What is HIIT?
HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training is a form of cardio exercise that is proven to burn 9 TIMES more fat than regular cardio, in less time! Learn how to get started here.
I’ve added a new page to the site that has some HIIT videos that I feel are useful for people wanting to get a visual tutorial on how to HIIT. Sometimes you can read for hours but not fully understand what is being said until you see it in video. Check out the new page here.
You will also notice a paragraph on the page that relates to making your own HIIT videos and earning a little pocket money for doing so! I am in the process of creating a database of HIIT videos, tutorials, timers, ebooks, charts, calculators and whatever else can help you on your HIIT quest, and as a result I will pay good money for exclusive (that means it can’t be on youtube already!) videos of you doing your HIIT, on any cardio machine, for any interval ratio, any country, anybody!
The quality of your HIIT video will determine it’s value (i.e: price). If you have any questions, or want to send through your videos use the contact form or email me directly: mark@hiitsource.com
You get a great workout and some cash, nobody loses!
Here is a scenario that is often encountered when getting into HIIT and weightlifting, it hurts!
Hey guys, i’ve found your site extremely helpful. I’m going to begin interval training soon. But i’ve been resistance training for quite awhile and im sore on my “off days.” But i’ve been told to do the interval ttraining on my off days. Would it be okay to still be sprinting when sore?
I also imagine i wouldn’t been sprinting my full potential because of the soreness, so i probably wouldnt be reaping as many benefits as if i had done it without being sore. Thank you in advance!Read the rest of this entry »
I am prone to all sorts of nausea. Poor camera work, first person shooter games, car sickness and a particularly horrible susceptibility to sea sickness often result in an art form I like to call reverse eating. For the sake of my typing lets just call it what it is, vomit. It should come as no surprise then that my first ever HIIT session ended abruptly, face down in the toilet.
I get many emails a week asking about HIIT (I can’t reply to them all, but please use the forums, we have some extremely helpful members), and often people will tell me of their first HIIT experience that resulted in nausea and vomiting.
First of all we must establish that exercise induced nausea does not affect everyone, but it is a perfectly normal and common response to exercise. Although you may feel like it, vomiting after HIIT will not kill you and it will be over usually quite quickly after vomiting and some rest. Read the rest of this entry »
If you’re not lucky enough to have yourself a Gymboss interval timer, you might be struggling to keep track of your intervals during your HIIT sessions. I’ve created a little mp3 which has interval notifiers for a 8:12 HIIT protocol.
In other words, my little computer generated lady voice will let you know when it’s time to start your high intensity intervals, and when it’s time to begin your active rest intervals. Just load the mp3 onto your iPod and plug your ears into a guided workout, simple!
The mp3 is only 4 minutes long, with an intro that means its around a 3:40 workout - so it’s only brief. The 8:12 interval ratio is suited better for people with some HIIT experience. Really fit people may want to go for longer, but if you’re advanced in HIIT you should have yourself an interval timer by now anyway!
There are other interval ratios coming soon, including 10:20 and 30:60 splits. Future mp3’s will also go for up to 10 minutes.
I get a few emails a week (via the contact form) asking about what and when to eat for optimal HIIT results.
I tend to reply to this kind of question with a list of pro’s and con’s and no concrete advice either way. I do this because it is a heavily debated topic and you will find a million people who will say eating before hand is good and another million who say that NOT eating (fasted cardio) gives best results.
The problem with this debate is everyone is different, not to mention everyone has different goals. Bodybuilders are generally more concerned with keeping their hard earned muscle, whilst people with weight loss goals and cardiovascular health in mind are typically worried about burning fat.
I’ve seen both work for people, and I’ve had both work for me, and I still can’t say for sure which way was better. Read the rest of this entry »
HIIT with a jump rope is a really good workout, especially if you are already handy with a jump rope. If you’re new to working out with a jump rope you probably aren’t going to look like Rocky Balboa the first few times - but you will get the hang of it.
The basic principles of jump rope high intensity interval training are exactly the same as any other HIIT. You need to alternate between high and low intensity (active rest) intervals and you can monitor your intervals via time, heart rate or number of jumps.
Personally I find it difficult to count the number of jumps for HIIT so I use my Gymboss to monitor intervals, along with a heart rate monitor with a chest strap. Read the rest of this entry »
A decent interval timer is an essential tool for anyone half-way serious about HIIT and interval training. In the past I have reviewed the Gymboss Interval Timer which I used for months before I was sent a new timer by Vladimir from a company called Inventico. Interval Workout Timer (model TMR03) does what you would expect it to, track intervals, but it has a few key features that make it stand out from any other timer I’ve used.
The Low Down
The Fitness Timer is a fist-sized gadget with a large digital display and an easy to use interface. It comes in 3 colors, black, gray and off-white and sells for $22.99 through the Fitness Timer website.
To operate you simply set the number of rounds, set the duration of interval one and interval two, then press start. If you wish you can also save up to 3 interval settings to use later using the MY TIME button. 3 beeps indicates the end of interval one, while 1 beep means the end of interval two. 3 sets of 3 beeps means that your workout is over! Cleverly, this gadget also flashes the interval round you are currently in during the beeps. You are given all the information you need for a perfect HIIT workout. Read the rest of this entry »
In an effort to cut down on the time it takes for me to reply to everyones questions by e-mail, I have added a forum to the site. You can view the forum here or access it using the left navigation
The forum is extremely simple to use, and should be a great place to share HIIT ideas and methods.
The forum is brand new and still being tested so some browsers may not render the style properly, if you are having problems just email me using the contact form.
Check out this great news story that was aired in my home country of Australia. It’s more evidence of the weight loss capabilities of HIIT.
Please take note of the shortness of the intervals, and how slow the active rest intervals actually are. It’s a very common mistake I am seeing lately that people are going too hard in their active rest. It is walking pace only.
After hitting a training plateau with low-intensity, long duration cardio, I started doing some research and discover hiit. The web has been a great source of information - but it is varying information regarding the length of each high intensity session and each rest session, and the intensity of the session. I’m a 25 year old female, 5′7″ and 150 pounds – size 6/8.
Since staring HIIT 2 months ago, I have undoubtedly burned fat and built a lot of muscle. I’ve tried not to pay a lot of attention to the scale as I know my muscle mass has greatly increased. I’m pretty solid, but still have some fat that I want to get rid of that’s not coming off.
This is my workout: Hiit 3 times a week - alternate days. Elliptical twice a week- 3 miles in 38 minutes - more for endurance and toning my legs. I also do some ab & arm exercises 4-5 days a week.
I’ve read conflicting reports that my hiit workout is good, and others say it’s either “too long in session duration” “too long in total duration” “not intense enough”, etc. This is what I do:
Warm up for 7 minutes, start walking 4.2 mph up to jogging 5 mph at 2% incline.
Then Hiit Session 1:
1 minute running 7 mph at 3% incline – heart rate gets up to 170-180 bpm 2 minute cooldown jogging 5 mph at 2% incline – heart rate stays around 140-150 bpm.
Hiit Session 2:
1 minute running 8 mph at 1% incline – heart rate gets to 180 bpm 2 minute cooldown jogging 5 mph at 2% incline – heart rate stays around 140-150 bpm
Hiit Session 3:
1 minute jogging 6 mph at 5% incline – heart rate gets up to 170-180 bpm 2 minute cooldown jogging 5 mph at 2% incline – heart rate stays around 140-150 bpm
I repeat these 3 sessions again, and then session 1 again – totaling 21 minutes of “hiit”
I then usually spend a ½ mile cooling down. By the time I’m done, the workout has taken me about 35 minutes and my finished heart rate is still around 135 bpm. And while I am tired, I am not to the point of feeling like I’m going to throw up, like some sites suggest.
What kind of advice can you offer me? Do I need to shorten my sessions? Although the intensity doesn’t seem real high compared to what some other people do (12 mph, etc), my heart rate is still getting up there. Thanks for your help. Your site is great!
Jaclyn
Hello Jaclyn, thanks for the question.
First of all, punching the numbers into the HIIT Calculator you can see that you should be hitting about 175bpm in your high intervals and around 125bpm in your active rest intervals. You are definitely doing well to get to 180bpm, however I think this is due to the fact that your active rest heart rate is too high but I will address that shortly. Read the rest of this entry »
What is HIIT?
Hello HIITers!
Here is a scenario that is often encountered when getting into HIIT and weightlifting, it hurts!
I tend to reply to this kind of question with a list of pro’s and con’s and no concrete advice either way. I do this because it is a heavily debated topic and you will find a million people who will say eating before hand is good and another million who say that NOT eating (fasted cardio) gives best results.
The basic principles of jump rope high intensity interval training are exactly the same as any other HIIT. You need to alternate between high and low intensity (active rest) intervals and you can monitor your intervals via time, heart rate or number of jumps.