Question on cardio HIIT

[nikkita]

Hi ladies!

Currently I have been doing my cardio steady at 65% to 70% of my HR in order to burn calories from fat. However I have been reading in many posts that HIIT is used.

How can I make HIIT in order to prevent muscle loss? is there a minimum or maximum HR so that it is used to burn cals from fat? How much time? do you need to compensate in your diet for this type of training?

Maybe these questions are basic, but I'm just starting to read more about it and I have all my head with interrogants because I'm bulking and want to save my muscle.

Thanks a lot for any advice you may give me.

 

[scorpiogirl]

Some do 1 full minute HIIT, some do 30 seconds. I follow Shadow's 30 second HIIT, 1 minute rest. 20-30 minutes usually depending on what works for you. Only you can figure that one out. No max HR. You should feel like it's going to jump out of your chest!

30 Seconds ALL OUT feel like you can't breathe cardio, followed by 1 minute to get you HR back down a little so you can do it again - over and over and over for 20-30 minutes. I use to do the 1 minute, but I would give myself 3 minutes between HIIT.

I like the 30 second sprints because I can get more of them in and burn more in the process.

Hope that helps some

 

[nikkita]

Some do 1 full minute HIIT, some do 30 seconds. I follow Shadow's 30 second HIIT, 1 minute rest. 20-30 minutes usually depending on what works for you. Only you can figure that one out. No max HR. You should feel like it's going to jump out of your chest!

30 Seconds ALL OUT feel like you can't breathe cardio, followed by 1 minute to get you HR back down a little so you can do it again - over and over and over for 20-30 minutes. I use to do the 1 minute, but I would give myself 3 minutes between HIIT.

I like the 30 second sprints because I can get more of them in and burn more in the process.

Hope that helps some

Thanks Scorpiogirl!

How many times per week do you do HIIT?

 

[scorpiogirl]

I was doing HIIT 2-3 times a week - which is a good start for someone just getting into it.

Now I'm up to 5-6 days a week - BUT - that is because I'm trying to get the last 1.5-2% bf off before I start to build.

You'll find that doing HIIT will make your cardio sessions seem so much shorter. You're not feeling bored and irritated just doing a steady pace. You have to stay on top of your time and make sure your getting all your sprints in. It goes SOOOOO much faster! Good luck - keep us updated on how you're doing with this!!

 

[nikkita]

I will start incorporating HIIT 2-3 times a week on non-leg days to see how my body responds. I'll keep you updated.

Thanks!

 

[mermaid]

Some do 1 full minute HIIT, some do 30 seconds. I follow Shadow's 30 second HIIT, 1 minute rest. 20-30 minutes usually depending on what works for you. Only you can figure that one out. No max HR. You should feel like it's going to jump out of your chest!

30 Seconds ALL OUT feel like you can't breathe cardio, followed by 1 minute to get you HR back down a little so you can do it again - over and over and over for 20-30 minutes. I use to do the 1 minute, but I would give myself 3 minutes between HIIT.

I like the 30 second sprints because I can get more of them in and burn more in the process.

Hope that helps some

Just to reiterate, you definitely have noticed that you burn more with 60sec/30sec intervals rather than 3min/1min intervals? I'm currently doing the latter - the 1 min sprint is an absolute killer - at 45secs I feel like I'm going to pass out, so I would get two benefits (more cals burned, less pain) if I did shorter intervals? Or is it a personal thing?

 

[scorpiogirl]

It's just personal preference for me. I feel like I can put 100% into 30 seconds, where as I drop to 80-85% if I do 60 Seconds. Does that make sense?

 

[buffalogal]

Same for me mermaid. There's no way I could keep up sprint pace for 1 min and still give it my all. I also think 3 min recovery would be too long between sprints for me - meaning I wouldn't be in that groove of wanting to do sprints again after such a long rest period. (not sure how else to say it).

But it also depends on what works for you. My poor hear rate easily climbs to 200 bpm after 30 sec. Who knows what it would be after 1 min. It's just something that varies from person to person. My feeling is, if it's something you can stick with - go for it!!