Question about interval training

[gymrat]

If you're doing interval training, what should the difference be between your heart rate when you're doing the moderately intense part and the really intense part? I've recently started doing intervals and there seems to be about a 30 beat difference. (I average about 155 bpm during the moderate and 180 bpm during the intense.) Just wondering if this is a good spread or if the gap needs to be bigger or smaller. Thanks!

[gymrat]

Wow, no replies? That's disappointing. I keep hearing so much about HIIT on the diet and nutrition board that I thought for sure someone would have some advice for me.

[RJ2208]

well i honestly cant give u exact numbers but i`m sure someone more informed on hiit can help u, i perform hiit myself but i am way to tired to count how many beats per minute or watever i have between intervals, but i do know for a fact that i feel my heart pumpin faster when im sprinting and calms down a lil bit on the jog/walk back but like u said if ure havin a gap in the beats between intervals then ure doin the routine properly, but the amount of heartbeats and the gap between intervals is determined on how fit u r

[Klinger]

Originally Posted by gymrat

If you're doing interval training, what should the difference be between your heart rate when you're doing the moderately intense part and the really intense part? I've recently started doing intervals and there seems to be about a 30 beat difference. (I average about 155 bpm during the moderate and 180 bpm during the intense.) Just wondering if this is a good spread or if the gap needs to be bigger or smaller. Thanks!

I don't monitor it like that, but maybe my method will help you: the talk test. If I can recite the pledge of allegiance w/o sucking in serious air, I ain't running hard enough. Here's my basic HIIT model:

warmup jog 5 minutes
1 minute @6.5 mph
1 minute @9.0-9.5 mph
(alternate 5-8 times)
cooldown jog 5 minutes

Basically it's a 60 percent/90 percent effort split. Gets my metabolism going. I'm hungry for three days after HIIT

Jason

[ajarvis]

That sounds really intense Jason!

I don't monitor by heart rate either. I do 2 min warmup on 6.0mph then alternate 30sec 6.5mph and 30secs 8.0mph. I do 16 minutes of that and then a cool down. Next week I'm goint to alternate 7.0 and 8.0

[Klinger]

Originally Posted by ajarvis

That sounds really intense Jason!

I don't monitor by heart rate either. I do 2 min warmup on 6.0mph then alternate 30sec 6.5mph and 30secs 8.0mph. I do 16 minutes of that and then a cool down. Next week I'm goint to alternate 7.0 and 8.0

Then you are doing great, ajarvis. I have gradually stretched out the difference in speed to what it is now so that my body would get used to the intensity.

It really is hard to mess up interval training. The keys are to alternate intensities and never stop moving, even if that means walking at 3.5 mph and then jogging at 5.0 mph. The secret is in throwing that switch inside your body that forces it to adapt to different levels of intensity.

Keep it up -- and if you get bored with the treadmill, try the recumbent bike. I've been doing 30 second intervals on it and it really gets the heart and lungs pumping.

Jason

[ajarvis]

I'm pretty sure the bike would kill me I don't know what it is but I find the bike harder than running! Weird I'm actually going to try interval training with a skiping rope... see how that goes :

[gymrat]

Thanks for the tips! I'm realizing that heart rate is less important as I feel a LOT more winded when I'm at 170 bpm jogging than when I reach 170 bpm doing boxing (my body is conditioned for boxing but not for jogging so that makes sense).

One more question about timing... I've been doing my intervals this way: 3 minutes walking at 3.5, 2 minutes running at 5.0. I do this for about 25 minutes. I am relatively new to running so I don't yet feel comfortable doing an all-out balls to the wall sort of thing yet. The above feels pretty intense but I can tweak it if the intervals need to be closer together. Any further feedback is helpful. Thanks!

[Firehawk]

When you are doing your 90-100% intensity you should never be so out of breath that you can't say anything inbetween breaths, do you know what I mean? If you are, then you are putting STRAIN on your heart and that aint good man. You shouldn't feel as if you had almost drowned and someone finally released your head above water.

I usually do the stationary bike. I have a digital LCD that tells me the MPH speed I am peddaling and the resistance level. IVe been doing something like this:

1min 50% intensity
1min 80%
1min 50% intensity
1min 80%
1min 50% intensity
1min 80%
1min 50% intensity
1min 80%
1min 50% intensity
1min 80%

1min 60%
1min 90%
1min 60%
1min 90%
1min 60%
1min 90%
1min 60%
1min 90%
1min 60%
1min 90%

thats 20 minutes...

By the time I am at my last 90% minute, I am dead Fn' tired.