How to use High-Intesity Interval Training

If you aren’t familiar with High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), I recommend you read my previous post on HIIT.

If you’re ready to try High-Intensity Interval Training, you’re in luck. You can get started today!

One of the great things about HIIT is that it’s very flexible. You can do any exercise you like, as long as that exercise can make you work. Go back to your childhood with a jump rope! Transform the stationary bike from a spare clothes-hanger to a beast that does your bidding! Lace up those shoes and go for a (short) run! Or, do what I did…

I originally thought maybe I’d bike my way to HIIT glory. That lasted precisely one workout—not because it was so awful (though it was hard), but because it took about three times as long as the actual workout for me to get dressed for it and changed when I was done.

I thought I’d dig out the old jump rope and do that instead. After all, there were no worries about no bike shorts, bike shoes, garage door opening and closing, or figuring out where to ride hard but not for long. The only problem was… I couldn’t find the jump rope.

No excuses

What I ended up doing, and what I recommend to you if you have even a little doubt on what to do, was an old drill from P.E. class. It’s this simple: pick a line and jump over it, side to side, back and forth. Jump with your feet together (both feet leave the ground and land at the same time). Clear the line with each jump. You’ll just be landing in two spots, over and over.

This isn’t the most thrilling exercise, but trust me, it will get your heart rate up. If you have something else in mind, by all means, give it a go. But if you find “the process” to be an excuse, give the jumping a try… all you need is a line (mine was frequently a line of light from the window).

The workout

Once you’ve chosen what you’re going to do, get ready to do it. You’ll need a clock you can see or a watch you can glance at. This is because you will be doing 30-second intervals: 30 seconds of hard work, followed by 30 seconds of active rest, and back again.

For your first workout, you’ll exercise for just four minutes. Well, you should do a little bit of warm-up first, so you don’t freak your muscles out, so figure another couple of minutes for that. But when you are ready to get going, just start working.

You’re shooting for about 90% of your “personal maximum” when you’re “working”—it’s subjective, but you’re definitely pushing yourself. During your recovery, try for about 50%.

On day one:
Work hard for 30 seconds
Recover for 30 seconds
Work hard for 30 seconds
Recover for 30 seconds
Work hard for 30 seconds
Recover for 30 seconds
Work hard for 30 seconds
Recover for 30 seconds

That’s four minutes total.

Plan on doing three HIIT workouts each week. Your second workout will be exactly the same as the first one (except that you’ll likely feel less as though you’re going to keel over and die).

Your third workout changes just a little: you add on another minute. You’re still doing the 30-second intervals, just an extra pair.

Follow this pattern for the full eight weeks: do two workouts, then increase your time by one minute for the next two workouts, then increase your time by one minute for the next two workouts… etc. You’ll start at four minutes and finish at 15 minutes.

For those of you who are visual, you might like the way it’s laid out in this HIIT chart (note that the “third” 5 minute workout should actually be 6 minutes).

Now for the hard part…

You actually have to go do it. But you can! You’re talking about working up to fifteen minutes. You can so do this!

I’d be very interested to hear what exercise you choose, so by all means, leave a comment!