Post: #1

I have being hearing about this over the past few months. Really interesting stuff:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/articl...-life.html

Post: #2

This stuff is not bad, though all the information in it is pretty old. There's been HIIT/HIT jedis out there since probably the seventies, though they may have called them something different back then.

One thing I don't believe is that one fifth of the population doesn't respond to aerobic stress by increasing Vo2max. That's just stupid. Stresses cause adaptation, they can't not. I wouldn't believe their conclusion even if they showed me all their data. They're clearly not busting the asses of that 20% enough.

Post: #3

We've known that HIT is "healthier" than steady state long distance cardio for a while, and the athletic evens of our ancestors suggests that they never even considered running to be a competitive or healthy activity. A two to three mile run isn't going to hurt and I have no problem with the people who actually enjoy it, but regularly running 8 to 15 miles at a crack is not good for you.

Most of the old school strongmen lived well into their eighties and still performed their feats of strength. There's marathon runners who drop dead at the age of 45. My uncle has ran five to six miles every morning for the past fifteen years and he still looks like shit.

This link is not safe for work, so don't click on the link and then click past the NSFW warning and then get mad at me. You have been warned.

http://chaosandpain.blogspot.com/2011/02...9b78eca7da

Post: #4

Interval training is new?

Post: #5

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01cywtq - probably available as a torrent somewhere, or on iPlayer if you're in the UK.

IIRC the presenter Michael Mosley turned out to be a low-responder - his VO2Max barely moved in response to HIT but his blood fats and insulin sensitivity improved a lot.

I was a serious competitive distance runner (average 50 to 60 miles per week) for 12 years in my thirties/early forties. My VO2Max peaked at 75 (40 is normal). I look about ten years younger than my chronological age and I put a lot of that down to the good insulin sensitivity and carrying less fat over the years (body fat on DEXA scan was 9% at my fittest). I did supplement a lot as well, though, and maybe I'm just genetically fortunate. I was really into the physiology of it and had a filing cabinet drawer full of research papers on training and nutrition. I forgot most of it now, though.

Nowadays I just jog and cycle a little. My joints all seem okay but my muscles don't have the endurance they used to have and I don't respond so well to training. A few of my running mates have knee problems, but they ran for decades.

I think HIT is a great idea, even if you're a low-responder. If I just wanted to keep fit, I would do that and weights.

Distance running is great if you enjoy the process. The runner's high does exist but I only experienced it twice in 12 years. Generally I liked being out in all weathers - just me and the road - but I hated it sometimes too. I was a complete couch potato in my teens and twenties and I really regret that - "I coulda been a contender!!" Well, maybe not, but I know I didn't reach my body's potential - most runners peak in their late twenties.

Post: #6

Another cool thing that supposedly acts as a good "Minimal Effective Dose" is the Graded Exercise Protocol (GXP).

http://www.ironmanmagazine.com/the-heart...ybuilding/

Essentially:

~9 mins mins of cardio, 2-3 times a week. you warm up slowly jogging for 3 mins, then do 3 mins fairly heavy, at 80-85% heart rate - I guess something like the pace you'd run an 800m. Then you slow jog to warm down for 3 mins. Supposedly good increase in VO2 Max, very minimal time investment needed, not difficult like HIIT, and avoids both the intensity problems of HIIT and the "chronic cardio" problems of distance running.

Post: #7

I've been hearing about this a lot too. The argument seems to be: you can do this little and still be healthy.

But why aim for mediocrity?

Post: #8

the article is poorly written, its interval training but you got to do 10-15 minutes of actual activity in that. Professional rugby and football players here in Europe use it in training

Post: #9

(02-26-2013 08:44 AM)bojangles Wrote:  the article is poorly written, its interval training but you got to do 10-15 minutes of actual activity in that. Professional rugby and football players here in Europe use it in training

even in our local soccer club youth team, we did interval training ~12-15 years ago. old news are old

Post: #10

I was doing HIIT over 5 years ago. There was a park that was perfect because it had markers dividing up a mile, so you full out sprint for one marker walk for the another and then full out spring, etc. HIIT is great for body recomposition.

Post: #11

Interval training was started by Gerschler, back in the 1930's I think. But HIT is not exactly interval training, as the latter would involve more reps at less than 100% effort and generally with shorter rest intervals than HIT. The two stress the energy production systems somewhat differently. A hard interval session is much more stressful and tiring than HIT, I assure you. HIT is like doing 3x200m with a three or four minute rest - that would be tiny volume for an interval session, but evidently it produces surprisingly large physiological adaptations.

Post: #12

I guess that explains why my blood pressure is so reptilian, in spite of my complete and utter lack of cardio. I don't remember the last time I ran a mile.

I didn't know there was a distinction between HIT and interval training, so thanks for the information. I figured that the biggest difference was that the interval session trains the body to deal with the lactic acid buildup, but apparently there are other things at play.

The last couple months, I've been doing a shitload of heavy kettlebell swings for about three to five sets a few times a week as assistance work for my deadlift. A heavy kettlebell (at least a 70 lb, if not 105lb) jacks up the heart rate something fierce. My blood pressure, last I checked, was 109/66 with a pulse rate of 50 beats a minute, but I hadn't quit smoking yet so that probably threw the numbers off a bit.

Post: #13

(02-26-2013 08:44 AM)bojangles Wrote:  the article is poorly written, its interval training but you got to do 10-15 minutes of actual activity in that. Professional rugby and football players here in Europe use it in training

Yeah, interval training is not "X 30 second bursts per week, any time you feel like it" although that probably has some benefits, too. Interval training involves moderate-intensity "intervals" between the high intensity.

Post: #14

Hi Cardguy,
Very informative link on how three minutes of exercise a week could change your life and will be of great info and help for those who wants to lose weight and lead healthy lifestyle. People must start workouts because not only it helps in losing extra weight but also boost immunity system and reduce the risk premature death.