Exercise

When To Do High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

I am becoming a big fan of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).

What is HIIT?  From wikipedia –

A HIIT session involves a warm up period, several short, maximum-intensity efforts separated by moderate recovery intervals, and a cool down period.

I like to do HIIT on the treadmill.  I’ll warm up for five to ten minutes, and then rotate between speeds of 8.5 and 3.0, ending with a five to ten minute cool down.  The entire HIIT session usually lasts between 20 and 30 minutes, including warm up and cool down.

I have been doing HIIT before my strength training sessions, and I was wondering if I was doing them at the right time.  I found this video from Yuri Elkaim where he answers the question – When Should I Do High-Intensity Interval Training?  I was pleased to see that for someone like me, who is trying to lose weight, a great time to do HIIT is just before strength training.  Check out the video for the complete answer –

For more information about HIIT, let me suggest this NY Times article.

I am actually not going to the gym today, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to miss my workout.  Instead, in just a few minutes, I’m going to hop on the treadmill, do some HIIT, and then do some body-weight exercises.

2 thoughts on “When To Do High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)”

  1. NCN,

    I like to do HIIT combined in a specific way with Steady State Cardio.

    HIIT or other intense intervals is great for releasing fatty acids into the blood stream from your fat cells. This release peaks about 5 minutes after the HIIT is completed.

    Steady State Cardio is great at using fat for energy, but bad at isolating this fat in the first place. The body is in the perfect condition to make the most out of Steady State Cardio about 5 minutes after HIIT.

    HIIT alone works wonders, but you will get a bit more bang for your buck if you add Steady Sate Cardio.

    I made a quick 3 page mini-course for my readers here.

    http://fitnessblackbook.com/low-body-fat-percentage/

    Nice Site, by the way!

    Rusty

  2. You really shouldn’t be able to do steady state cardio after your HIIT sessions, and if you can then you’re not working hard enough on your intervals.

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