STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

jen · Kate Spade

Has anyone tried HIIT yet?

hotcocoa · Kate Spade

jen, i've done a small bit of reading / research on HIIT but i'm wondering if you know of a good source or website to read up on it further. i'm thinking of mixing it in. i'm already doing interval training as part of my workouts, but this sounds awesome. i love a good challenge that'll kick my ass.

tell me... did you design your own HIIT workout? which type of cardio have you been doing it with?

eta: i found your links and the thread where you explain your workout. no need to elaborate. thanks!

-- Edited by hotcocoa at 21:57, 2006-03-01

honey · Gucci

i've been doing a modified version since you posted about it, and it's kicking my butt. but in a good way. i think it's too early to see noticeable results but i hope that by the end of march i can post a success story. thanks for posting about it, i'll keep you up on my progress.

luckylily · Gucci

I'm trying it!

I was sidelined by a vacation and a bad cold, so I've actually only done it 4 times. I'm doing it on the treadmill and I feel a little wobbly, like I'm going to fall, so I'm working my way up in speed. Right now, my sprints are only 8.5mph. I'll probably up that to 9 mph after a couple more sessions, my legs seem to need time to adjust.

I definitely like it. I sweat like crazy and my legs feel pretty rubbery when I'm done.

I really do enjoy a nice long run tho. I'm trying to stick w/ my long run 3 days/week, then do HIIT 2-3 times.

Ritz · Dooney & Bourke

i've been attempting it on the elliptical, but I did it on my parent's treadmill when I went home and it was INTENSE! however, i have a hard time alternating the speeds fast enough on the treadmill at my gym and am way too scared to jump off to the sides.. i need to work on that

I've also been checking out the oxygen site.. thanks for all your help jen!

Lilykind · Hermes

I have tried it a few times...it kicked my butt (and I'm so pathetic that my highest speed is a 7.0). I've noticed the fat burn in my thighs and legs the most. The only bad thing is that I'm worried about my heart rate going up to like 170+ and going nuts.

sfclinevandy · Coach

I did it with my trainer and it was hard! She actually had me doing it not on a machine...jogging/walking than sprinting. I sweat so much and was actually sore afterwards for working so hard, but I know I got an amazing workout.

shopgirl82 · Chanel

i have been doing it 2 days a week and it's working me. i only do a 8.7 sprint right now. i do it when the gym is not super crowded though because i feel like kind of a spaz on the treadmill when i do it. i think it would be really fun to do it outside on a track since you don't have to waste that time with the speed changes like on the treadmill. also, since i have a 8k in a month, i feel like i need to do the longer runs, so i do those 3 times a week.

that was my mini goal for february. my mini goal for march is to work on my strength training which has been lacking since i hate weights and i'm such a cardio queen.

lynnie · Chanel

Can someone please post the thread or link that explains this workout? Sounds really good- when i was running cross country- the speed workouts where you would sprint your ass off for short distances did SO much more than the lazy 5 mile runs we would take

hotcocoa · Kate Spade

lynnie wrote:

Can someone please post the thread or link that explains this workout? Sounds really good- when i was running cross country- the speed workouts where you would sprint your ass off for short distances did SO much more than the lazy 5 mile runs we would take

lynnie, (fellow cross country runner!) i did a little search on the forums because i wanted to hear what fabulous miss jen had to say about HIIT. here is the thread where she talks about it and then a link that she posted as well. all this talk about HIIT totally reminds me of track + cross workouts. freakin' intervals and ladders sucked didn't they? i remember throwing up after my first day of track practice in college — it was THAT hard. but they really are the best workouts ever. anyway... FIY:

http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=44784&subForumID=102163&action=viewTopic&commentID=5775875

http://oxygenmag.net/showthread.php?t=3365

-- Edited by hotcocoa at 21:33, 2006-03-01

bex · Chanel

jen i tried Elle's version she PMed me. I liked it but hated punching the up and down arrow all the time during the 20 minutes that you go back and forth... so i haven't done it again since. i've been doing my ITread instead. but other than that, i liked it. perhaps when i find one of those super sensitive touch treadmills at a hotel, i'll do it again.

Elle · Hermes

Bex - I just hop off onto the siderails between the sprints. I'm only at 8.5 mph for sprints right now, so it doesn't seem too fast, but if you were sprinting faster it might be dangerous I suppose!

bex · Chanel

Elle wrote:

Bex - I just hop off onto the siderails between the sprints. I'm only at 8.5 mph for sprints right now, so it doesn't seem too fast, but if you were sprinting faster it might be dangerous I suppose!

wait... you didn't drop it to walk and then punch it back up to run again? that is what i was hating... the punch punch punch punch to get it down low and then punch punch punch punch to get it back up again.

however, one of the treadmills i used this week all you had to do was just place your finger ever so lightly upon the arrow keep and it was all "zoooooooooom" down to the number... no punch-punch-punching needed

jen · Kate Spade

Yeah, lately, I've been just jumping on the side rails which enables my sprints to be faster as well. Tonight is HIIT night, I'm excited!

bex · Chanel

jen wrote:

Yeah, lately, I've been just jumping on the side rails which enables my sprints to be faster as well. Tonight is HIIT night, I'm excited!

nice! i'll go that route next time i do it.

unfortunately, i couldn't fit my running shoes in my bag this time around... so its all about my reg. workout dvds this go round!

Jahni · Dooney & Bourke

I started HIIT about two weeks ago and I LOVE IT! I'm shocked at how much further/faster I go. Normally I do 3, 10 minute miles (i'm so not a runner). By doing HIIT I've got my miles down to around 8.5 min, so my 5K is the best it's ever been! I do about 6.3 for two minutes and then 8.5 for one minute, 30 minute total workout. I'm burning more calories and am down about 4lbs. AND those are the 4lbs that I've been trying to lose FOREVER.

It's the only cardio I do now, except for the 15 min on the stair climber after my abs work out.

jahni + HIIT= true love and shrinking butt/thighs....*sigh*

hotcocoa · Kate Spade

i've been dreaming up running workouts i'm going to do on an outdoor track once the weather hits a decent steady temperature. (actually i'm trying to piece them together from memory) there are one or two really good ones that i need to write down before i forget.

is anyone planning on taking it outdoors this spring/summer? (no need to jump on the rails!) i'll post the workouts once i write them down and try them once.

jj · Kate Spade

hotcocoa wrote:

is anyone planning on taking it outdoors this spring/summer? (no need to jump on the rails!) i'll post the workouts once i write them down and try them once.

Me me me! I can't wait to start running outside. I would love it if you shared your workouts!

And just to report in, I started doing HIIT in September (there was an article in Self about it) and I love it. I was in a workout rut and this has really made working out fun (did I just say that??). I love being able to see the results and feeling stronger.

Elle · Hermes

I started doing my HIIT workouts 3 weeks ago, but had to take some time off from it after the first week and a half. I had been doing it M-W-F and then had some knee pain the following weekend, and when I went back to the gym to try to do my next Monday workout my knees hurt to badly to run at all, much less sprint. Anyway, I went out of town and therefore took a full week off. Now I'm going to start doing them again, but I'm going to have to modify it further and probably take it down to 2 days a week. Baaaaah!