New to Forum - HIIT Question

babylu22 · Post by **babylu22** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 9:37 pm

What exactly is HIIT? I have been working out religiously for over a year and would love to try something new. I am at a plateau and need something fun to do.

bigiz123 · Post by **bigiz123** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:59 pm

i dont kno about fun but HIIT is when you go in intervals of as fast as you can followed by a slower pace, followed by as fast as you can etc. i usually do a 2 minute warmup then go for 21 minutes of this, 30 second sprint followed by 1 minute of a slower pace and so on and so forth

babylu22 · Post by **babylu22** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 2:11 pm

So I take it this can be made up individually?
What are the benefits of that versus a high cardio excersice?

SarahPT · Post by **SarahPT** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 12:08 pm

HIIT stands for high intensity interval trianing. After a warm up you sprint full out as fast as you can for about 20-25 seconds. If you go much longer than this you are not truly going as fast as possible. In between speed intervals you would slow down for about 1.5 minutes, depending on how long you feel you need to recover. The intervals should only last 15-20 minutes max. If you can keep going past this you may not really be going as fast as possible. Cool down after.

This is best done on a track where nothing is inhibiting your speed. Most people find they actually go faster ona track than on a treadmill, which means they are actually getting the full effect. An elliptical is another optinion.

Sarah