HIIT workouts and hormonal acne?

Hey everyone!

Looking for advice-

I LOVE my hiit workouts. I do 3 times a week for an hour outside in the Caribbean heat. I’m 32/f and have narrowed the cause of my hormonal breakouts to my higher intensity workouts. I believe this is due to raised cortisol.

I scheduled my workouts for 10am, as I usually get up around 6. I try to immediately get sunlight and eat before my workouts. I get enough sleep and eat fairly clean. I also shower and cleanse within 30 min of finishing my workout.

Does anyone have any suggestions for how to continue doing these workouts without sacrificing my skin?

Thank you all!

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This is our Weekly Discussion Thread where you can discuss anything and everything related to High-Intensity Interval Training. We invite our community to answer questions from newer members and post anything that can be beneficial to the sub (including research, tips, motivation and workouts).

If you are new to HIIT, please be sure to review our Beginner's Guide and FAQ. You can also use the search bar or Google's subreddit search to find related discussion topics.

Wake up, workout and get after it!

Hi HIIT community! 👋

I'm currently doing moderate-intensity training on an indoor bike to help with depression and anxiety. I've read that HIIT might be even more effective for mental health, but I have some specific questions about implementing it properly:

1. Session Structure
   • Optimal duration for one HIIT session?
   • Recommended frequency per week?
   • Best work/rest interval times?
   • Target heart rate zones for both high-intensity and recovery periods?
2. Exercise Selection
   • I currently use an indoor bike (only works lower body) - would a full-body HIIT workout be more beneficial for mental health outcomes?
3. Equipment Concern
   • My indoor bike generates some heat during use and occasionally emits a mild odor (probably from friction). Given the increased breathing during HIIT, I'm concerned about potential health impacts from inhaling these fumes.

I'm specifically looking for answers based on scientific research with human participants, especially studies focused on mental health outcomes. If you could point me to relevant studies or share evidence-based knowledge, that would be incredibly helpful!

Thanks in advance! 🙏

As you can see I’m surfing

I'm setting up a TABATA session with a focus on high HR, or basically very dynamic exercises. There can be one or two exercises on each station, and there are 8 stations.

The ones I have in the program so far are:

• Burpees (ofc)
• Jumping step squat
• Plank getups + mountain climbers
• KB swing + KB goblin squat
• Ground to over-head + ?
• Butterfly situps + Twist (core is essential)
• ?
• ?

What are your favourite (very dynamic) exercises? Do you have suggestions for the rest of this session?

I increased my HIIT on top of adding biking and Pilates on top of it and I noticed I'm just more hungry. I'm not looking to increase my calorie intake which is about 1500 maximum. Usually I go over a little bit because I indulge myself anyways. And I end up feeling more hungry especially during or after workouts. Sometimes I exercise on an empty stomach entirely, other times I end up eating before because otherwise food is on my mind when working out.

I know because I added more that I'm using more calories and or course I'm more hungry. But would it be okay to just stick to my calories as is???

Welcome to r/HIIT!

This is our Weekly Discussion Thread where you can discuss anything and everything related to High-Intensity Interval Training. We invite our community to answer questions from newer members and post anything that can be beneficial to the sub (including research, tips, motivation and workouts).

If you are new to HIIT, please be sure to review our Beginner's Guide and FAQ. You can also use the search bar or Google's subreddit search to find related discussion topics.

Wake up, workout and get after it!

Hello! What’s the best portable mat for workouts? Thanks.

Air bike Pros: full body exercise, low impact, small foot print, $1k Cons: risk of erectile dysfunction if cycling for more than 3 hours per week DOI: 10.1038/sj.ijir.3900733

Treadmill Pros: running is superior to cycling for cardio respiratory fitness, weight bearing exercise for bone density Cons: high impact, $2-3k, large foot print

Which is the preferred cardio equipment of your choice for doing HIIT intervals (4x4, Tabata etc.)?

Can someone explain to me why my heart rate doesnt get up very high at all when I workout? I have an oura ring & I go to crossfit 4-5 times a week. My heart rate never gets above 150 & rarely ever gets above even 130. I feel like I physically cant try any harder in my workouts but why is it that my heart rate is so far from its’ max still? I just want to be sure I’m getting the most out of my exercise. For reference I am a 23 year old female, previous collegiate athlete & my resting HR stays between 50-60.

I've been doing some strength and conditioning for soccer, and I've been doing a combo of strength and plyo workouts. Wanted to see if one of the days of exercise I do is considered "good intensity/exercise"

4x Superset of heavy OHP and 20 box jumps (first 10 as high as I can jump, next 10 to get the reps done)

4x Superset of 20 Kettlebell swings and 12-15 dips

4x farmer carry with kettlebells (alternate each side)

Welcome to r/HIIT!

This is our Weekly Discussion Thread where you can discuss anything and everything related to High-Intensity Interval Training. We invite our community to answer questions from newer members and post anything that can be beneficial to the sub (including research, tips, motivation and workouts).

If you are new to HIIT, please be sure to review our Beginner's Guide and FAQ. You can also use the search bar or Google's subreddit search to find related discussion topics.

Wake up, workout and get after it!

I want to lose some belly fat (or just fat in general) and i have heard that HIIT is useful for losing fat. I was wondering if anyone has or knows anyone who has lost fat from HIIT. Just wanted to hear testimonies to see if its possible for HIIT to help me lose fat.

Ive read through the entire guide and only now i learned what real HIIT is. So basically its 20 minutes in total (which is way more than ive thought). So actual training is 14 minutes and the 6 minutes goes to rest and coldown. 14 minutes? This is insane and its straight up diabolical. How do yall manage to do 14 minutes? If i understood right you go 60 seconds as hard as you can and 60seconds you still keep on going but slower (ofc there are other time intervals just chose this as a an example) and than you repeat it 7 more times? How? How can you go as hard as you can for so long? I think my body is built different (in the wrong way)

I do Jumping rope 2 minutes jumping 1 minute rest and 2 minutes jumping and after ive watched few youtube tutorials i realized that i am kinda not doing HIIT? Its more like a cardio but i get insanely tired doing it. Also is it even possible to do cardio with jumping rope? cause the rope is always coming and how do u not get insanely high BPM you always have to keep on jumping its not like cardio where u can lower ur pace in jumping rope u gotta keep the rope flying otherwise it will fall down and u will not be doing jumping rope. Also i do about 360 jumps in those 4 minutes of jumping and reach 180bpm.

As the title suggests; looking for recommendations on the best online platforms/apps that offer a lot of more intense Pilates/HIIT with light weight workouts.

Unfortunately I live in Northern BC, 1hr away from the closest town.

I’m originally from Australia and did CrossFit consistently for 10+ years, however eventually found reformer Pilates and LOVED it. I really enjoy the higher intensity stuff with light weights. I realised I toned up way better doing reformer Pilates than I did with CrossFit! (Just got very muscley!)

I enjoy group classes, however the 2hr commute for x1 class a day just isn’t worth it! Looking for an engaging online platform to use at home (on a mat, light weights, pilates ball, resistance bands, etc). I will eventually invest in a reformer!

When I was in Australia, I briefly went to FS8 classes (Pilates, tone, yoga)- I understand there is some negativity towards FS8 in this sub, however since I really enjoy some higher intensity workouts, and the Pilates, I actually really enjoyed this variety of class. Something similar on an app or YouTube would be amazing!!

Thanks!

ITs just a myth that beeing physically active will lose you weight. If ure trynna lose weight stop wasting ur time on HIIT or whatever other physical activity ure doing. Focus on calorie intake instead if you wanna lose weight. If you wanna lose weight and be healthy on top than yeah sure do HIIT but just have in mind that HIIT itself has nothing to do with weight loss. Ive seen so many posts where people talk about doing HIIT as a way to lose weight. No, the only way to lose weight is through eating less and calorie deficit. Id personally would like to see people talking about health benefits of HIIT. Personally when ive started doing HIIT ive got way more energy now. I have no idea how cuz usually i used to be sleepy asf at 23:00 PM but now after 1 HIIT workout each day i am easily able to stay up to 3 AM. What the sigma guys. Also if ure interested i do 5 minute jumping rope with 1 minute break in the middle.

Has anyone come across anything along these lines (great moves, hard, A+ music)? It looks super fun and extremely difficult, but is also unlike anything I've ever seen in a workout video!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBL9QsnPUx2/

Welcome to r/HIIT!

This is our Weekly Discussion Thread where you can discuss anything and everything related to High-Intensity Interval Training. We invite our community to answer questions from newer members and post anything that can be beneficial to the sub (including research, tips, motivation and workouts).

If you are new to HIIT, please be sure to review our Beginner's Guide and FAQ. You can also use the search bar or Google's subreddit search to find related discussion topics.

Wake up, workout and get after it!

Welcome to r/HIIT!

This is our Weekly Discussion Thread where you can discuss anything and everything related to High-Intensity Interval Training. We invite our community to answer questions from newer members and post anything that can be beneficial to the sub (including research, tips, motivation and workouts).

If you are new to HIIT, please be sure to review our Beginner's Guide and FAQ. You can also use the search bar or Google's subreddit search to find related discussion topics.

Wake up, workout and get after it!

Hey ,

I've been dealing with lower back pain for a while now, and I'm also recovering from shoulder impingement. A doctor recommended bent-over rows (overhand and reverse grip) to strengthen my back, but I've noticed that they seem to worsen my lower back pain.

I recently purchased an incline bench and started doing incline bench rows, but I'm unsure if I'm doing them correctly. It feels like the incline is actually making my lower back pain worse than regular bent over rows.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Could you provide some tips on how to perform bent-over rows with minimal impact on the lower back?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hey everyone,

Recently I started doing HIIT to improvemy endurance and speed during the football matches I play. I've been trying to do 14 intervals, running for 30s and jogging for 1min, adding approximately the same amount of time as half time of a match (25min).

I have two problems:

1- 30s running at full speed its too much for me. Around 20, 25s I have to start slowing down;

2- 14 intervals are too much for my body. I start getting real tired around the 9th interval.

My question is: should I force myself to keep this routine until I can keep up with this goal, or should I reduce one of them/both?

I want to record the power I can output on a stationary bike during a specific HIIT interval routine, given a specific heart rate, and a specific interval eg 1 min full out, 1 min rest intervals.

The problem is I’m not always going to use the same stationary bike, neither go to the same gym forever. From what I read the power sensor of these bikes vary from bike to bike, brand to brand etc. Some also are way off due to not being calibrated or properly maintained.

So my question becomes: apart from getting my own bike, what are my options in order to track my progress throughout the years?

Again, I’m already measuring my HR, my question is, given HR remains constant throughout the different workouts, how do I measure the power increase.