Midwife: This week I've been really looking at my HIIT more closely. I'm doing it on either an EFX elliptical trainer, AMT, or running around the coffee table they call a track at my gym. On the EFX and AMT I set the resistance at a level where I'm comfortable for steady state cardio usually around 8 or 9 on our machines. I will warm up for about three to five minutes and then enter into my first "sprint" During this interval I will move as fast as I possibly can for 30 to 45 seconds. If I do it for the full minute then I get queasy during the recovery. I will then recover to a slow steady state for three to five minutes. It usually takes me about 35 to 40 minutes to get through five to six intervals.

I discovered this week that I can not do this everyday. At best I can in a couple of intervals just to get my heart rate elevated during the workout. By Friday, the third day of interval training, I'm slogging. I'm hoping this will improve so that maybe I'll be able to add Saturday as an extra interval day.

Today was my first attempt at intervals on a track. It's really small and I had to dodge a couple of small kids and walkers but I was able to run at a comfortable rate for about eight minutes before my first all out sprint. Honestly, I don't know how long it lasted. I'm thinking it was a little more than half of the track maybe three quarters. I did this twice before I decided I probably look like an idiot out here and I better find a piece of equipment and behave myself.

Cheryl had previously asked what an AMT is and I forgot to post a pic. So here ya go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxGSBF8MdR4

I love this machine. Sadly my new gym will not have this. ~sigh~ I do this without using the handlebars. My DH said that I look like I'm prancing when I'm on it. Nice. And I brought him in with me that day because why?! Speed Moonracer got an attitude adjustment that day.

Lydia, I see guys doing intervals on the track at our Y a lot. I don't think I'd do it myself, just because of all the doorways and crossings. I've done them on the outdoor track, and that was fine, since there's hardly ever anyone using it, and it's bigger, so you're not on the turns all the time.

I was wondering about the noise with the plate switch planks. Maybe it can be done without stacking them? It would be interesting to try, anyway. Or you could use the coated purple girly DBs and build a tower. lol

Tomorrow is another crossfit style workout for me. I've been saving shoulders and abs for that, since I had fun with that workout before. For some reason, I'm loving those handstand push-up progressions!

Lydia, I discovered some time ago that I cannot do intervals every day. But, I'm much older than you. You can probably build to doing a 2-rest-1-rest-2 type of schedule.

I'm trying to figure out what I can do for cardio tomorrow. It's been horribly windy here the past couple of days, so being outside is nasty. We have an upright stationary bike - which I hate - that may have to fill in. My DH however has been oiling all our wooden bookcases now that they're removed from my sewing room for the new carpet. He's working with linseed oil approximately 4' from the bike. Do you think I could breathe with a clothespin on my nose? I could go the the skating rink and use the walking track there - might be a better option than the linseed oil.

Interestingly, BFL has a whole regimen on HIIT cardio and says you absolutely should NOT do it more than 3x/week. Here's the page on HIIT. They prescribe 4 intervals or "high points" during one 20 min session. Yes, it does pretty much feel like you are constantly ramping back up again, but that's the point. I did this once and felt cardiac-arrest'ish at my final high point (a 10) so for those of you feeling queasy, I think we both need to take our very highest point down one notch so that we can do it a full minute.

Here's what it looks like:

Fran: Thanks so much for posting this. I think I do recall reading this in the book. It's been a while since I read it maybe I need to spend some time bonding with it this afternoon. I probably would feel a little less worn out the next day doing steady cardio as well.

Okay. That's my assignment today. Take a look at how he has the intervals in his program and decide if that's how I want to approach it.

Nice chart by the way.

Pat: I would do the cardio far away from the house. The indoor track sounds like your best bet. Your off the hook for the upright bike today.

Cheryl: Can you believe that our Y does not have pretty purple dumb bells. Trust me, if there were there... I'd be building pyramids. Too funny.

Lydia - thanks for the kinds words and all the great information! I will be giving it some thought. I think this might be, at least, the short term answer. I actually enjoy the steady state cardio when it involves running outside but the treadmill? Forget it, every minute is torture but this might help.

And I wasn't really truly expecting to lose 9 lbs. of fat and gain the same amount of muscle in a relatively short time. I'm not sure if it's possible or if I would be willing to put in the necessary effort, even if it was. Food for thought really.

And I wish my gym had a track, I think that would help too! I think the treadmill will do for the HIIT for now. I'll up the weights too, loosely following BFL and, if I feel I'm committed, I'll join in on the challenge. Having just had all my measurements and BF done at my gym, I'm ready to go with a starting point.

This is getting weird, since most of us are also on the BFL thread.

Elisa, do join us on the challenge, if you come up with a plan you like and want to stick to. It doesn't have to be BFL, exactly. A nine pound switcharoo does sound impossible, at least on the muscle gain side. Makes me wonder a little what that PT was thinking, unless you're secretly an amazon and didn't tell us.

I had a good workout last night. Since I started doing crossfit a couple days a week, I am having a hard time keeping the crossfit out of my other workouts. I want do crossfit style every workout...is that so wrong? It's addicting! Also, it is handy when I don't have time for a separate cardio workout. Last night was an example. Yesterday was crazy busy around here, so it was 10:30 pm before I could get loose to do my workouts. Rather than face a lifting session followed by a long SS cardio session, I wrote out my LB workout, then inserted running between sets. Voila! Made for a good workout, helped give me a little pre-fatigue on the lifting (good since I don't have enough weight at home for the big LB lifts), and kept it interesting. I also find I work a little harder at each exercise, knowing I get to do something different during my "rest" periods. Anyway, not sure what my point is here...just confessing my crossfit addiction, I guess!

My head is spinning - I can barely keep up with all the posts here!

Cheryl - I meant to ask a long time ago - can you please post explanations of your abbreviations for me? I feel totally lost - sometimes I think you have a Masters in Egyption hieroglyphs.
I went back a couple of pages and all I could find (for now) were these:

1. "The WOD was rounds of HSPU (handstand push-ups) and L-pull-ups"
2. "TDP"

I am sure there were others, but maybe in different threads. I will ask again when I find them.

Alena

I know, I know! WOD at least, workout of the day!

heh...my personal trainer said in our first meeting that he was shooting for me to gain "8-9 lbs of muscle and lose 8-9 lbs of fat". Seriously? And I didnt have the heart to tell him that was not even my goal, even if I thought that was reasonable.

And what is with the trainers talking about losing equivalent amount of fat to what you gain in muscle. I mean, that is great if you are at or near goal, but uh...no, if I gained 8 lbs of muscle, I had better lose a heck of a lot more than 8 lbs of fat. I dont care about my size so much, but 142 (what I was the day he weighed me) is too much to haul around in a marathon if I want to make my life goal. Sleek baby, sleek.

Cheryl, I'm confused...are you circuit training, cross training, or are those the same thing? If not, what is cross training?

Help me out ladies - I can't seem to figure out what a 5 vs a 6 feels like. Or a 6 vs. a 7 and so on. I darn sure know the difference between a 5 and 9, so I thought I'd just walk at a 5 for a minute and run(ish) for a minute. I had to walk 2 minutes a couple of times and wore myself right out, but is there any harm in it?

Oh ennay honey you are too cute! I would LOVE to "haul" around 142 pounds!

Alena, sorry! I'm not trying to confuse you. LB is lower body, UB is upper body...I'm doing upper/lower splits for lifting. SS is steady state cardio, like jogging or running for distance, as opposed to doing intervals of sprints vs. jogging or walking. WOD is a crossfit term, what they call their "workout of the day", the posted workout on the main crossfit site. TDP is the daily plate, a website for logging calories...I must have been replying to somebody else's post about that. I'll try to speak english from now on.

Ilene, that's what I was thinking. It would take me a long time to gain muscle like that, and I'd hope my workouts would be burning a lot more fat in that amount of time!

Michelle, I'm not sure of the technical term for what crossfit is. You could check out the website for yourself, though, that's probably the best way to explain it:
http://www.crossfit.com/

Hey Pat!

Cheryl,
Thanks for the link. i can totally see where your addiction comes from. This is way out of my league but kind of inspirational to look at.KWIM.

Rabbit

Ennay- Does your trainer know that your goal is to run marathons? No, you don't want to load up on too much muscle, but you do need to have muscular balance and endurance. Most distance runners who don't lift have underdeveloped hamstrings which causes eventual knee problems. Building upper body muscle will give you power and keep you from having that "beef jerky" look. But make sure that your trainer knows your goal is not body building!

Alena- You're right- we have too many threads here to keep up. It's nice to see it so busy, but maybe we should merge for February into a menu thread and a general thread.

OK, I can't put off plunging out into the ice storm any longer. Cardio done (intervals on the elliptical), and legs at lunch because I missed the gym due to work chaos yesterday.

Mel

Would you look at the snow here! Seriously I live in a snow globe today. Mel and Fran, are you getting any of this storm?

It iced last night and has been snowing HEAVY since about six this morning. Obviously I did not get to the gym this morning. I rode my bike in the basement instead. I got in twenty minutes of interval training and then some nice steady state at about 16 mph. Boy am I grateful for the free trainer my neighbor gave me for my bike. Having this option has saved me so much fret about getting in my cardio this winter. I'm saving my lifting muscles for the driveway I will have to shovel as soon as this stops.

I hope the snow will pack well. Maybe DH will make another snow sculpture for our neighborhood to wonder about.

Stay warm, stay safe, and stay motivated!