High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 8:54 pm

In the video Cathy posted the young, very fit demonstrator talked about walking FAST to a specific point, then slowing down for a bit, then doing it again. That sounds like something I might be able to build up when I do my walks.

Leah · Post by **Leah** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:16 pm

That's a good plan Lesley :)

Leah

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 6:07 am

Cathy,

Thanks for the info. WOW! I am so impressed.........just by the fact that you can jump on and off a treadmill without hurting yourself. LOL! I am too much of a klutz to attempt that, I fear. Plus I had meniscus surgery a few years ago on my left knee. And 10-11 mph - that's really something. You GO girl!

Do you know how one might do settings for a stationary exercise bike? I guess it would be by altering revolutions rather than resistance?

Thanks.

Hugs,

Polly

P.S. Mary Beth, I sometimes do this on the trail - walk 10 steps, then jog/run 10 steps. Then, walk 20 steps, then jog/run 20 steps. And so on up to 100 steps. I had read about this is an exercise mag. It's somewhat meditative, too, because you are counting steps.

mbeezie · Post by **mbeezie** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 7:41 am

OMG - just tried HIIT this morning. It was intense, for sure. I ran/walked fast for 20 - 25 minutes. I would run as fast as I could for 50 steps and then walked really fast for 100 steps (yes Polly the counting was meditative). I have no idea how fast I was sprinting - normal jogging speed is 6 mph and was going way faster than that. It seemed easier to do outside than on a treadmill. I felt like I really worked out harder than usual. Think I will give this a try and see what happens.

Mary Beth

CathyMe. · Post by **CathyMe.** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 1:49 pm

Leah wrote:Wow Cathy, I'm impressed with your work out! Being a personal trainer myself, I can honestly say that this kind of training does work, but it's INTENSE! Most people hear "20 minutes" and they are in, but the intense part is very hard for the average person to take on ... especially if they are older or a new exerciser. If anyone is thinking of doing this for the first time, try to get a trainer to guide you at least one time. Most people will not go to a hard enough intensity on their own. I also believe that your change in diet has more to do with your weight loss than your type of exercise. However,having said that; exercise and the muscles that you have built up are definitely what will help keep the weight off.

Lesley, be careful

Leah

Hi Leah,
I definitely agree with you to have a trainer/coach to help out! I just wanted to share what had worked for me. I definitely know that the changes in my diet have helped but truely believe it's everything all together as my diet was pretty good to begin with! I actually eat more now than I used to.

CathyMe. · Post by **CathyMe.** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 1:55 pm

mbeezie wrote:OMG - just tried HIIT this morning. It was intense, for sure. I ran/walked fast for 20 - 25 minutes. I would run as fast as I could for 50 steps and then walked really fast for 100 steps (yes Polly the counting was meditative). I have no idea how fast I was sprinting - normal jogging speed is 6 mph and was going way faster than that. It seemed easier to do outside than on a treadmill. I felt like I really worked out harder than usual. Think I will give this a try and see what happens.

Mary Beth

Hi mary Beth,
Good for you! When I started, I certainly wasn't going 10-11MPH and have worked up to this over the past 5 or 6 months. Also, for all of you that are trying this, be mindful to NOT do it every single day-only 2-3 x a week. I will say again, having a coach/trainer has been huge for me throughout this process.

Polly, I'm not sure how to do it on a stationary bike...I would think pedal as fast as you can for however many seconds and then back off for the rest period.

CathyMe. · Post by **CathyMe.** » Tue Jul 24, 2012 1:56 pm

Lesley wrote:In the video Cathy posted the young, very fit demonstrator talked about walking FAST to a specific point, then slowing down for a bit, then doing it again. That sounds like something I might be able to build up when I do my walks.

Absolutely Lesley...sounds like a plan!

brandy · Post by **brandy** » Thu Jul 26, 2012 5:27 pm

Great workout! I did Mary Beth's run 50 steps then walk fast for 100 steps on a local track. I managed to go for 17 minutes. I think I'm going to try this regimen once a week. Felt great and this was a huge stress reliever!

Cathy I've done the treadmill high intensity once or twice with my trainer but you've kind of motivated me to use it in inclement weather. Usually I hover around 3.9 on the treadmill but there is no reason I can't jog on it also. I'm impressed with what you've accomplished! Brandy

Zizzle · Post by **Zizzle** » Fri Jul 27, 2012 2:07 pm

Dr. Mercola just wrote a nice article about this form of training, warning that stretching and warm up is very important, of course. I was a sprinter (and long jumper!

) in high school -- I can sprint much better than I can jog, so I'm going to give it a try. I used to do these workouts for basketballl conditioning too. We'd alternate sprinting and walking according to distance between phone polls.

Here's the article with a video on technique:

http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitnes ... L_artNew_1

Lesley · Post by **Lesley** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 12:08 am

I have done it 2x now. The speed and amount you guys do is not for me, but I did the step counting for 1/2 a mile. As fast as I could for 30 steps and then 50-60 slowing down. Hopefully I will build up.

CathyMe. · Post by **CathyMe.** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 5:42 am

brandy wrote:Great workout! I did Mary Beth's run 50 steps then walk fast for 100 steps on a local track. I managed to go for 17 minutes. I think I'm going to try this regimen once a week. Felt great and this was a huge stress reliever!

Cathy I've done the treadmill high intensity once or twice with my trainer but you've kind of motivated me to use it in inclement weather. Usually I hover around 3.9 on the treadmill but there is no reason I can't jog on it also. I'm impressed with what you've accomplished! Brandy

Thanks Brandy and good for you! I like the treadmill as I can tailor my speed and keep track of the time intervals easier than I can running outside. I am feeling really good and strong lately, thank God! I so appreciate this board and the information that I have learned from it. Now I have to incorporate some yoga into my training schedule.

CathyMe. · Post by **CathyMe.** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 5:42 am

Lesley wrote:I have done it 2x now. The speed and amount you guys do is not for me, but I did the step counting for 1/2 a mile. As fast as I could for 30 steps and then 50-60 slowing down. Hopefully I will build up.

Nice Lesley! Let me know how you do.

CathyMe. · Post by **CathyMe.** » Sat Jul 28, 2012 5:46 am

Zizzle wrote:Dr. Mercola just wrote a nice article about this form of training, warning that stretching and warm up is very important, of course. I was a sprinter (and long jumper! ) in high school -- I can sprint much better than I can jog, so I'm going to give it a try. I used to do these workouts for basketballl conditioning too. We'd alternate sprinting and walking according to distance between phone polls.

Here's the article with a video on technique:

http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitnes ... L_artNew_1

I remember the telepone poll sprints too in high school! This video is great, thanks for posting it. I admit that I'm not great at warming up before hand but NEED to add this...it only takes a few minutes.