Conditioning - HIIT 31/08/12

Yesterday was the first day of adding in conditioning work into my training. To frame what I did, I'll take a bit of time to explain one of my favourite forms of conditioning: interval training.

Interval training (otherwise known as HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training) is a method of exercise that is characterised by periods of high-exertion exercise interspersed with periods of rest or low-intensity exertion. During HIIT your heart-rate undulates according to the periods of high-intensity and rest/low-intensity. 

HIIT elicits metabolic expenditure that is much greater per-minute of exercise than most other generally accepted longer forms of conditioning, as well as increasing metabolic rate and fat oxidation for up to two days after the exercise is completed. This means you can do as little as 15 minutes of exercise and reap the same benefits as that of a 45-minute jog. 

Now, HIIT can take many forms, so long as the exercise used is something which can jack the heart-rate up intensely. Many use treadmills as a fool-proof measure for this, but there's a plethora of other options available. This can include things like skipping, rowing machines and even barbell exercises. 

The structure of HIIT varies, but its foundation is using timed periods of high-intensity interspersed with rest/low intensity over a given number of 'rounds'.

For example, a 20-minute HIIT treadmill workout would be structured something like this:

Round 1 

Minutes 0-4: Base walking pace (Low intensity - 6km/h)

Minutes 4-5: Sprint (High intensity - 18km/h)

Round 2

Minutes 5-9: Base walking pace 

Minutes 9-10: Sprint

Round 3 

Minutes 10-14: Base walking pace 

Minutes 14-15: Sprint

Round 4

Minutes 15-19: Base walking pace 

Minutes 19-20: Sprint

Cool-down

Minutes 20-25: Slow walking pace (4km/h)

Neither the times nor the speeds are set in stone, but the structure is what is important. After these 25 minutes you will be sweating buckets and gasping for air (unless you go too easy on yourself), but you will have gained more benefits than a conventional longer form of aerobic conditioning and saved a whole heap of time in the process.

My HIIT was not on a treadmill as I do it in my garage, so naturally I utilised the tools at my disposal: my gym. So I loaded up the Olympic 7-foot bar to 30kg and did the following barbell complex:

(From the floor)

Deadlift

Bent-over row

Hang clean

Front squat

(Bar back to floor)

Power clean

Jerk

(Bar back to floor)

This complex was 1 rep. I then set the timer to 2 minutes and did as many quality repetitions as possible. No poor form or 'tired' movements, just trying to keep everything crisp and clean. Then after the timer went off, I had a 1 minute rest. This was repeated 5 times. 

Minutes 0-2: Barbell complex

Minutes 2-3: Rest

This was repeated for 15 minutes, and by the end of the 15 minutes I had a slack jaw from all the heavy breathing and was dripping sweat as I walked. My whole body felt loose and hot; using the barbell complex making me tired all over. It was a great success, and so I'm thinking I will continue to use this particular complex and next time try to increase the intensity before eventually increasing the weight ever so slightly. 

I felt like I earned my sleep last night.