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.

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 all. I’m looking for good ways to hit hamstrings in HIIT/circuit training. How would I incorporate something like RDLs or other hamstring focused exercises into a HIIT circuit that’s not power lifting for strength. How heavy or how many reps makes sense for circuit? I appreciate any insight

Hi guys I just wanted to ask about some longterm experience with this kind of workout. Not only to lose weight but to get in shape and build muscles. I would appreciate any recommendations about workouts and your experiences with HIIT workouts. :)

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'm in pretty good shape and regularly run and go to the gym. First time trying HIIT. My heart rate doesn't drop as low as I've seen in other heart rate charts. Is this normal? Am I not taking a long enough rest? Any advice would be appreciated.

Does anyone know of any good HIIT Youtube videos that are short and good for people with a tight schedule? Programs and plans from other sources would also be helpfull.

Hi all,

I was curious if anyone has noticed any impact HIIT might have on estrogen and/or libido.

I feel like after doing HIIT I tend to have an acute decrease in libido (I feel great, but have no interest in anything sexual for the remainder of the day), but for longer term it has increased libido and I was curious if anyone else has ever experiened this.

Lastly, does anyone know if HIIT impacts estradiol? HIIT has changed my life, but I've noticed my estradiol has dropped significantly since beginning HIIT. I was wondering if this contributed more to the fatloss (less fat mass = less aromatase) or if HIIT somehow indirectly causes a decrease in estradiol. For example, I read that HIIT causes a dramatic increase in HGH which might cause estradiol to decrease. I am scowering PubMed to substantiate this, but cannot find anything regarding HIIT's impact on estradiol.

Looking forward to your thoughts, findings, and experiences.

What did you eat to lose weight? This is the wrong question to ask. It assumes there is some kind of magic associated with eating something once. It’s not WHAT the person ate

It’s how committed they were to eating the right thing

It’s HOW consistent they were with how much they ate. It’s how often they consistently performed correct habits 

Habits needed for weight loss are not a one time payment. It is a recurring charge and the bill is due everyday.

If anybody wants a free pdf of a 3 week e bodyweight only workout program . Message me the word "bodyweight"

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 am hosting a 30 day weight loss/exercise challenge on my custom workout app. Here is the sign up link

https://forms.gle/9WTFiscvCYNP38PUA

This is a good way for anyone that is trying to get into fitness to start. I am doing a 30 day workout challenge. Here is the link

I've started doing some HIIT and cardio workouts with YouTube. I know some of you all here will say "this is not HIIT" and that's fine - I'm not trying to become a HIIT master, I wanna take care of my body and improve my physical condition and I enjoy these exercises.

I've mainly been doing some ~30 min workouts that the YouTube channel SELF has, such as these: https://youtu.be/ml6cT4AZdqI?si=i0iltQMDzjbnbOfL https://youtu.be/bdCX8Nb_2Mg?si=XURo7MqTaNGq5u-w

I don't own a smartwatch to tell me how much I've burnt. Can anyone give me an idea?

I'm a 137lbs, 5'7 female, 23yo.

I teach Zumba. I was lifting heavy about 3-5 times a week since October 2023 with only one Zumba class a week. Then a second class was added to my roster this past June, which reduced my lifting sessions, then I became injured in July, which reduced my sessions even more, and now that I'm all healed up, I want to get back to the gym!

My goal is to lose fat and get toned. Because I do cardio twice a week (plus an additional 5-15 min here and there to choreograph), I was thinking that the PPL routines may work best for me, but then I'd only be working out my muscles once a week. So I thought to do a weekly plan of HIIT, heavy lifting and cardio. Something like this:

Sat & Sun: Zumba Mon: HIIT Upper Body, 30m only Tue: HIIT Lower Body, 30m only Wed: Full Body Heavy Lifting, 60m Thur & Fri: Rest

I'm thinking I can work with this schedule, but I'm unsure how heavy to lift during my HIIT sessions, especially considering that I want to lose fat and tone up. And I'm also unsure if I should do supersets of 45 intervals or if I should do like 21 exercises at 30 seconds each but 7 of them at a minute of explosive core exercises.

I'm also a tad bit concerned that this may be tooooo much cardio.

Does all of that make sense? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

any help appreciate it

Hi all,

I've been doing HIIT stationary cycling at the end of PPL days for about a month and a half now, after a summer of beers which left me with a bit of a lifebuoy of fat around my waist. I've seen progress, and my current go to workout is:

HI: 250-300W

LO: 90-120W

3 minutes warmup at LO, followed by 27 minutes of 30s HI, 30s LO. For the bulk of the workout, I'm at 180+ bpm

By the end of the workout I am dripping with sweat, but I can feel more fatigue from my legs than from a lack of stamina to sustain further. The statistics in the end suggest that I burn around 320-340 kcal, at an average of 175W, and I have lost what feels like 80% of the lifebuoy. I'm a 26yo ectomorph (6'4, 185 lbs) and I have been physically active my whole life.

So, questions,

1. To develop further, would you try extending the length of the workout or keep the length the same but increase either the HI or LO watt target? Or perhaps trying 40s HI, 20s LO while keeping other variables fixed?
2. I try today to do these at the end of weight lifting workouts. My goal is to build muscle while cutting down on fat, especially stomach fat. Is there some other cardio which I should be doing that would be better at not stunting muscle growth, or perhaps scheduling them to not coincide with weight lifting workouts?
3. Is this current performance congruent with an athletic person of my age and build?

Thank you

One of the hardest parts of getting started with weight loss and fitness is simply knowing what the right habits are every day that are required

Right now we are getting ready to start another 30 day exercise/weight loss challenge on October 12th

This is a chance for you to start implementing lifestyle changes and committing to your physical health

If you are interested register here

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 am an analytical person and analyse whether my physical training has any ill effects before I start doing it.

So when I got to know about HIT as a means to improve longevity, I read about 2 brothers, Mike and Ray Mentzer. Both were body builders and followers of HIT. However, coincidently both died at an age of 49 and 47 due to heart and kidney failure respectively. Was their death attributed to HIT ?

If at all HIT is for longevity , how safe it is ?

My diet is 90% carnivore with periodic inclusion of carbs in the form of fruit  and honey.

Up until about a year ago I was 100% carnivore. This way of eating has gotten me into geat shape, help me stay lean, and also build and maintain muscle mass.

I know vegans and vegetarians on this page who are also in exceptional shape as well. I have my own reasons for eating the way i do and Im sure vegans and vegetarians have their own reasons for eating the way they do

Here is what we have in common

-We are COMMITTED to the choices that we make about food because we understand the consequences that come from not being deliberate about what goes in your mouth

-We are COMMITTED to being the healthiest and best version of ourselves

The key underlying variable is we are COMMITTED and FOCUSED to ONE avenue for achieving the best health and body composition that we want for ourselves

Many people here who are trying to get started on their health and fitness keep trying  a million different things instead of just sticking to one

This isnt a great approach because you are unable to establish any kind of routine and you just end up being confused

If you are just starting out in trying to lose weight, then stick to the basics

-track calories

-track macros

-minimize eating processed food

-minimize the amount of soda you drink

-dont add excessive sugar to things (ie: coffee)

-resistance train 3x week

If you stick to these basics for long enough you will see results. The key is to be COMMITTED to it

"It is not the THING itself that makes you successful, it is the COMMITMENT to the thing that makes you successful"

if anyone wants a pdf I made of a few things that help get leaner and lose fat without killing myself send me a message with the word “COMMITTED”

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've been implementing HIIT into my fitness routine for a while, to improve my overall cardio, or VO2max. I have a stationary bike. I want to be generally more fit. (I have signed up for a half marathon on November, but that's not too much of an ultimate goal, I want to be more and more fit)

I've been doing tabata workout on them for a while, and recently started 4x4 with 3min rest.

4x4 seems to be best when done on a treadmill, I can push my heart rate up easily. On bike, my HR can't go up as high. This is actually also true for tabata workout. Maybe I just lack technique on bike and need practice. But maybe 4min is too long and 20sec is too short for me on a bike.

My schedule lets me do them on treadmill once a week. Outside run isn't really good for me, there are way too many traffic lights around my place.

So it seems like (or I hope) there is a sweet spot between these two. Maybe 10*30sec, maybe 8*2min, well, I shall just try, but I'd like to hear others' thoughts. Does anyone have recommendation?