High Intensity Interval Training

[ReformedCharacter]

For those who may be unsure what HIIT is:

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a form of interval training, a cardiovascular exercise strategy alternating short periods of intense anaerobic exercise with less intense recovery periods, until too exhausted to continue.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-inte ... l_training

I thought I'd pass on my own experience. For context I'm a 63 yr old male and about the right weight. I have an exercise bike and turn it to the maximum resistance. I then pedal as hard as I can for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds and repeat another 3 times. All done in less than 2 minutes. That's the first attraction for me, only 2 minutes. I've been doing this for a couple of months every other day. I'm impressed with the results, I recover much more quickly than I did when I first started and I've put on about 7lbs in weight which has clearly gone to my legs which haven't looked as muscular since I was in my 20's and did a lot of cycling. More to the point I feel fitter. And it takes less than 8 minutes a week It must be a very efficient way of exercising.

RC

[Laughton]

Blimey! I just tried that - turned the resistance up to maximum.....problem was I couldn't then make the pedals go round.

[Boots]

Really interesting to hear first hand experience - thank you for posting RC.

[MaraMan]

Wasn’t this what Andrew Marr was doing when he had his stroke? Sounds a dangerous form of exercise to me unless you are already fit or have the health of youth.

MM

[jackdaww]

.
i am interested in this , being well underweight - BMI 16.

but could i do something without space grabbing equipment ?

[kempiejon]

.
i am interested in this , being well underweight - BMI 16.

but could i do something without space grabbing equipment ?

Some alternatives to the bike from Michael n=1 Mosely
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBiJp6vg638&t=11s

[Gerry557]

Running, skipping or just running up stairs.

Basically anything you can do that requires a max effort followed by a being active period.

[redsturgeon]

Wasn’t this what Andrew Marr was doing when he had his stroke? Sounds a dangerous form of exercise to me unless you are already fit or have the health of youth.

MM

Basically yes, although I believe he was "really going for it" on a rowing machine.

The implied advice is sound though.

John

[kempiejon]

Wasn’t this what Andrew Marr was doing when he had his stroke? Sounds a dangerous form of exercise to me unless you are already fit or have the health of youth.

MM

http://www.enetmd.com/content/can-inten ... use-stroke
There can be warning signs that a stroke is likely. Andrew Marr says he had two minor strokes in the year before his major one, but had not noticed.

Many strokes are preceded by mini ones called transient ischaemic attacks or TIAs. These may be silent or cause only a few of the symptoms that come with a full-blown stroke - such as face or arm weakness and speech problems - and last just a few minutes, making them easy to miss.

Regular exercise is an important factor in stroke prevention and recovery. We have heard anecdotally that some activities like vigorous exercise can sometimes cause blood vessels to burst. We need more research on the underlying factors that might make that happen. We do know that high blood pressure itself is the single biggest cause of stroke, until more research is done on specific triggers we'd suggest getting your blood pressure checked and taking steps to keep it under control, exercise can help with that."

[bungeejumper]

"Regular exercise is an important factor in stroke prevention and recovery. We have heard anecdotally that some activities like vigorous exercise can sometimes cause blood vessels to burst. We need more research on the underlying factors that might make that happen. We do know that high blood pressure itself is the single biggest cause of stroke"

My old boss was the fittest man I ever knew. Fifty-two, marathon runner, teetotaller, probably eight stone, up and down hills four times a week. Dropped dead on his doorstep as he returned from one of his regular five mile runs. Apparently he'd had two strokes in the space of a few minutes. It shook us all up a bit.

I have a magnetic resistance rowing machine, which is excellent, but I don't go anywhere near the most demanding settings. Not at age 70, and yes, I'm two inches too short for my weight. Dammit, Douglas Adams was gone at 49, remember?

BJ