HIIT?

High Intensity Interval Training

Hi maureen,

It's workouts composed of mixing very high intensity bursts of exercise with moderate intensity recovery periods. It's very demanding, more like brutal. You can probably find out a lot about it by googling it.

Yes, I think I'm doing that correctly. I use the stationary bike (recent hip surgery can't jog yet). I do 30 minutes of moderate cardio, then I do the following 30 minutes at a higher level and increase my level even more and do 45 second sprints, then cool down for about 15 seconds. I usually do 12-13 sprints.

Is this considered HIIT?

Hi maureen,

You're doing some intervals at the end but your description of the workout is not what I know to be HIIT. I'd suggest you talk to a trainer or read a book to get a better idea if your goal is to practice true HITT. It's very important to make sure not to overdo it.

Maureen, I think the bursts of intensive activity are shorter duration than what you describe.

I think of it in terms of running the track at the school (I am not a runner, so this is high intensity for me). I run one leg of the track as hard as I can, then I walk it off on the curve, and then I run the other leg of the track as hard as I can. I keep repeating this cycle for a specified time. I usually only go about 15 minutes with this. I cover the same distance that I would have if I had been walking, but at a higher intensity and shorter duration.