HIIT: what do you do?

[Jenn Equestrian]

So I'm getting psyched to add in the HIIT. What forms of exercise do you use and what have you found to be the most effective?

I plan to definitely do some of my HIIT sessions running on the track, but I was also thinking of jumping into the pool and doing some intervals with front crawl or fly. Anybody here swim for HIIT? What have you found the most challenging and effective form of exercise for really pushing to the max and seeing results?

[pinkgingham_19]

I use the stairmaster.

[pursuingpurls]

I have a bad knee and have been instructed not to run by my orthopedic , but I do HIIT on the elliptical. My DH swims and does intervals and loves it

[Cynthia]

Lately I've been doing both the bike and the stair climber.

[rixatrix]

I usually do the bike, but today I'll be heading out to the local track with a runner friend of mine to put us both through some sprint drills. And if we do that for a few weeks and get tired of it, I've got a giant set of stairs in mind. I hope it'll be okay doing HIIT with a partner...to be honest, I'm a little nervous...

[Bytsi]

My favorite is the stairmaster, but I also do the track or treadmill. Reasons are:
1. I prefer something (tmill, stairmaster) that I don't have to make myself go hard every step or else the machine will slow down - I prefer it if I have to keep up with the pace I selected on the machine. On an elliptical or bike, I can "slack" if I don't focus 110% on the intensity. On the tmill or stepper, if I slow down before my interval ends, I fall off!
2. I'm afraid of tripping, so the stepper is ideal. On the track, or even tmill, I'm always afraid of doing a face-plant when I'm exhausted and sprinting. Can't really fall of a stairmaster! Worst thing is both pedals hit the ground, right?

I do my HIIT VERY intensely. I get my HR high (well above 90%) and I do short rests (30 seconds, sometimes 45 at most)... so safety and efficiency (forcing myself to continue maximum effort) are my biggest concerns.

Hope that helps!

[realcdn]

I haven't got to that point, but I was thinking of using the pool as well. I'm not sure that my knee would hold up to sprinting on the treadmill. I've tried it in the past, but all I usually get for my efforts is pain. Once our pool is open (probably two weeks) I was going to see what I could come up with.

[frogguruami]

I have been hula hooping to warm up and cool down, jump roping for my high intensity and walking around trying not to fall over for my low intensity! LOL It is soo much fun!

[Amblus]

My usual form of exercise is cycling (spinning and/or mountain biking), which is a combo of intervals and endurance. For HIIT workouts after lifting I really like the stepmill aka "stairway to hell":



It's so evil, but very, very effective for short HIIT workouts. It kills me in a totally different way than cycling does.

[jvernacchio]

Stairmaster 60 seconds on 30 second rest no holding on to the rails.

[Phaedrus49er]

Just because I was never in-shape enough to run while growing up, sprints at a track are my favorite. I also bought a Concept2 rower awhile back that's good to break things up and also allows me to do HIIT when the weather and/or my schedule don't let me get to a track. I'm also starting to get into hills more--I just need to get some cleats before really tackling them.

[nutbar]

I've done:

Elliptical. Bleh. I just can't get the intensity even with the highest resistance setting and going as fast as I can. I think my legs are too long for the stride so I feel like I'm going in little bitty circles.

Treadmill. Bleh. Again with the long leg & stride situation. My feet hit the motor housing in front and the wall in back. I'm not at all safe on the treadmill at higher speeds.

Mixed stuff. Fun! I tried a combo of as-fast-as-I-could mountain climbers, burpees, etc and had a blast!

Hill runs outdoors. My favorite! We live on a hill so when it's not crappy weather, I go out and run up, walk down. I can really open up my stride to its fullest and my speed to its highest. Love, love, love this and it completely wipes me out. It also helps my focus and agility, I'd say, because the hill is filled with big rocks, gullies, slick clay, and loose pebbles -- I feel like I'm running a full-speed obstacle course. LOL

[LT Hebert]

Originally Posted by Phaedrus49er

Just because I was never in-shape enough to run while growing up, sprints at a track are my favorite. I also bought a Concept2 rower awhile back that's good to break things up and also allows me to do HIIT when the weather and/or my schedule don't let me get to a track. I'm also starting to get into hills more--I just need to get some cleats before really tackling them.

Hills? What are those?

[Jenn Equestrian]

Oh Nutbar, how I envy those long legs. At 4"10 I've never quite had those issues Even miniskirts are long on me lol. Wanna chop off a few inches and send them this way???

[maggieandmommy]

I've been using the treadmill, but I broke one of the treadmills at the gym the other day when I was switching speeds (Got a lovely "Check Speed System error) and the other two I tried had belts that slipped. Gah. I tried the elliptical, but couldn't get my heartrate up high enough. i'm going to try the stepper thing on Monday.

Nutbar, I've had the same problem with some of the ellipticals at our gym. I find that the Precor machines are the best match for my stride.

[jellopy]

Originally Posted by nutbar

Mixed stuff. Fun! I tried a combo of as-fast-as-I-could mountain climbers, burpees, etc and had a blast!

Definitely fun! I just did:

Tabata squats (30 seconds)
Burpees (30 seconds)
Walk around / Rest (2 mins)
Jump rope (60 seconds)
Walk around / Rest (2 mins)
Jumping jacks (30 seconds)
Mountain climbers (30 seconds)
Walk around / Rest (2 mins)
Repeat

I almost fell on my face during my last set of burpees, but I enjoyed it much more than HIIT on the machines

[Bytsi]

I've gotta try some of the burpee / mountain climbers for HIIT - I had fun doing them with plyos the other day (which I counted as a version of HIIT)...

Does anyone have thoughts on time of day for HIIT? I was thinking of doing it after work, but... ??? I'm a morning workout person usually - I lift 2/week (on the 2 days I go in tp work slightly later) and HIIT on the other morning. 2 days I have to be in earlier, so if I added more HIIT sessions, I might have to do it after work on those days... (plus, of course, the weekend)... Does it effect you any differently if you do it early or late, right after a workout or much later... ???

[sharsell119]

In addition to the other things already mentioned, I've also used the Arc trainer. At 55 resistance that thing gets my heart rate up something awful!!