So i started this new workout a few weeks ago and i just wanted to sing its praises to all of yall bc i have never and i mean never had results like this (and i have tried a myriad of different workout routines to keep myself interested)

I have been doing HIIT on the elliptical (and i know most of you ladies love the elliptical for the cardio portion)

Basically what HIIT is, is high intensity interval training.. there are many different ways to go about this but which has worked wonders for me has been going at a moderate speed on a low level for 3 minutes and than putting the level all the way up to the highest and going as fast as i can as hard as i can for 1 minutes (it honestly looks like you are trying to ski in waist deep water.. you dont go fast at all but after the minute you will be dripping sweat) then moderate speed at low level for 3 and back up for 1 and i do this for 20 or so minutes..

I just wanted to share with yall this work out routine bc i have been doing a several different workouts over the years and literally in a couple weeks i have become more tone than any thing else i have done for even extended periods of time (this includes strength training) ladies, i am even starting to see signs of a 6 pack under there!!

Another variation i try when i am really sore and beat (i find it impossible to do a HIIT like that everyday sometimes even every other day) is doing 2 minutes of moderate speed low level 1 minute sprinting on a low level and going back down to moderate speed for 30 minutes..

I hope this has been helpful.. I honestly just wanted to sing this workouts praises bc it has been so successful with me and i hope it will be for yall as well )

Thanks for the tip! I tried it this morning and man, am I beat.

I can definitely see how it works.

I have a general question about HIIT that I'd be interest in hearing people's thoughts on:

There's all sorts of conflicting information on the internet about how much cardio you need, and then it's confused by bringing in HIIT. So I did the OP's workout for 40 minutes, although I took a few liberties (i.e. did fewer after I hit my 20 minutes) to be able to keep it going for the length of time I want to do my cardio. Does this defeat the purpose of HIIT?

Actually, I'm not even sure what my question is. I know the point of HIIT is to do it in short bursts of energy, but is there some other way I'm supposed to adapt this to a longer workout? (I am mostly concerned about length because despite my best intentions, I usually only get to the gym 4x a week).

I've also heard (and then of course I've also heard that it's a myth) that HIIT isn't as effective if you're not doing it first thing in the morning before eating. I work out pretty much first thing in the morning before work, but I eat breakfast first- I've tried the empty stomach thing and it makes me physically ill. Is there any truth to this?

thanks!

I think the consensus is that HIIT is for shorter workouts. If you want to add extra cardio, you do it after you finish your 20 minutes of HIIT. Probably if you can do it for 20 minutes, you're not doing it hard enough (and therefore not really doing HIIT).

(Alwyn Cosgrove suggests taking a 5 minute break between finishing your HIIT and starting your regular cardio. Something about flooding your muscles with triglycerides so that your cardio is fueled by fat. Or something.)

I do HIIT once a week after eating a small sandwich like an hour after eating at like 6 a.m. Yeah, this and running has slimmed me down like nobody's business and given me some pretty decent ab definition. I brought my nine-year old son with me yesterday when I did my HIIT (we jogged over to the playground and ran sprints in the parking lot for 20 minutes) and even he was dripping in sweat. I can't do it more than once or twice a week b/c it leaves me feeling pretty wiped, lol. I can't say enough about this workout, it's the best IMO.

Great, thanks dietVet and FitMom! Maybe I'll try doing this on weekends or during a time I don't usually work out to do it the right way.

DJS: when i do my HIIT cardio it is for only the 20 minutes and that is all the cardio I do for that day. I will usually do a long cool down and follow it up with light to moderate weight training with free weight dumb bells. So my workout for the entire day is less than I used to do time wise but the results have been better in my personal experience. I did a little research on HIIT before i started doing it and the best thing about it is the after burn. It pumps up your metabolism for hours after you complete the workout.

It is kind of like crossfit it some ways.. the harder you do it the better is it so its better to do only 15-20 minutes of it as intensely as possible as opposed to doing it longer with less intensity.

Thanks! I guess I really couldn't complain about cutting my time in half! I'm glad you found great results with this.

Oh and one more thing.. I forgot to address this in my first reply. I never ever work out on an empty stomach.. I made that mistake once and threw up. The times i can work out vary but I always make sure to eat something high in protein before hand and wait about an hour or so to do my workouts. Doing this on an empty stomach may be effective but it sounds dangerous and I have still been trimming a lot of fat after eating )

The average 20-minute HIIT session burns like 200 calories but the afterburn lasts for 24-48 hours and that's when the fat just melts off you. HIIT IMO gives you a bigger bang for your buck in terms of fat loss because for not much time invested, you get huge results.

Oh, I also forgot to add that once Winter comes my way, forget doing outdoor HIIT for me. I read online there are millions of ways to do HIIT: jumping jacks, burpees, jumping ropes, climbing stairs, jogging in place, etc. It's not just limited to sprinting/walking. The skies the limit, lol.