute warm-up)

I am also a non-elite marathon runner and my viewpoint is that you should warm-up as needed for your body. I reviewed the research and test these workouts on myself. The research doesn't mean that it will be right for you. I unfortunately don't have the time to warm up for 25+ minutes, so I jog for 3 minutes and then the fun begins.
 
@howardrf And someone should tell 1:03 half marathoner and highly regarded coach and exercise physiologist Pete Pfitzinger that his recommended 10-20 minute warmup jog + 10 minutes of dynamic movements (15 if it's a race) + strides is obviously not what he should be having his athletes do. Guess we should also extend that notion to high school, college, and post-collegiate coaches worldwide, because they've clearly been doing it all wrong.

And of all those studies, the one that required the most warmup (Tabata) is the one that corresponded with the most aerobic base conditioning pre-study (6 weeks). Personally 10 minutes is still skimpy as hell, but it helps that the test was done on a bike, which does not recruit as many muscles as running, and the bike itself somewhat stabilizes the user, reducing the potential for major form issues (though of course someone can still have terrible bike form). The other studies involve totally sedentary or otherwise unhealthy individuals, who might indeed be able to get their heartrate up to a certain level with very minimal warmup, but more than anything that just speaks to how cardiovascularly unfit they are to begin with. If you take a young, healthy, active individual (ie, someone on this sub), they're going to need more warmup to get to where they need to be.

Again, even just using my own (non-elite) anecdotal experience... my RHR is in the low 40s. There's no way in hell that I could possibly get it even up to my 10 mile race pace (lactate threshold pace, ~6:10ish min/mile pace) with just a few minutes of warmup. Let alone the fact that my legs would be totally lethargic and my turnover would be horrible.

And unrelated/unimportant, but regarding this tidbit:

I unfortunately don't have the time to warm up for 25+ minutes, so I jog for 3 minutes and then the fun begins.

I know people who have qualified for the Olympic Trials while working full time, in graduate school, etc. Really tough to imagine that you only have the time to fit in a 3 minute warmup.

Honestly, I don't want to sound rude, but... what are your credentials? Do you have a background as a coach? Do you study this in school? Or are you just someone had been running idk, a 4 hour marathon on 40 miles/week with no hard efforts, to a 3:50 marathon on 40 miles/week with 10 minutes of hard effort per week? Because in that case, no shit there was an improvement, but the improvement was way less than it could have been with 70 miles/week, 10-15 of which were "hard", and all the rest easy. That's not to say the fastest person is always the most knowledgeable one, but you can be pretty sure that I'm going to listen to a 2:40 marathoner over a 4 hour marathoner (or whoever, for whatever distance... personally I race the mile/5k, for the most part, but I will have a marathon next year, at least).
 
@goatsandroses What type of exercise do you plan to do?

I don't recommend going all-out without a warm-up because your muscles won't be ready for it. You can do certain body weight exercises like jumping jacks and high knees right from the beginning.
 
@goatsandroses The warm-up is important because you do not want to get injured during the workout. You can probably fit a warm-up and the intervals within ten minutes. Before you start HIIT, I would recommend speaking with your doctor to make sure that everything is cleared.

The cool-down post-workout can be your walk to the car, so you don't need to spend it at the gym or do more exercise if you don't have time. The cool-down helps you slow-down your heart rate and stretch to work on your mobility for the future.

Summary: Warm-up for 3-5 minutes, then try one of the protocols like Gibala. You can build as you get stronger. :)
 
@howardrf OH! I meant, instead of a full 20 minute HIIT routine would 10 minutes still be beneficial? The warm up/cool down would not be part of the 10 minutes. Sorry about the confusion.
 
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