For a short blurb from Wikipedia: it's a form of sprint interval training ... "it is an exercise strategy that is intended to improve performance with short training sessions. HIIT is a form of cardiovascular exercise which is beneficial to burning fat in a short and intense workout. Usual HIIT sessions may vary from 9–20 minutes. The original protocol set a 2:1 ratio for work to recovery periods. For example, a runner would alternate 15-20 seconds of hard sprinting with 10 seconds of jogging or walking." Additionally, "The number of repetitions and length of each depends on the exercise. The goal is to do at least six cycles, and to have the entire HIIT session last at least fifteen minutes and not more than twenty."
About two weeks ago I tested this out... and what a workout it was! I have talked with a number of people who use this type of training and they love it too. After talking with a fitness friend of mine I decided to give it a go after understanding it a bit more.
When I "HIIT it" here is what I do on the recumbent bike.
I warm up for 2-3 minutes at the lowest resistance setting on the cycle. At the end of the warm-up I change the resistance to a setting of 3. For the next 10 mins or so I switch back and forth between sprinting for 20 seconds and riding at my normal pace for a minute. After 10 mins I ride at my normal pace for 3-5 minutes... and then increase the resistance to a setting of 5. Then I repeat the 10 min cycle of 20 sec/1 min intervals. After the 2nd set of 10 mins I will again ride at my normal pace for 3-4 mins... and then increase the resistance to a setting of 7. Before I finish up I will lower the resistance ... and it's VERY important to have a cool-down time at the end of at least 3-5 minutes.
HIIT is where it's at for me.... I love this!
My workout goes by so much faster. I'm a bit more focused and can push myself harder.
Currently I am doing this 2 times a week... with mixed upper body weights and ab exercises. On "off" days (the other 2-3 days a week) I just do a normal ride on the recumbent bike.
I can't wait to see the results... but I will.
No comments:
Post a Comment