Pat, I've got that incredible, exploding heart thing going on too. My max is supposedly 167 (so I guess I'm exactly ten years younger than you!) and I typically get to 163 - 165. I've gone over my max doing squats.

As for doing intervals backwards, don't give me too much credit. I only switch and go backwards so my legs don't fall off. If I had to keep going forward all the time, I'd simply collapse. Shifting and going backwards gets a whole new set of muscles involved and I get a bit of a breather. Typically I do as many minutes backwards as forwards.

My gym is famous for cardio done either talking on the cell phone or reading a magazine. I'll see people get on the elliptical next to me, set the resistance on "1", and s-l-o-w-l-y move their feet around. Flick through a magazine, chit chat with the person next to them, and check out the TV. And never break a sweat. I read an article recently (can't remember where) that says it doesn't count as a workout unless you're sweating in the first five minutes -- I like that.

I understand. If you really like cardio and want to rest that area, try a rowing machine. If you don't have access to one or find it unpleasurable, then give your knees a bit of time to feel better and when you are able to go again, try a few different things like the elliptical, bike, stairclimber, or whatever else you have available. See if the problem reoccurs with other modes of exercise after it heals.

Hi Depalma,
Unfortunately I work out at home and only have access to a treadmill.
I work out around 5 am and don't belong to a gym.
It's clear to me now that I have to not do fast walking or running or even LBWL till my knee is better.
I always do yoga after my workouts too so it can't be that I don't stretch enough.
I want to do my UBWL workouts though and I usually warm up for 5/6 min on the treadmill.
Any ideas for warming up before the UB workouts that don't involve walking on the tm or using my knees?

I do a dynamic warmup. Dynamic mobility drills to warm up and activate certain muscles.

Currently, I'll do:
1. Shoulder dislocates with a broomstick ( I do 10, then shorten up the grip and do 10 more)

2. Scapular wall-slides (sometimes called stickups) 10

3. Leg swings (10 each side)

4. Ankle mobility (knee to wall) 10 each side

5. Swiss ball upper body russian twists (for thoracic spine mobility. Make sure to keep lumbar spine and hips straight) 10

6. Hip bridges (10)

7. Bird dogs (10 each side)

8. Lateral lunges (10 each side) leave out if your knees are hurting right now.

9. Band walks (10 lateral steps in each direction x2)

Do all unweighted in one big circuit. Should take 5-10 minutes tops. Depending on how fast you transition between exercises.

Thanks Depalma --you are the Best!!!
I confess I'm going to have to look up most of the exercises you mention because I am not familiar with some of them but they will make a good ( not exercising) project tomorrow and I'll do UBWL Tuesday.

baff - I know there's no right or wrong way to do this, and I'm still new to the HIIT but I wonder if I should slow down on the "recovery" speed. I was doing 7.0 mph as my sprint, for one minute, and then 5.0 as my recovery speed for a minute and a half. Maybe I could increase the sprint speed if I decreased the recovery speed, but I'm really afraid of losing my footing on the treadmill. I can't wait for it to be warmer so I can try this outside. I see people beside me running at 8.0 or higher and it looks like a jog to me but when I try 7.0, it's like I can barely get my legs to keep up!

I'm sure it gets better with time because I remember when I thought 5.5 was fast and now it's just a leisurely pace for me.

Elisa, I just had visual of you doing a face plant on the TM - oops! I know what you mean though. I constantly have to remind myself that I have very short legs and those people going at 8 or 9 are way taller than me with much longer legs. Plus I wear petite/short pants, with about a 28" inseam. I see you're only 5'4" too, so that may be part of it.

I always make sure that my shoes are tightly tied! My sprints aren't superfast either, but they kick my butt, which is the point.

To answer your question, there was a Craig Ballantyne video in circulation (I think on YouTube) explaining HIIT. He insisted that if you do high-intensity intervals you should really use the minute in between to fully recover. I used to walk briskly and feel lazy for not jogging during the recovery intervals, but that video accorded with my preferences so I've gone with it. 3.5 is a moderately paced walk for me and my HR drops all the way back down during the recovery minute. OTOH, our Meg seems to stay at a relatively high level of intensity during her recovery minutes as well.

ETA: Here's the Ballantyne video I mentioned.

Pat - yeah, I should try to remember my short legs! I hadn't really thought of height being the difference but it certainly makes sense.

baff - thanks for the link. It's interesting and while I feel sometimes like I'm getting information overload, this was simple and easy to remember. What the heck, I can give that a try! I like that he explained the need to go down to a walking pace and that 6 intervals is a decent amount. I had no idea how long a good session of HIIT would be.

I still want to do my 5k's but I think that they can each be a part of the whole fitness program. Doing something a little different all the time is what keeps me going back.

Yes, I NEVER see people doing anything BUT steady state at the Y when I'm there - or any other club I've been in. Or people walking or running on the street that I see daily. Hmm, are we on to some secret club, the HIITY club??? lol

I haven't researched it a ton, one reason for doing this thread, but it seems logical to need to recover and literally just get your breath back and feeling like you can breathe w/o pain during the recovery - at whatever rate that needs to be for you. For me, walking at 3.5 for 4 mins is what that takes. And 5.0 is a good run for me at this point & one that I think I can keep up and not get wiped out from, so that's why I thought I needed to start at this point. Off to watch the YouTube video.

OK, see, now THIS I get! That's a great video and exactly what I've been doing! How cool - it's as if I watched it before I started my hiit, but I didn't. Gosh, so nice after all that NROL confusion.

" no more!! "

Great video. I'm guilty of perhaps not going light enough in the recovery. But I can work on that......

Pat, don't feel guilty about how you do HIIT. There are dozens of HIIT schemes out there. Some of the more advanced ones use a moderate/moderate-high intensity recovery instead of the low intensity that Craig B is advocating in the video. I like one from an old Muscle and Fitness that increases the intensity of each interval and recovery during the workout.

Thanks again Depalma!
I was able to google all the warm up exercises you suggested, and bookmarked some great sites in the process.

After reading about the all the benefits of HIIT, I have been trying this too. I currently do 2 mins at 6 mph and then 2 minutes walking at 3.5 mph. Is that too much at either intensities? I see from the information above that the intervals are much smaller.