HIT anyone?

I love the seven minute workout app- doing it 2-3 is a great workout and you can always modify bits. It's a mix of strength work and cardio- 30 second blasts with 10 seconds rest. It's a bit like the fast strength but with cardio bits added in.

Thanks to this thread I am going to try this tonight in a class.

I am relatively fit - have got up to running 5k, do a LBT class most weeks and pilates.

I still think this may kill me though..

Maybe try starting with 1 min intense and 2 min recovery period thisone. Adjust down to 1:1 via 1:1.5 as you feel able and from then on up intensity...

Right, I'm going to give it a go! Thanks for the advice.

It's the best and the most natural.

that sounds about right but there are different protocols and I'm not sure which is best, I tend to mix it up a bit, some slightly longer intervals at slightly lower intensity, and shorter ones at higher intensity depending on how I feel

I think as long as you are generally healthy it should be fine because the intensity is specific to you, the point being to challenge and push yourself a bit, as you get fitter your capacity will increase, ie your heart rate at any given workload will reduce

Thanks sleep and lazy my computer conked out right after I posted so I had to wait until tonight to see your replies. Just to clarify, I should start out doing 1 minute at high intensity followed by 1 minute moderate intensity, for 12 mins is that right? And presumably 5 or 10 minutes warm up and cool down. Is it OK to do this if you're not all that fit? I do zumba once a week but that's about it.

Thanks :o
Funnily enough I was reading that article online yesterday!

for Suzanne - ouch!

Absolutely thisone... Time to shift the dust!

I agree with you on the weights Sleep (and I am now trawling you tube for 'tabata with weight training') but I do periodically get seduced by the euphoric blissed out fruits of prolonged endurance training.
(Then again who wants buggered knee's)

Thisone yep pretty sure the rower can be used for hiit!

I've always done HIIT in various forms but have been doing tabata since Christmas. It is so effective but I can only do it twice a week at most. I work in other HIIT workouts, plus resistance training but the tabata has made a real difference. I've gone from pretty fit but not improving to really quite fit and markedly better than I was even 3 weeks ago.

Has anyone tried doing this on a rowing machine? I've already got one gathering dust so it would be great if I could put it to use.

I'd have thought if you keep up your (what appear to be very strong) habits, you can probably relax and enjoy your health and fitness without worrying too much about the technicialities of it - unless you are actually enjoying the geeky aspect of it of course (like I do sometimes!).

I don't know what you've concluded but everything I've learned points to resistance training being the real key for fighting the effects of ageing on a female body...if you've got that nailed by 40 and keep it up then you're at a big advantage compared to the women pounding away the hours on the treadmill, not sure ageing knees are best suited to that anyway!

Wrenster try www.youtube.com/user/FitnessBlender?feature=watch pretty sure they'll have a good amount of hiit style workouts

I'm not specifically worried about diabetes/metabolic syndrome, just want to stay in optimal health for as long as possible.

Also vanity/wanting to stay lean (so many women report putting on weight during/after menopause) and insulin appears to be key to keeping adiposity at bay!

Suzanne, I'm slightly confused, is there a particular reason you are worried about that? From everything you post you sound incredibly fit and lean, with a healthy diet - not a prime candidate for metabolic syndrome ?

I guess I'm focused on insulin sensitivity/glucose tolerance because I have the impression it is key to keeping body fat down and avoiding metabolic syndrome and it's attendant adverse health outcomes.

Not to say that that vo2 max/cardio vascular efficiency isn't also important and also a predictor of health outcomes

yes, sorry it's quite a long video and the study isnt exactly a fun read, I think I just about got the gist of the discussion section

Ooh thanks , will check those out. I just clicked then remembered I'm meant to be watching the despatches thing on sugar! Time consuming this food and exercise shizzle !

well I dunno, weight training is anaerobic so we agree on something :o I think exercise has various effects/benefits, increase in vo2 max, improved insulin sensitivity, reduced blood pressure.

I found this video quite interesting

and this study www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6823/9/3

As far as I understand it Suzanne, HIIT is all focused on the cardio aspect, getting into that anaerobic zone for short periods that stimulates growth hormone, creates an 'afterburn' effect on calories yet preserves muscle because you don't (can't!) work long enough at that intensity to reach the point where your body uses muscle as an energy source....happy to be corrected though.

well I get what you're saying, but isnt it also about recruiting as many muscle fibres as possible so as to fully deplete muscle gycogen and improve insulin sensitivity

(too much getting up and down makes me feel faint-low blood pressure )

I use HASfit (on YouTube) for HIIT exercise. He is brilliant and has so many different routines, from kick boxing to specific area workouts. He also has different ones for varying levels of fitness. He does all his on his website www.hasfit.com or on YouTube for free. He also has meal plans you can download. Within a month of doing his workouts I lost half a stone (without dieting) and developed a defined stomach.

Sadly, due to an ongoing medical condition, I am unable to exercise so intensely but once I can again, it will be with Coach Kozak!