You are killers!!!!!...........lol

[Katey]

At the gym today I was a good girl and did something I read on here....... instead of 20 mins plodding along on cross trainer, I did 15 mins of 1 min quite fast, with 15 seconds of that head down and going as fast as I could...... I did this for each of the 15 minutes....... Bloody killer, but seems like it would have FAB results.
xxxx

[malkore]

it does.

here's some math for you.

say you do 20 mins of slow cardio..the so called 'fat burning zone' where your heartrate is only maybe 120bpm. You burn 200 calories, and 100 of those were pure fat. 50% fat cals burned.

now you do 20 mins of high paced cardio, keeping the heart rate up, between 140 - 160bpm. You burn 300cals, 125 of which were fat. that's less than 50% of burned calories beign from fat...but, its still MORE total calories, MORE fat calories, AND you actually got a cardio-vascular workout.

The whole fat-burning zone is a mis-informed myth. That 'zone' is basically when the body will start tapping into fat for energy. It doesn't have an 'upper end' (not one you need to be concerned with at least).

So yeah, HIIT (high intensity interval training, including interval cardio) is a much more effective workout than slow, methodic aerobic exercise.

[Katey]

Excellent thank you.
Should I do this every day, or alternate?

[malkore]

Its my opinion that cardio and weights should be done on separate days. alternating is a good way to do it, especially for women who don't like to lift weights.

But do both. Unless you have hidden testicles, weight training is not going to make you 'bulky' or 'look like a man'. The 'nasty' female bodybuilders you've seen photos of use anabolic steroids and testosterone injections, plus a TON of food, to achieve a phyisque like theirs.

'normal' women would simply develop a body similar to Linda Hamilton's from Terminator 2...lean and sculpted...very athletic, but not 'man-like'

[sarahfitchic]

Good for you! Intervals are tough. You'll get used to it and you'll be going faster and faster on those sprints. Keep it up!

Sarah

[Katey]

Thanks guys.
I will keep it up, hopefully it should get a bit easier as time goes on, but saying that when it gets earier no doubt I will have to go faster again..... hahaha
Any other top tips?
Thanks,
Love Katey x

[Katey]

OH MY GOD!!
I did this on the treadmill today.
1 min walking at 6.5 kph
1 min running..... every time I ran I upped the kmp by 0.5
I managed to get my heatrate to 188, is that good?? When I start its usually around 100.
I did 20 mins, plus 3 mins cool down.
I did my usual upper body weights, then 10 mins HIIT on the cross trainer.
Its funny, the girl I train with keeps her hair down and dosent even break a sweat, I have to tie mine up and am a right mess by the time im finished....lol
x

[aevans410]

how old are you katey? I'm almost 30 and i manage to get my heartrate up in the 170s during HIIT...

[Katey]

Im 34, very soon to be 35.

[aevans410]

you're calculated Maximum is 191, you're almost working it to its maximum capacities...

that will soon change though, as your heart gets healthier, you're heart rate will not get that high.

[Trainer Lynn]

I would not do HIIT every day. And I would never do it for more than 15-20 minutes. In fact if you can do it more than 15-20 minutes then you are not doing HIIT properly.

Here's a bit of a better schedule using the one you just provided:

Do a 5-10 minute cardio warm up.

Do your strength training session.

Do 15 minutes medium intensity cardio.

Cool down and stretch.

============

The difference between HIIT and Interval Training is quite large. HIIT is walking for a minute, then sprinting all out oh my god I cannnot believe I am going this fast for one minute, then walking for one minute, then sprinting all out oh my god I cannnot believe I am going this fast for one minute, then walking for one minute, etc for 15-20 minutes. This should NOT be done on a day that you do lower body strength training, it should NOT be done on a day after lower body strength training.

Interval training is one minute of this, one minute of that, one minute of this, one minute of that for as long as you want to go (no more than 45 minutes). It may include medium intensity and higher intensity levels, but it is not the same at HIIT.

I don't want to make this sound complicated (am I failing miserably at that?), but it isimportant to workout correctly... especially when just starting out. And I wouldn't keep all your cardio in 1 zone. Your body will adapt.

I would mix up my cardio each week to include a few medium intensity and session length days, 1 long session, low intensity days and maybe one HIIT if you are in shape enough.

http://acefitness.org/fitfacts/fitne...spx?itemid=265 is a good read and supports Malkore's post. Which I agree with (aevans410 postas well).

[Katey]

Thanks for this.
I will start it when Im back at the gym Monday.
I have the weekend off cos I have 3 lads.
Katey x