Answers to increased length of cardio

[lynnzeiner]

I found this online - I think this is helpful to us all:

Is 20 minutes of HIIT enough?

How to Burn MORE Fat in LESS Time - The Secret to HIIT"More for less" statements are usually followed by 30 minute infomercials that guarantee you phenomenal results with little work or "no money down". Well, there really is a way to burn more fat in less time, but the key is in defining the more and less variables.

Most people approach fat-burning and cardio workouts the same way. They hop on a treadmill, exercise bike, elliptical machine, or stepper and simply go through the motions for an hour or more. They think, "Look at me! I'm exercising for so long, and I'm sweating so much! I must be burning so much fat!"

Meanwhile, the guy on the next exercise bike has just finished his 15-20 minute cardio session, and he burned more than twice the amount of fat, AND his body will continue to do so for the rest of the day! How did he do it?

What is HIIT?
HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. Now, this is where the "more for less" concept comes in, but don't be fooled, you will be making up for that lost time with much higher–you guessed it–intensity!

The question is do you have what it takes to go all out for a short amount of time, rather than mindlessly wander through your current ineffective cardio routine? Consider this:

In an Australian study, people who cranked out 20 minutes of High Intensity Interval Training 3 days a week dropped 10 percent of their body fat, while those who exercised longer but at a lower intensity didn't lose any!

How Do I Do It?
There are many different variations of HIIT, and you can apply them to nearly all of the common methods of cardio training. Let's say you normally go to the gym and ride an exercise bike for an hour at a steady pace. To incorporate HIIT into your workout, here are your options:

6/9: This is the method used in the Australian study referenced above, and this is what I personally recommend. The numbers stand for seconds, and in this case, "6/9" means you would sprint all out for 6 seconds, then slow to about 50-60% for 9 seconds. Of course, you would continue repeating this cycle for as long as you can (you didn't think you'd be done in 15 seconds did you?!).

For example, hop on the exercise bike and warm up for 2-3 minutes at about 40-50% of your maximum effort. Once you hit the end of your warmup session, BAM!, launch into a full out sprint for 6 seconds. Then, slow to about 50-60% for 9 seconds, and BAM!, full out sprint for another 6 seconds. So, each full 6/9 interval lasts 15 seconds, or 4 intervals per minute. Keep repeating this cycle for as long as you can, but be sure that you are going as hard as possible for each 6 second sprint interval. It's OK if you can only last a few minutes the first few times. Your endurance will build up, as your waist shrinks down!

As a point of reference, John, our resident Workout Logger, warms up for 3 minutes, goes at 150 RPM (rotations per minute) for 6 seconds and 90 RPM for 9 seconds (repeating this cycle for 10-15 minutes), followed by a 3 minute cooldown for a total workout time of only 15-20 minutes.

30/30: The "half and half" method was one of the first accepted ways of doing HIIT. Since then, we've learned that shorter bursts produce greater results. Reason being, you can't really go absolutely all out for a full 30 seconds. Some practice even higher intervals of 60/60 or more. If you can last for that long, then you aren't really giving your maximum effort the entire time.
That's why short 6 second bursts are better, because you only have to sustain that maximum intensity for a short time. However, longer intervals such as 30/30 and even 30/60 can be useful for beginners. You may want to start here if you're not used to very high intensity in your current cardio training, then you can work your way up to the more efficient 6/9 or 8/12 intervals.

Why Does It Work?
When you are giving your all out maximum effort, your body produces more of a chemical called catecholamine. Can you guess what catecholamine does? That's right: it triggers your body to start burning fat. Even better, the higher your intensity and the more catecholamine your body produces, the longer the fat-burning process will last. This means you will be reaping the benefits of your HIIT session for up to 36 hours after you're done!

Now, get out there, and get on the HIIT wagon! Remember, the first two letters are the most important. HIGH INTENSITY!

[Chris]

This is a good post....

I was discussing this aspect of BFL with my friend the other day and it seems the HIIT for beginners really shouldn't be done while running. Well this is not tot say that you shouldn't run, but check this out... Doing HIIT on the bike or on eliptical is low impact. You can book it as fast as you want for as much force as you can exert and not have much of a problem. When running however, it's a high impact event. Your bones, muscles, joints, everything takes a real pounding and full out sprints are generally NOT recommonded until you've build up significant aerobic base.
I think of it like this... With weight lifting it's important to go with proper form, warm up, progress, and continually improve... If you jumped right into extremely high weights and no regard for form, you'd really risk serious injury, right? Well I largely think of running the same way. It takes a while to build up the support muscles necessary to keep proper form and to allow your body to run farther and faster without risking serious injury....

I'd be interested to hear what some of the other runners think about this. I often see running recommendations of no more than 3 HIIT interval spikes per session for beginners, and no more than 6 for advanced athletes...
So I guess unless you're already a runner, take it easier with this exercise.

Thoughts?

[Sunshine]

Now I am officially confused...

Maybe I have to reread that.

Right now for example on the treadmill - I do 2 minutes walking briskly at 3.0, then I run for 3 minutes at 6.0 - and go back down to 2 minutes walking and etc till I hit 25 minutes.

What is this about the 6 seconds only?? Sorry..

[lynnzeiner]

Originally Posted by Chris

This is a good post....

I was discussing this aspect of BFL with my friend the other day and it seems the HIIT for beginners really shouldn't be done while running. Well this is not tot say that you shouldn't run, but check this out... Doing HIIT on the bike or on eliptical is low impact. You can book it as fast as you want for as much force as you can exert and not have much of a problem. When running however, it's a high impact event. Your bones, muscles, joints, everything takes a real pounding and full out sprints are generally NOT recommonded until you've build up significant aerobic base.
I think of it like this... With weight lifting it's important to go with proper form, warm up, progress, and continually improve... If you jumped right into extremely high weights and no regard for form, you'd really risk serious injury, right? Well I largely think of running the same way. It takes a while to build up the support muscles necessary to keep proper form and to allow your body to run farther and faster without risking serious injury....

I'd be interested to hear what some of the other runners think about this. I often see running recommendations of no more than 3 HIIT interval spikes per session for beginners, and no more than 6 for advanced athletes...
So I guess unless you're already a runner, take it easier with this exercise.

Thoughts?

The article mentioned biking as an example...I think someone with NO cardio experience would feel more comfortable on a bike or elliptical but I don't think running or jogging would be too detrimental. If they are truly that out of shape due to lack of cardio, then they won't be running real fast to reach their "10" intensity anyway. I know someone who is not a runner who jogs and reaches a 10 simply at 5.1 mph. I think everyone needs to find out for themselves what is most comfortable. I personally prefer the ellipticals.

[mygirls]

Sunshine - I do 2 min at 4.0 (intensity 5) then:
minute 3 4.5 intensity 6
minute 4 5.5 intensity 7
minute 5 6.5 intensity 8
minute 6 7.0 intensity 9
repeat these through minute 18 at 7.0 intensity 9
minute 19 7.5 intensity 10
minute 20 4.0 intensity 5

[beebs]

You can even walk for the whole time. You can get your heart beating pretty hard just walking.

[Sunshine]

oh no my girls - i've been doing it wrong this whole time! haha .. omg.. I'm so lame! I will follow your schedule this week!!!

My cardio's a changed up this week from last week (last week was upping cardio to 30 mins) - then this week I did kickboxing for one of them.

Thanks again for your help!

[gnash]

Originally Posted by beebs

You can even walk for the whole time. You can get your heart beating pretty hard just walking.

I agree...

Getting in shape should be a gradual and continuous process of progressive increases in HR..the approaches in the above posts seem ok to me...

Consistent cardio training is the key...trying to force your body to get in shape too quickly is not a good idea..grinding out week after week is best..

IMO, interval training should not be done until HR recovery from 70% is pretty quick (say around 2-3 minutes to HR 90,or so )...a lot depends on age,BW,genetics,and previous activity level..

[Sunshine]

i love your wolves Gnash..

[gnash]

Originally Posted by Sunshine

i love your wolves Gnash..

Hey Sunshine...

That's because you love those dogs of yours and they look kind of like a wolf.

When I find that blehness thread of yours I'm posting a challenge for you that will last 6 weeks,so you check it out...

You've got 6 weeks to get ready for MAUI..

gnash

[KittyKat]

So the guy basically cycles like crazy for 6 seconds and then normally for 9? He doesen't change the resistance he just cycles faster? I imagine that as a great outdoor workout. Has anyone tried this?

[statona]

uhh... how do I handle my 2 hour bike ride in the morning followed by 30 minutes of running - hmmm... oh to figure out BFL and Ironman training.

[BigMikeLV]

Let me add something that I found on another site that makes sense.

It's not about starting to burn fat at 35 minutes or burning more calories doing 30 minutes of moderate intensity cardio rather than 20 minutes of HIIT. The reason why HIIT results in faster fat losses has to do with EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption). It is the concept that your body continues to burn calories AFTER your HIIT session and throughout the next several hours MUCH more than if you just did regular moderate cardio.

By the way, EPOC is even higher with weight training, and that is part of the reason why any fat loss program is enhanced by weight training rather than just cardio.

and this:

I think the peeps who are referring to intensity have it right....

if it is that intense... you will not physically be able to do more than the 20 mins...

that should be more than enough to effect dramatic change.

to be fair...

I did call EAS before my first challenge to get thier opinion... and they stated any excess cardio.. should only be moderate intensity.

Their reasoning made sense to me... so that was how I proceeded... and yeah..

like Irishmick... my HIIT was truely an uncomfortable experience

[lynnzeiner]

Originally Posted by BigMikeLV

Let me add something that I found on another site that makes sense.



and this:

Good Stuff! Anything to support shorter cardio, I am all for that