March 19, 2024

I have written about HIIT before but it is something that I really do prescribe to instead of just another workout alternative. The idea to me of getting a good workout is to workout hard for a short period of time and really work the muscles.

Lately I have been trying to concentrate even more on compound, or basic, exercises like bench press, squats, military press and rows.

Why do HIIT workouts?

The way that you do one of these workouts is to string all of your exercises together and do it as one long set with very little time between exercises. You do this one long set and then take a rest and then do it all over again.

HITT workout

This is the exact method that Tom has talked about in Burn the Fat and is the way to have a quick but very effective and very intense workout.

I used to hate spending an hour training everyday and now I train my body in only 30-40 minutes instead. Nice time saving and I feel like I really worked hard after I am done.

Compound exercises are a very important part of high intensity interval training. The real advantage of doing the compound exercises is that you get to work your body as intended.

For your rowing you know that it is working mainly your back and biceps proton-pump inhibitors but the shoulders and forearms get a workout too and when are you going to really work your forearms?

Zen to Fitness has a great workout  that has details on 10 exercises that you would do in a circuit style routine and it is definitely a great read so check it out but remember that this is advanced and would be really tough to do so do not worry about this kind of intensity just yet if you have not done it before.

Prepping for HIIT workouts

One thing that I never mentioned before is the prep for a big circuit training like this. I always think of this as three sets of 6 or 8 exercises so each set is 10 or 12 minutes long and very difficult.

I always make sure that I work really hard for each of my exercises and take a quick gulp of water and quickly (5 seconds or so) refocus for the next exercise. This is really a difficult thing to do but the mental game of lifting as Arnold Schwartzenegger has taught us is 99% of your lifting anyway.

Having a water bottle for your workout is important not only for the water but for something else to focus on between the exercises.

Mentally it is a really good idea to stop one exercise and then be able to start the next exercise mentally fresh even when your body is tired and you are breathing hard.

If you do not refocus quickly between exercises then you will not be able to get good sets out later in the circuit at all.

6 thoughts on “Advanced HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training

  1. im 16 but i have made a set for the advanced
    it is
    * warm up , stretch )
    * 1- 800 metre sprint all out
    * 2- 400 metre all out sprints
    * 4- 200 metre all out sprints
    * 8- 100 metre sprints
    note: time your self, the the time you have done for the sprints is your rest time.

  2. HIIT is the way to go, for sure, ESPECIALLY if you have limited time to workout. I have found that by combining intense body exercises so that you are constantly working different muscle groups, you can get an excellent strength and conditioning workout in a brief period of time.

    Here is a quick body workout that leaves me gasping for breath:

    * 60 Jumping Jacks
    * 10 Hindu Pushups
    * 10 Walking Lunges for each leg
    * Towel Pullups (stop 1-2 reps before failure)
    * 10 Body Squats
    * Plank Hold for 60 seconds (for sets 2 & 3 do side planks)
    * 10 Burpees
    * 50 Mountain Climbers

    Don’t rest between exercises, and take a 60 second break at the end of the circuit before starting again. Repeat between 2-5 times, depending on your fitness.

    Thanks again for your post,

    Ian

  3. Im a HUGE advocate for HIIT training. In and out of the gym in half the time and for a superior fat burn that lasts all day long.

    Granted, it’s a difficult thing to master, and most people don’t want to be ‘smashed’ when they train – you can’t deny the results.

    I use Olympic sprinters as the prime example every time.

    Who’d you rather look like? A sprinter or a long distance runner.

    Clint.

  4. I like alternating periods of time when I am resting 60 seconds between intervals with periods of time at 30 seconds rest between intervals. Both seem to give me a slightly different effect. The longer rest intervals allow me to push harder during the exertion part of the interval…shorter rest periods seem to produce more of the EPOC effect (burning more calories after the session).

    I’ll checkout that post over on Zen to Fitness. That is a solid site…as is yours.

    Cheers,

    -George D

  5. Is what I am doing considered HIIT?
    Eliptical-clubseries life fitness at PLANET FITNESS
    3 min. warmup @ level 3
    30 sec. high intensity
    60 sec. moderate @ level 4
    30 sec. high
    60 sec. moderate @ level 5
    30 sec. high
    60 sec. moderate @ level 6
    30 sec. high
    60 sec. moderate @ level 7
    30 sec. high
    60 moderate @ level 8
    30 sec high
    60 moderate @ level 9
    30 sec high
    60 moderate to high at level 10
    60 moderate to high at level 11
    60 moderate to high at level 12
    then i work my way down and start all over,
    with a 5 minute cool down starting at minute 30

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