TRULY HIIT

Sorry that it has been so long since my last blog post.  I’ve been spending a TON of time giving basketball lessons, training people, and changing poopy diapers.  I promise to be back on here again soon though!  As for today’s post…

Many people claim to be doing HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) as a part of their cardio program.  But in reality, few actually reach an intensity that I would TRULY consider HIGH intensity.  If you honestly go ALL OUT like you are sprinting away from a hungry bear, then after about 12-20 seconds you would need over a minute to recover (maybe considerably more than a minute).  If you do something like 20 seconds “on” followed by 20 seconds “off,” then you are not going as hard as possible during that 20 seconds… and/or not choosing an activity that makes you tired enough after 12-20 seconds (i.e. jumping jacks would be much easier than sprinting up a steep hill).

Quick Note: When I say “intensity” in this article, I’m talking about how fast you are going in regards to your max speed.  In other words, if you do 20 seconds on, and 20 seconds off, you may truly be going as fast as you can, but due to the fact that you’ll be under-recovered going into the next set, you won’t be able to maintain your max speed from set-to-set.

Now, I have no problem with interval training where you do something like 20 on/20 off or 30 on/60 off, but don’t confuse that with TRUE HIIT.  I’ll invent a new acronym right now (at least I’ve never heard it), M/HIIT… Medium/High Intensity Interval Training.  This is much higher intensity than steady state cardio (like jogging 5 miles or doing a 15 mile bike ride), but nowhere near MAX effort followed by a full (or near full) recovery.

Think about it this way, let’s say you were being timed in a 100 meter sprint three times, and here were the 2 scenarios…

#1) Sprint 100 meters, rest 30 seconds, sprint another 100 meters, rest 30 seconds, and finally sprint one more 100 meters vs…

#2) Sprint 100 meters, rest 120 seconds, sprint another 100 meters, rest 120 seconds, and finally sprint one more 100 meters.

Obviously your times would be much faster with the longer rest intervals.  This longer rest allows you to more fully recover, which allows you to run at an intensity closer to your max speed (like when running from that hungry bear).

Dr. Layne Norton and Dr. Jake Wilson talk about all the benefits of this truly HIIT in THIS PODCAST.

In short, HIIT (with the LOOOONG rest intervals) is a great way to hold onto muscle mass and strength/power gains while still getting your cardio in.

Just remember, you don’t rest a long(er) time just for the hell of it.  You do so because you need to in order to repeat that HIGH intensity for the next set.  Here’s an example of me doing plank-ups yesterday.  I did this for 20 seconds, and in actuality I slow down a little bit towards the end and probably should have only done sets of ~ 15 seconds if I wanted to prevent my intensity from dropping towards the end of the set.

So, my advice for the individual that is looking to maximize muscle mass/strength/power but doesn’t want to get “too out of shape,” perform true HIIT for the majority of your cardio sessions (and if this is your goal, you shouldn’t be performing much cardio in the first place… maybe once per week).

If you are a “general fitness enthusiast” just looking to “be in good shape” and lose a few pounds, go ahead and perform a mix of true HIIT AND “M/HIIT.”  And if you’re like me and can’t stand the long, slow stuff, never do it!  If you enjoy that, go ahead and mix a little of that in there as well.  You weirdo, you!  Just kiddin’… kind of.

The best activities for true HIIT include (but are not limited to)…

• sprints
• hill sprints
• sled/prowler pushes or car pushes
• battling ropes
• plank-ups
• hitting the heavy bag
• heavy jump rope
• bike sprints (up a hill or on a stationary bike with the resistance turned up pretty high)

Now of course, some of these may not be appropriate for you depending you strength level (and injury history, etc).

Just remember if you are performing HIIT you will NEED a good amount of rest between sets, otherwise it is NOT truly HIIT.  Both M/HIIT and HIIT can be incorporated into your plan if that fits your goals.  Just make sure that you know the difference.

Now go get lean for the summer!

And if you know someone that says, “I’m heading to the gym for a HIIT session,” make sure you forward this article to them so that they too know the difference.

Have you ever performed true HIIT training?  If so, you know that it ain’t for the faint of heart!