HIIT Question

[Guest guest]

Thank you all so much for your encouragement and advice. I will go to

the gym this afternoon and get back on track with a killer UBWO.

All this talk about HIIT has me curious and wanting to give it a

whirl.

I have a question for those of you who do HIIT - normally my 10 in my

20 minute has been between an 8.0 and and 8.4, so what should I be

aiming at in the HIIT. What I ask is, if those 30 seconds are

supposed to be an all out sprint, and I can already sustain at 8.4

for a minute, should I aim higher for those 30 sec intervals?

Thanks again for your words earlier, ladies.

[Guest guest]

I don't think I would necessarily change your intensity based on a heart rate

monitor. Those formulas are just estimates, and for a lot of people, especially

older athletes in crazy shape, they're just flat out wrong. According to my

heart rate monitor, when I'm hitting a 10 at around 200 bpm (considerably higher

than my estimated " maximum " of 183 ), I should be dead, or at the very least on

my way to the emergency room. I'm not, I'm flying along at top speed, grinning

like an idiot, and feeling great... you know, right up until the lack of oxygen

and lactic acid build-up hits me. :-)

Unless you've been put on a treadmill and given a stress test by a doctor, you

have no idea what your maximum heart rate really is. You're probably better off

going by perceived exertion. Everybody's will be different. Somebody just

getting started might hit a 10 walking briskly. Somebody who's been training

regularly may have to run stairs to feel the very same effect. Their heart rates

might be totally different but they're both hitting a 10 (maximum effort,

serious breathing, leg muscles starting to burn, not maintainable for more than

60 seconds). If you're feeling those effects at 160 bpm, then that's your 10.

There's no reason to push it harder until you're not feeling challenged anymore.

When that happens, don't let the numbers on the monitor hold you back.

Here are some things to read:

Heart Rate Zones

http://skwigg.tripod.com/wow/id10.html

Maximum Heart Rate Formula is Wrong

http://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/9156.html

HIIT question

When you guys do HIIT how high does your heart rate get?

when I do it I feel like a " 10 " is at 160 BPM (my lungs feel like they burn)

at 150 I start

feeling winded, but according to charts 180 is my Maximum heart rate, and I

wonder

if I am just being a wussy not going to atleast 170, I am sort of afraid to.

[Guest guest]

That's normal. Right now your lungs are in slightly better shape than your legs,

so you get winded before your legs really go. That's great, but it might

eventually turn around so that your aerobic capacity is killer and your legs

burn out first. It also depends on the form of exercise you're doing. A

stationary bike on high resistance or an elliptical on a high ramp setting will

give you a bigger lactic acid burn than jogging. As long as you feel challenged,

it's all good. :-)

Re: HIIT question

Thanks once again, you are the fairy god mother (fairy god trainer?) of this

group.

that reading is interesting, that leads me to another question- I feel like I

get winded,

lungs hurting, slightly dizzy before I get any where near the pain of lactic

acid build

up. Is this normal when starting out?

Will I eventually be able to work up to more pain? (that sounded really sick)