dnoyc wrote: i run 30 sec at 5mph followed by 30sec at 9mph, repeat, (i do all this on the treadmill because of shin splints)
9mph doesn't seem like a sprint to me.
you're supposed to go high intensity for those other 30 seconds. Heart rate should be kicked up significantly i think.
i'm not really a fast runner. my fastest mile is 6 minutes, so that's 10mph. i figured i'd use that as my highest, 90% is 9mph, and 50% is 5mph. that's how i came up with that. i'll throw in some incline and see what happens.
You can't judge your sprinting speed from your speed running a mile. You really shouldn't even have to measure your speed when doing HIIT - just run almost as fast and hard as you possibly can for the sprints.
ScooterG wrote:Hmmm, this is HIIT is an interesting idea...I printed the stuff out and I might try it.... Of courrse, it says not to eat dessert so I may have to tell the author to fuck off on that point....
If you're looking for weight loss, eating sweets is self-defeating. If you're just looking to keep the same figure, then HIIT will keep your metabolism up longer, meaning the sweets will turn into less fat if you eat them in a reasonable time after running, so you probably won't gain anymore weight.
But if you cut out the sweets, you'll probably see improvement in just a couple of weeks.
ScooterG wrote:Hmmm, this is HIIT is an interesting idea...I printed the stuff out and I might try it.... Of courrse, it says not to eat dessert so I may have to tell the author to fuck off on that point....
If you're looking for weight loss, eating sweets is self-defeating. If you're just looking to keep the same figure, then HIIT will keep your metabolism up longer, meaning the sweets will turn into less fat if you eat them in a reasonable time after running, so you probably won't gain anymore weight.
But if you cut out the sweets, you'll probably see improvement in just a couple of weeks.
Well, I'm not overweight at all (most people describe me as thin), but I do have a more rounded tummy than I used to.... Mostly I just want to speed up my metabolism and firm up what's there.... I have a huge sweet-tooth, though and tend to eat a bowl of icecream most nights...but I do work out at night so that might make it better....
ScooterG wrote: I have a huge sweet-tooth, though and tend to eat a bowl of icecream most nights...
That is a huge mistake. When I was 15-16 I used to do that, I was a fat fuck, weighing 198lbs at around 5"10. I stopped and got on the atkins diet for a while then I just didn't eat sweets and all that shit and I've been around 175lbs at 6" for the past year and a half or so.
i don't think you need HIIT scooter, not based on what you've described your current physical condition and whatnot. Losing a bit of the rounded would actually require nothing more than alterations to the diet, some low intensity cardio (low intensity burns fat too...doesn't really deplete glycogen stores though...but forget that for now.)
But 20 minutes of low intensity to moderate intensity cardio 3 or 4 times a week, coupled with a basic circuit training regime that may take no more than 30 minutes to finish would do the trick.
Now if you are up for it, HIIT isn't bad...but the high intensity part isn't really 'necessary' for what you're after - again, unless you want to go balls out for awhile.
I'm not criticizing HIIT, because that interval training is great for really leaning out.
I'm basically in good shape, especially since I'm turning 31 next month, but I'm not as toned as I used to be (I got my 1st degree in theatre and dance and weighed 94lbs). But now I knit a lot as a hobby and that's really too sedentary to keep me toned. I do cardio for about 1/2 hour twice a week and do light weightlifting 3x a week. I'm going to start doing laps soon, too. I thought the HIIT might make the whole process quicker....