The Magic Bus Trip

Valcan · Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 11:53 pm Post subject: HIIT

Hi,

Jeff (or anyone), I need your help. I have read the hiit article on this site and the comments about hiit and am considering starting the tabata method next week. Today on another forum, someone posted this message:

Heather L · Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 1:26 am Post subject:

Valcan- I don't think that one needs carbs to do HIIT. I would suggest starting out gradually the first few weeks. The intensity used in the bursts can be tough at first. I would suggest using a simple session including only 6 to 10 burst of all out intensity, alternating with the recovery levels.

Oh, and make sure to warm up before going all out. I did get an ankle sprain one year doing running intervals. I should have been a bit more gradual in building up, I think. (In other words, don't do the stupid thing I did and get hurt LOL

)

Valcan · Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 2:31 am Post subject:

Hi Heather,

Thanks for the advice. I have been working out in a group with a personal trainer for the last six months so I think I am somewhat prepared to try this out. I found some excellent Tabata videos on YouTube that I will use. The exercises they do are the same ones that are often incorporated in my workouts so I have already developed some muscle. My last workout session is tomorrow so I am looking for a replacement workout for the summer and in the fall again. Because my job has changed and I will have to commute in the fall, I will not be able to access these group workout sessions anymore. Because I will have to start commuting, I will have less time for working out in the fall. Tabata sounds like the perfect solution for someone with a busy schedule.

How many times of week would you do hiit?

Val

jeff · Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 11:57 am Post subject:

Well, I don't find it necessary to eat carbs in order to do HIIT. Tabatas will kick your ass!! LOL

If done probperly, you will feel like you're going to cough up a lung when you're done. I think every other day is enough.
_________________
Eat, Drink and Be Merry, For Tomorrow We'll Die

Dean · Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 4:20 pm Post subject:

When I was doing HIIT and eating ZC last summer, I felt great... after the workout. LOL

_________________
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
- Jimi Hendrix

Every day you'll see the dust
Never get off the Bus!

Heather L · Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 10:57 pm Post subject:

From what I hear 2-3 times a week is good. They say definitely not every day. Right now I throw in only one HIIT session in a week. I think I just avoid them because they make me super hot and sweaty. Ugh.

I know I should do them more often. Oops

Dean · Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 2:55 am Post subject:

Heather,

With all the resistance you do, I think you should do these HIIT sessions only once a week.

After all, there are better activities that will get you super hot and sweaty... like ESC. Devil

_________________
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
- Jimi Hendrix

Every day you'll see the dust
Never get off the Bus!

Heather L · Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2008 6:43 pm Post subject:

Sol · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 12:44 am Post subject:

I've done two HIIT sessions so far. No, you don't need carbs to do HIIT. I'll do HIIT three times per week.

I'm not ready yet for Tabata. I do 10 cycles of 10 seconds sprint/30 seconds walk. Even that would be tough for someone out of shape.

Tomorrow I'm heading out to the park with my fancy Garmin GPS watch/heart rate monitor to gather some stats of my next HIIT session.

Valcan · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 1:46 am Post subject:

Hi Sol,

I bought one of those fancy Garmin watches last fall and have not used it until a couple of days ago to time my Tabatas. Now that I have six weeks off of work, I should probably play a bit more with mine. I have the heart monitor as well. Do you mind if I ask you questions if I get stuck?

I just finished my second HIIT too. I am trying to do a Tabata every second day. It does kick my butt when I do one but so far I am loving it. It goes so fast. I would like to try sprinting as well. Where do you sprint? Do you go to a track?

Val

Sol · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 2:51 am Post subject:

Does the Garmin do two intervals? I haven't used my Garmin for a year and didn't think to check that. If it does then it sounds great for interval training. Yes, do ask me questions if you get stuck. I have the 305 model.

There's a park near my house. It has different fields (football, baseball, etc.) and it has different surfaces suitable for running (grass, dirt, astroturf.) I just run wherever it's free. I most like astroturf!

I'll report tomorrow on my heart rate and other performance data from my Garmin. Post some of your data too!

Valcan · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 3:08 am Post subject:

Hi,

I have the 305 also! I guess I will get the directions out tomorrow and give it a spin. It is Canada Day here tomorrow so I might just take a walk on the Millennium trail in town. Every where else will be pretty busy.

To set your intervals, do the following:
Hit to mode button until you get to the menu
Select training
Select workouts
Select intervals
Select time/rest time
Set your two times
Press start to begin you workout

The first interval is your exercise. It will count down the lat five seconds with a beep for each second then it will make a different noise to prompt you to rest. Again it will beep down the last five seconds of rest and then it will make a different noise to start exercise. At the very end it makes yet a different noise to indicate the end of your workout.

I love the five second warning. It helps me to push to get a couple more reps done. The ten second rest sure goes my fast though. It seems that you just stop and already it is counting down the last five seconds.

It sure beats counting or trying to watch a clock. The Garmin allows me to put the focus on the exercise instead of the clock.

Val

Dean · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 3:20 am Post subject:

That watch sounds so cool. You know, for coyote running, I was trying to find a watch with an alarm, so I'd know when my time was up (see the Coyote Running Distance Records sticky in Tribal Games). All the watches I looked at that had alarms, you could barely hear them. How loud is the one on this Garmin watch? Can you set it to vibrate as well? Also, what is the longest countdown timer you can set?

TIA

Sunny

_________________
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
- Jimi Hendrix

Every day you'll see the dust
Never get off the Bus!

Sol · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 3:44 am Post subject:

Val -- thanks for the heads up on the interval feature. I'll have to check it out, although I might use my cheap Gymboss thing for the intervals and just let the Garmin record my performance data.

Dean -- you might really enjoy the Garmin 305 for coyote running. The great thing about the Garmin is that you can run anywhere you want and the Garmin will use GPS to track exactly where you are, how far you've run, speed, etc. Plus, you can upload your watch data to motionbased.com (the basic service is free) and get a Google map showing where you ran.

Check out this dashboard of one of my walk/runs from last year.

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2698399

The heartrate data is bogus because I didn't use the chest transmitter during that walk/run.

You can click on the "larger map" link and see, in detail, where I went. The Garmin is so good that it is able to track that I ran on one side of the street and returned on the other side of the street in some places. You'll have to zoom in to see that, though.

Valcan · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 3:52 am Post subject:

Hi,

The beep is loud enough for me to hear when I am huffing and puffing through my last Tababata set. I do not wear the watch, I just set it down on the bed in the room I am in. It does not vibrate but maybe the newer ones do. I was just playing with the countdown and set if for ten hours. You can set it anywhere from ten hours to one second.

I got mine from ebay last fall. They have more on ebay, I just looked. I also saw a newer 405, it is much smaller and less bulky. I would spend the extra money on the 405. The 405 does not vibrate though.

Val

Valcan · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 3:56 am Post subject:

Sol,

That map was so cool. I have a Mac computer so I am not sure if I can download the info, I will check tomorrow.

Val

Dean · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 8:34 pm Post subject:

Thanks Sol and Val.

Yah, that map is really cool. Cool

I'm gonna check into this watch for sure. Yup

_________________
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
- Jimi Hendrix

Every day you'll see the dust
Never get off the Bus!

Dean · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 12:43 am Post subject:

While I'm waitin' on a watch, I'm wanting to program my treadmill to start working toward this Tabata protocol.

Can someone give me a break down of what the seconds on the high intensity interval should be, and, also on the low intensity. Also, how many total reps.

What I plan to do is increase my speed and incline on the high side every time I do this, so that it gets more and more intense. Just wanted to get a general baseline that I should follow for maximum results.

Thanks.

Sunny

_________________
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
- Jimi Hendrix

Every day you'll see the dust
Never get off the Bus!

Valcan · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 1:05 am Post subject:

Hi Dean,

True Tabatas are 20 second exercise intervals followed by 10 seconds of rest. You repeat this 8 times in a row for a total of 4 minutes. I found this as a guideline:

Tabata on treadmills are done at 12% grades, and an appropriate speed for the individual. They will start with a warm-up and then get into 20:10 x 8! Foot pull speed is very important as the slower the pull you will begin to push and end up fatiguing much sooner.

Here is a video:
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFitNB_RunTabata1.wmv

Good luck! Let me know if you try it. I would be afraid that I would fly off the back of the threadmill.

Val

Dean · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 3:18 am Post subject:

Wow, thanks for the vid, Val. Heart

Yah, falling off the back of the treadmill... especially on those ones! Shock

They are short for running. I've got a really nice True (love that treadmill), and it's longer than those, and it's not even as long as the ones they sell for serious running.

Thanks for the info on how to go about this. I'm gonna figure out something I can handle, and work toward this. I can monitor my heart rate while I do this and see where I stand. I will just keep increasing the intensity I do every time I do it. I'm gonna space two days a week to do this. Is that a good number of days?

Such a quick and effective workout. Cool

No "lack of time" excuses, huh? Wink

BTW, I was meaning to tell you that I Heart

your avatar. Is that you?

Sunny

_________________
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
- Jimi Hendrix

Every day you'll see the dust
Never get off the Bus!

Valcan · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 3:55 am Post subject:

Hi Dean,

I am new to Tabatas myself and am starting a level that I can handle and then working my way up from there. Tomorrow will be the third time I do itl It is supposed to burn fat for 12 - 36 hours after the workout. From what I have read, 2 -3 times a week is good. Any more would put too much stress on your system and would not be good for you. Here is some more info about Tabata:

Hi,

jeff · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 4:45 am Post subject:

Dean · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 5:13 am Post subject:

Gotta agree with jeff on that one! LOL

Wow, Val, your daughter is cool looking. Really beautiful.

I love that pic you just posted. She looks like some indy film star. Yup

_________________
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
- Jimi Hendrix

Every day you'll see the dust
Never get off the Bus!

Heather L · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 6:48 pm Post subject:

Val- The pics of your daughter are so cool! Glad to here you are starting off sensible and working up from there.

The guys in the video make it look easy, but then you see how much they are sweating and know they are working hard. (I also know from doing speed intervals that they are super tough-- harder than they look)
Dean-- Doing the same thing on a track would prevent the falling off of the treadmill scene... but that just wouldn't be as funny.LOL

Jeff- ESC Tabatas in the bedroom... Shock

important "equipment" could get hurt. We definitely don't want that!! LOL

Dean · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 7:08 pm Post subject:

_________________
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
- Jimi Hendrix

Every day you'll see the dust
Never get off the Bus!

jeff · Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 7:45 pm Post subject:

Heather L · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 1:36 am Post subject:

jeff · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 4:25 am Post subject:

Dean · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 4:43 am Post subject:

What were we talking about, again? Confused

Oh, yah, hot, sweaty something or other... Devil

Carry on... LOL

_________________
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
- Jimi Hendrix

Every day you'll see the dust
Never get off the Bus!

Valcan · Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:50 pm Post subject:

Hi,

I just finished my third Tabata (yes, I was in the bedroom - hubby is out of town so get the dirty thoughts out of the way). I did a 15 minute Oxycise warm up followed by a Tabata. Today I alternated between jumping jacks and alternating knees to elbow. My score on the jumping jacks was 27 (that last set was really hard to do). My score on the knees was 26 (13 to each knee). I like alternating two exercises way better than doing the same one. I like the jumping jacks but I think I will alternate them with squat thrusts for my next Tabata on Saturday. Still loving it.

Val

Dean · Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 12:08 am Post subject:

Hey, Val,

Would you please explain some of these terms and scores? Like Oxycise, for instance. Confused

Yah, I think it would be really cool to come up with 8 different types of calisthenics to do for the reps. What a work out that would be. Of course, the treadmill would force one to keep a certain pace and HR, so, I can see where that may be useful, but, yah, either way, sounds great. Cool

Congrats on stickin' to this, even without your hubby! Devil

_________________
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.
- Jimi Hendrix

Every day you'll see the dust
Never get off the Bus!

Valcan · Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 2:06 am Post subject:

Hwy Dean,

Oxycise is a aerobic breathing program that I bought years ago and had excellent results with before. It helped me to lose weight (with a low carb diet), improve flexibility and build muscle without weights, equipment and sweat. Basically it is a controlled breathing technique that you use while contracting different muscles. It only takes fifteen minutes so I figured it was as good as anything else to warm up all my muscles before Tabata. I Oxycise in my bedroom too Devil

. Nothing like some heavy breathing in the bedroom.

The way you score Tabatas is to count the number of repetitions you do of each exercise during each interval. At the end your score for the workout is the score of your lowest round. It really helps to push me to keep score. If I score a 27 in round one, I try my hardest to get a 27 every round. If you score a 25 in the first interval and can only go 15 in the last interval, your score is 15.

Eight different exercises is something I have played around with in my head too. Maybe I will experiment further down the line. I am feeling pretty good tonight after my Tabata and six days zero carb. I am almost back at my weight from a couple of weeks a go. My plan was allowing me more veggies than my body could handle and I had a one day carb fest. Zero carb feels so good (just meat and water, I even cut out all dairy). I wish I could come to terms mentally with giving up the veggies for life. I don't really like cooked veggies but I love salads like Greek salad.

Val

Dean · Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 4:48 am Post subject:

Valcan · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 2:25 am Post subject:

Hi,

Tabata scores for alternating rounds of jumping jacks with rounds of squat and reach:

Jumping Jacks: 25
Squats: 20

Val

Sol · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 3:13 am Post subject:

Val,

I've been doing sprinting/walking for my HIIT but will try different exercises. Do you have a list somewhere of different exercises?

A friend of mine at the gym did some grueling HIIT a while back. He'd run 1/4 mile pretty hard then rest for, I think, two minutes. He'd do 4-5 cycles of that.

Thanks,
Sol

Valcan · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 3:37 am Post subject:

Hi Sol,

Sprinting sounds great! I am not there yet.

Here is what I came with for exercises. Basically do anything that involves as many of your large muscles as you can:

Front Squats- Hold a light barbell at shoulder height squat down raise back up.

Thrusts- With a dumbell or Kettlebell in each hand squat down raise up and press the dumbells overhead.

Barbell, Dumbell, Kettlebell Cleans - Take the barbell, dumbell or Kbell from the floor clean to shoulders.

Squat Press- With a Barbell set on your shoulders squat raise up and press it overhead.

Body weight Squats- If your just starting out try these, as your conditioning levels improve move up to using weights.

There are other exercises listed in this thread and some videos with some different ideas of how to get your heat rate up.

Val

jeff · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 3:40 am Post subject:

Valcan · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 3:50 am Post subject:

Hi,

Here is a link with Tabata music you can download:

http://www.mansized.co.uk/talk/thread.phtml/post474915/

There are chimes during the music/

Val

Sol · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 3:57 am Post subject:

Val, Jeff,

Thanks for the suggestions (and music). Sunny

I've been using my super duper Garmin GPS/heartrate watch and uploading the data to my PC. The cool thing is that after 10 sprint intervals I think I know what my max heart-rate is. So, when I do the weight lifting moves that Val recommends I can verify that I'm hitting the same heart-rate that I do when I sprint.

By the way, the reason those weight lifting Tabata moves that Val recommends are so great (uses all large muscles) is the same reason Olympic-style weight lifting is so great - it gives a great full body workout.

Hey, Jeff, are you hiding any of my lion team-mates?

Valcan · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 4:08 am Post subject:

Hey Sol,

I think I spotted a small pride heading out of a McDonalds. You know how those lions like their fries.

Val

Sol · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 4:16 am Post subject:

jeff · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 4:24 am Post subject:

Valcan · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 4:26 am Post subject: