The Theory of the Sweet Science
The Theory of the Sweet Science
Contents
1. HIIT is not for beginners, the obese, the unfit or those otherwise incapacitated. If in doubt always see a doctor first.
2. Always warm up first.
3. Find a hill with a steep enough slope that it takes you about 15 – 30 seconds to run to the top of it. If you can’t run it, it’s probably too steep.
4. Run to the top of it 1 time less than you think you are able to. If you think you can manage 6 do 5.
5. Warm down (lightly walk or lightly ride a bike home from the hill).
6. Eat and hydrate well before and after training.
Ok, there’s your 30 second guide, that's all I did, just keeping it simple. But for more details read on…
HIIT is Not for EveryoneYou don’t run to get fit, you have to be fit to run - unknown
The 6 P’ s - Prior Planning & Preparation Prevents a Poor Performance
I think the #1 reason why this method of training is so successful is due to the fact you are moving your body through space, I talked about that phenomenon and the best way to stimulate the nervous system into action over at Big Beyond Belief 3
However, due to the stressors placed on the body, it makes HIIT a fairly serious business and I don’t believe that this is a training protocol for beginners or those who haven’t conducted any or even minimal training in the past. I think you ought to have at least 3-6 months of fundamental boxing training or similar physical conditioning under your belt first depending on how fit you are to begin with. To ask your body to do this without the proper preparation is just not on in my book and in the worst case scenario it could be just dangerous. Those with medical conditions, the aged, obese and those carrying certain injuries must get medical advice first.
And when I say must I mean like, as in you must see the train coming before you cross the train tracks - 'must', NOT the 'oh I must pick up some milk at the shops'.
Warm upDespite the intensive nature of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) I would recommend that a 5-10 minute low intensity warm up period took place beforehand. A good option might be light jogging or dynamic stretching drills from magnificent mobility, in particular the ones that centre on the legs.
The Benefits of High Intensity Interval Training
Admittedly the pictures above were taken 3 years apart. BUT it’s important to note that the greater part (read effective part) of the fat loss came from the HIIT training protocol combined with a healthy diet which I conducted throughout 2010.
HITT on the surface has 3 main benefits to my reckoning. One is psychological the other two are physical.
One last, but all too fugacious element will be the surge of endorphins you get with any amount of intense training, that’s like the instant reward for your hard work. So in that respect this is indeed strong medicine and it is possible to overdose on it. I’d say 2 times per week is enough, once a week is very good though.
Over a period of 12 months I completed interval training for a total of 56 times – an average of once per week. I carried the intervals out on flat ground 15 times and on a steep hill that’s just over 70 meters long 41 times. I think when done in combination with some form of resistance or other training, I wouldn’t really push it much past those totals. Everyone is different so some will be able to do more, some less.
The Invisible AttributesBecause of the physical discomfort involved with HIIT I think the things you most need are the intangibles, the stuff you can’t ask anyone else to give you. You need to find and develop these things within yourself:
And you might be wondering why do you need these intangibles? I think that in life, no matter what you are doing, when the pain kicks in and things get tough, and they invariably will, your personal demons will come out to play. And I really think that you need to be able to work through that mentally before you can light the fire physically. And good hard running will provide plenty of opportunity for that.
In short, running will toughen you up.
One thing I want to talk about here as well is the 'bleed over effect' into other areas of your life. Below is a comment that former number 4 tennis player, Pat Cash, made in reference to the effort that’s required to succeed in sport;
"The things that she's learnt in tennis, the dedication required, the time to be put into something to be successful, you know you can take that anywhere and those lessons are terrific and having to deal with adversity, having to deal with pressure."
The physical effects I cannot photograph are the increased appetite particularly within hours of finishing training. I’d eat dinner at 6pm, come 8:30pm I was on empty and ready to go again. When these hunger pains kicked in I’d go for weetbix with low fat milk or something along those lines. The main thing is not to starve yourself when you’re doing this otherwise you will have detrimental effect. If you get hungry, then eat, simple as that – just make it a healthy choice.
Burning Body Fat Fast with HITTWhen most people think of fat loss it probably goes along the lines of, well a straight line – that is it goes down everyday, everyweek etc. I found in boxing training as well as interval training that it tends to be a little less linear than that. Below is a rough idea of how I think it might look if you were to measure body fat percentage on a week by week basis over a period of months;
While the overall trend is a downward one it’s not a smooth line – that’s reality for you. At any rate it’s much faster than all other methods I’ve tried.
HIIT on the HILLThe hill I run is 72 meters long and it takes me around 16 seconds to reach the top. By the 6-7th interval I’m getting there at about 20-22 seconds or thereabouts. I always make an effort to cross the finish line strong and I noted that ability come after a few months, it’s just a natural progression. You’ll also note a marked improvement on the way you reach the top. Instead of plodding or running it becomes more like a bounding action.
After each interval I’ll have 10 seconds or more to pull myself together then I walk or jog back down the hill again. Soon as I’m back at the bottom I might have 10 seconds or more rest them I’m off on my next interval. It all depends on the day though, some days I take a bit longer, other days I go soon as I hit the bottom. I don’t always stick merely to numbers, I go with how I feel as well.
If I work on flat ground I try to stick with the traditional Tabata formula. So that’s a work/rest ratio of 2:1 i.e. sprint 20 seconds rest 10 seconds and repeat X amount of times. Either way I do it the total elapsed time is about 8 minutes give or take a few.
The Hill vs. FlatI have had better success in terms of body fat percentage loss with hill sprints as opposed to flat ground work, but each method poses its own challenges. I also witnessed that the hill sprints improved musculature in the legs and improved my flat ground sprint, in particular acceleration.
Lastly, I wouldn't go past 30 seconds on each interval. Anymore than that and you’ll be turning the HIIT session into something it’s not meant to be.
How intense should a HIIT session be?Distance tests a horse's strength. Time reveals a person's character - Chinese proverb
Consider the wheel of a train on the surface of the track. Each carriage weighs about 66 tonnes and each wheel takes the weight of 11 tonne. The point of contact between the wheel and rail is a few millimetres square. That’s intense pressure.
Your pressure point is time.
That is, how many intervals you complete in a small amount of elapsed time and how hard you work within each interval.
If you collapse onto the ground after each interval you’ve gone too hard I’d think. Kneeling, squatting bent over - yes, collapsing onto the ground - no. If you’re dry retching you’re most likely inadequately hydrated and need to pay closer attention to pre-training hydration. See 10 tips for beginners
With hill work you can't really stick to the traditional 2:1 work/rest ratio because you're stuck at the top of the hill and it takes time to get back down before you can start your next interval.
So it's more like the 'go with how you feel method': Get back down the bottom of the hill give me 0-20 seconds and launch into it again when you can. Not a very objective measure I know, but its worked for me. There is another and perhaps better way called the 'heart rate method' and here's what world class trainer Mike Boyle had to say about it;
With the mass production of low cost heart rate monitors, we are no longer required to guess. The future of interval training lies with accurate, low cost heart rate monitors. We are no longer looking at time as a measure of recovery, as we formerly did in our rest to work ratios. We are now looking at physiology
He uses a special, and by all accounts, accurate method known as the Karvonen formula and you can read more about that in his article titled: Interval Training- HIIT or Miss?
A General rule for HIITIf you feel you can run up a hill 5 times, then for the majority of the time, do it 4. You’re there to get fitter, stronger etc not to find out where your physical limits are. There is a BIG difference between the two things. If you max out every time you train, you’re asking for trouble. And by this I mean give it everything you’ve got to get to the top of the hill on each interval, just avoid expending everything you’ve got by doing one too many intervals on that particular one day of your training.
The SacrificesTake away food, snacks, sweet biscuits, chocolate and all the stuff you love to eat has to go for the most part if you’re to get the greatest benefit from your time on the hill. It comes down to how much you want it. I don’t recommend doing extra HIIT sessions just to make up for a bad diet.
Also, you'll have much more control over your diet if you're the one doing the cooking. Almost every product these days has a low fat alternative so make use of that too.
Trial, Error, Setbacks & a CautionIf there's a weakness, HIIT will find it and weed it out, it's a form of stress testing.
My experience with this kind of training hasn’t been without its problems. I had periods where I overdid it by doing it 3 days in a row. I didn’t eat enough calories early on and lost too much weight and became weak. I had burnout and periods where I just didn’t care (negative attitude) and the excuses in my mind would mount up. I just kept training when I could and was able.
I had minor issues with cramps in my backside and legs. The best way to help this is always warm up first, maybe perform a quick stretch between sets. Just personally, I found that the cramps subsided as I become better conditioned to the hill work.
Always progress slowly with this kind of training, it’s a shock to the system and the body and mind needs time to adapt.
I had a strange taste of blood in my mouth when I began this style of training. It wasn’t visible in my saliva at anytime so I wrote it off as an unknown. This did eventually stop thankfully, but if it hadn’t I surely would have stopped.
I tried adding weight and while it was good, I think that;
a. There’s not a real need
b. It’s much harder to recover from a weighted hill run
c. You’re turning HIIT into something its not
The bottom line is that anything that’s worrying you or that may be out of the ordinary, ALWAYS take it to your doctor. It’s just too dangerous and irresponsible to mess around with some of the unexpected issues that can pop up.
Is HIIT forever?I’m not sure I would use this method of training without ceasing at some point. I think to continue this indefinitely might not be wise. There is such a thing as cardiac remodeling and I've provided a link in the forum: The Heart of Athletes - Cardiac Remodeling & the Risks
For the average Joe Blow, I still believe that steady state cardio work will have a place in the future. Unless you make money from your sport or you have some other benefit you feel you must derive from this, then I don’t see a whole lot of sense doing it for ever. Everyday people have everyday commitments that are more important and require energy. If you use it all for HIIT then other things in life may suffer.
You could keep the intensity high on all future sessions but limit and reduce the number of intervals and sessions performed. A maintenance phase of HIIT with a healthy diet should be enough for most peoples needs.
This article is too long as is and I could bore you more here on this training method but if you take it on, you'll see a lot more for yourself than I can ever impart because...
There is no substitute for experience :-)
