Am I doing high intensity interval training right?

[lozina]

I read alot of good stuff about high intensity interval training so I wanted to give it a try.

I'm doing this using a rowing machine, is that a good way to do it?

What I did was build myself a little timer program that I run on my computer where I workout. I have it countdown 5 minutes for a warmup then it repeats 1 minute full power/1 minute rest intervals 6 times, then finally a 5 minute cooldown.

During the 1 minute full power I pretty much give it all I got, exhausting myself by the end. Then for one minute I just row like a grandma allowing my heart to rest. Then rinse/repeat.

Sound right?

 

[QueBert]

You got the system down, you go balls out for 30-60 seconds until you can't do any more, then you cool down. Some people do it with 60 seconds of balls out and 1 or 1.5 minutes of cool down every go around. Which would be 1:2 or 1:3. If you can do 1:1 (60 seconds of each) and repeat you're in good shape 🙂 I could probably do 1:1 twice on a treadmill, but then I'm going to have to downgrade to 1:2 or 1:3 even. If I have to I'll do 1:4. I'm not a HIIT expert but my basic understanding's that if you can go longer than 60 seconds you're not pushing yourself hard enough. You should be wiped out after a minute at full intensity. I only do treadmill, but it should be the same to any HIIT.

Out of curiosity what kind of rowing machine is it? Sometimes I get bored running on a treadmill, a rowing machine sounds like it would be a nice change of scenery.

 

[neocpp]

How is the risk for injury when doing HIIT? It seems like going all out if you don't have nearly perfect form is basically a recipe for disaster, but I'm not sure.

 

[gar655]

Sounds like you're doing OK for that time length. But the high intensity portion or max effort is going to vary by the time of the interval.

You cannot go as hard for 60 seconds as you can for 30 or 20. Tabatas if done properly 20 on, 10 off will totally wipe you out.

You can do HIT training by doing 500m repeats as well. The longer the effort the more aerobic it becomes and vice versa.

Do what feels right for you, vary it up a little.

Gene

 

[lozina]

Thanks for the input guys!

Out of curiosity what kind of rowing machine is it? Sometimes I get bored running on a treadmill, a rowing machine sounds like it would be a nice change of scenery.

Its an old Concept 2 Ergometer. It used to be at my brother's office gym, then they raffled it away and he won. But he has no room or it so I gladly took it. I love this thing!

The model looks exactly like this one:

 

[HNNstyle]

The main reason you are suppose to keep the breaks short is to make your heart beat faster with the more rounds that you add. You should basically feel your heart beating faster after every round. At least, that's how I understand it. Eventually, my heart would race so fast that I couldn't catch my breath forcing my heart to skip a beat while I grasp for air. I use a treadmill and not a rowing machine though.

How is the risk for injury when doing HIIT? It seems like going all out if you don't have nearly perfect form is basically a recipe for disaster, but I'm not sure.

Yes you can but you can injure yourself doing anything in the gym. You can start off with something easy if you really want to do HIIT. If you can jog for 12 mins straight then you can simply add two 40 second sprints inside of that 12 min jog. When you feel that your heart is adjusting to the two sprints, add two more sprints inside of the 12 min jog.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

The typical guidelines are as follows: if you're going all out for 0-30 seconds, you rest 3x the amount you're working. If you're going for 30-90 seconds, rest 2x the amount you're working. If you're going for 2min+, you rest for the same amount that you're working. This is due to the amount of effort you'll expend at each. The intensity level you'll maintain at 30s is way more than what you'll be able to maintain for 90s so rest is going to be appropriately increased.

 

[neocpp]

The typical guidelines are as follows: if you're going all out for 0-30 seconds, you rest 3x the amount you're working. If you're going for 30-90 seconds, rest 2x the amount you're working. If you're going for 2min+, you rest for the same amount that you're working. This is due to the amount of effort you'll expend at each. The intensity level you'll maintain at 30s is way more than what you'll be able to maintain for 90s so rest is going to be appropriately increased.

I mean, this seems pretty similar to regular track intervals... is there something I'm missing? I understand it's not just applied to running but also other workouts, but where is the main benefit in fitness coming from? I usually just do track work to sharpen up and gain speed, but my overall level of fitness seems derived from base mileage. Is there something different about doing it for other workouts?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I mean, this seems pretty similar to regular track intervals... is there something I'm missing? I understand it's not just applied to running but also other workouts, but where is the main benefit in fitness coming from? I usually just do track work to sharpen up and gain speed, but my overall level of fitness seems derived from base mileage. Is there something different about doing it for other workouts?

It's like track intervals, but you can do it with any movement that gets your heart rate off. You could do interval box jumps, rowing, weightlifting, etc. If you're strict with the rest that you have, it gets very difficult. With sprinting, people aren't typically as strict with their rest schedule. In addition, you can make it more difficult by not actually stopping during the rest period, just slowing down. For example, if you're sprinting, just slow jog during the break, and then ramp back up when the rest period is over. There's also the Tabata option of 20s work, 10s rest, repeated 8x at maximal effort. Research has shown that as an effective way to improve conditioning. It's not dependent on mileage and has been shown to improve people's ability in much longer, endurance-related events.