I usually do 45 minutes of cardio 5 - 6 days a week and my heart rate stays about 157-175, anywhere in between there for most of the duration. I also usually do strength training afterwards for about 30 minutes. My maximum heart rate for my age is 196 bpm. I just did H.I.I.T. last night for the first time. I did a 5 minute warmup and then did 30 second sprints on the elliptical and 30 second slower paced, then repeated 6 times, with a 5 minute cool down. My heart rate stayed at about 175 to 188 throughout the intervals. Is this about right? I'm going to try this High Intensity Interval Training. I am female and I am trying to loose about 30 lbs and be firm not soft at the end of my fat loss. Do you think H.I.I.T. is a good idea, or would my normal 45 minutes of elliptical at 80%-85% of my maximum heart rate be better? I know cardio machines are not accurate for calorie burning, but last night it showed I only burned 180 calories doing H.I.I.T., and normally it shows around 500 burned. I guess I just want to be reassured that this H.I.I.T. program would be better. Should I do the interval training everyday, or switch it up? Please give me any suggestions or input. Thank you!

Here is my personal opinion regarding your program:

First, I would not do HIIT during each workout, this could ultimately be overwhelming to your body.

Also, split your routine into two separate workouts.

Workout A) perform your typical 45 min workout as you were doing, only now do your resistance training first.

Workout B) Perform the HIIT program that you described – since this should only take about 10 minutes (not including the cool down) immediately follow with a 30 minute light (less than 80% MHR) jog for the remainder 35 minutes or so.

I think that alternating between these two strategies might be beneficial to your goals.


Keep up the good work.

I would only do HIIT 2 times per week for starters. Couple this with proper nutrition and resistance training, if you are not seeing results, I would be willing to bet that the problem lies on the nutritional side.

As for calories burned during HIIT opposed to your steady state, low intensity cardio, don't worry about what the machine is telling you. You actually burn more fat and more calories doing steady state, low intensity cardio. So why do it?

Because once you finish steady state, low intensity cardio, the energy burn is done. In opposition, with HIIT, calorie burn goes on for hours on end. And energy balance is the name of the game when it comes to fat loss.

Thanks a lot guys! I will definately give that a try. So you are saying one day do weights then do 45 min cardio, and the next day do H.I.I.T. and finish off with 30 min light. Alternate those two every other day, correct?

I don't know what Fitness Trainer was recommending, and I am not sure if I am really recommending anything per se, simply b/c I don't know any specifics about you. That said, if fat loss is the goal, depending on a bunch of variables, a couple of sessions of HIIT paired with a solid resistance training program while eating correctly is a good general recommendation. Now, if an uber amount of weight is to be lost, some SS cardio may be required.

Steve,
About nutrition. I'm consuming around 1,200 to 1,400 calories a day. I have not really watched carbs very much, and so I'll eat a sandwich here and there. Do you reccomend cutting my carbs down. I've been entering my daily diet on FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal, so I know I'm consuming that amount of calories, but it seems that I have WAY too many calories coming from carbs. What do you think? Also, do you think I am eatting enough? I did weight watchers a while back and I was doing the point ranges, that is where I have gotten the 1200 to 1400 calorie idea. I weigh 185, 5'6", size 12, so you can get an idea of my body. I have never had my body fat tested, but I'm guessing its in the high 20's low 30's at this point which is not good. I seem to weigh more than people my size for some reason. So just would like your input on the calories too. Thanks Steve. It seems you really know your stuff; I've been reading a lot of your replies on here.

Reading a lot of my replies on here huh? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

I could not see your diet, maybe I have to log in? I don't use fitday though.

However, when setting up a diet, let me go grab a post from my journal:

My diet is majority carbs. I think any diet for the average person, leaving out goal dependencies, should worry about calories first and foremost, then protein requirements, then EFAs. Once they are accounted for, it is fair game to toy around with the remaining macronutrients required to fulfill your energy requirements.

When determining caloric intake, you have 2 options:

1. Keep a food log for 2 weeks of everything you eat and each foods caloric values. If your weight as been stable following this same type of eating, you can reasonably assume that you are eating close to your maintenance intake, where energy in = energy out.

2. You can use some fancy formulas to figure out your maintenance level. I like to bypass them and simply use 15 calories per pound of body weight. This will give you your assumed maintenance. Now, if you have chronically under-eaten in the past, this value is simply a ballpark figure for the average population, and yours may actually be lower due to the slowed metabolism from the under-eating. Make sense?

Next, for example, if I need 3500 calories to maintain, that is the number I will shoot for.

I like to have 1 - 1.5 gm of protein for each pound that I weigh. Right now that would be 195. There are 4 calories in each gram of protein, which equals out to be 975 calories (using 1.25 grams/lb). If you are not weight training, these requirements would be lower.

Then I worry about my fats. I like to have somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-100 grams as a minimum. Of this, I keep it to the healthy side of things with monounsaturateds (olive oil), certain polyunsaturateds (omega-6/9s, stuff like flax oil, borage oil, etc), and a source of omega-3s (fish oil caps, or a serving of omega-3 rich fish like salmon). Let's say from this, I take in 100 grams of fat. There are 9 calories per gram of fat, leaving us with 900 calories here.

That gives us a total of 1875 calories, while I am shooting for 3500! I need 1625 more. This is where I add my carbs and I toy around with the other macronutrients too. As an average, I would say 200 grams of carbs is a good number for an active individual. I have gone much higher myself. At any rate, once you calculate your proteins and fats, you fill the deficit needed to reach your caloric goal with a mixture of the 3.

It tends to be very personal and goal dependent from this point forward. If you were going to be doing a lot of frequent cycling, I would load up on carbs, especially close to your workouts/cycles. Active people can benefit from carbs, although there is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate, there are only essential amino acids and essential fats.

To add to the great advice that Steve has already shared, I would like to add the following points as well:

a) 1200 -1400 calories is considered a low calorie diet for many individuals. This of course can and will vary from persona to person. When limiting your caloric intake you should also pay close attention to your overall energy levels.

b) No matter what your caloric intake might be, your body is naturally going to try and create an equilibrium point or homeostasis. Meaning, if you were to consume only 1200 calories each and everyday then soon enough, your body will “learn” how to survive while only burning 1200 calories per day. This is one of several reasons why many dieters hit plateaus. This is also why it is important to zig-zag calories (alternate between low calorie days with higher days)

c) One last point I would like to make is this. People are always looking for nutritional and diet advice. There are many good resources available and the best is what we have been seeing since grade school – The food guide pyramid. If you have not already done say take a look at MyPyramid.gov - United States Department of Agriculture - Home

I hope this was helpful as well, and again re-read what Steve has wrote as he has provided some great information.



Omar J. Nasouri, CSCS

Thanks for all your guys' help. You both seem like you really know what you're talking about. I've learned a lot just reading all the stuff in this forum. Thanks again!

You are quite welcome.