I know a girl, a runner, who listens to true crime podcasts when she’s running because she goes faster due to fear.
4 Likes
I run with my dog who looks back at me with sympathy at how slow I am. He runs circles around me. It makes me try harder.
3 Likes
A number of things I had forgotten about have been mentioned such as ‘puke level’ intensity, hip flexor injuries and other injuries. All of these and more could happen without adequate preparation to prepare the body and mind for what is possible and, in addition, keep it all under control while in the process of doing the HIIT training. Injuries could set you back for many months, especially plantar fasciitis. Thanks for the reminders!
In the beginning it was a months-long process to gradually build up to doing what I currently do. In addition, there is the gradual preparation on the day of HIIT Training. For me it’s never the first thing on my list. It’s at least two hours after a meal and it’s generally the peak and final part of my workout. Afterwards, I have no time or energy left. So, for anyone new to this idea take it slow and gradually build up.
The stress response and associated sympathetic nervous drive can help. Nicotine can increase sprint speed acutely.
1 Like
I do two 20-second all-out sprints with two minutes rest between, on a stationary bike for VO2 -max, based on Niels Voollard´s research. I was in touch with him a year ago, he is continuing the research and says the results still hold. 20 seconds are needed. The jury is still out whether three sprints may be slightly better but probably two sprints are enough. Effect of number of sprints in a SIT session on change in VO2max: A meta-analysis - the University of Bath’s research portal
2 Likes
HIIT Is Most Effective at Reducing Body Fat in Older Adults
New research indicates that high intensity exercise intensity may play a key role in helping older adults lose fat without sacrificing muscle.
High intensity interval training (HIIT) may offer older adults a more efficient way to improve body composition, according to new research led by scientists at the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC). The study suggests that while many forms of exercise can reduce body fat, the intensity of the workout plays a critical role in preserving muscle mass as people age.
“We found that high, medium, and low intensity exercises all led to modest fat loss but only HIIT retained lean muscle,” said lead author and exercise physiologist Dr Grace Rose of the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Researchers set out to understand how different training intensities affect fat and muscle in healthy older adults. Maintaining muscle is considered particularly important in later life, as muscle loss can reduce mobility, increase frailty, and raise the risk of chronic disease.
Full study info/article: https://scitechdaily.com/this-type-of-exercise-is-most-effective-at-reducing-body-fat-in-older-adults/
HIIT is great but it can be challenging, esp to maintain the effort over the entire interval…you don’t want to fade.
1 Like
You can view the paper here Research Portal
This is from the abstract:
“Conclusions:
High-intensity training reduced fat and maintained lean mass in apparently healthy older adults, though changes were small and not clinically meaningful compared with exercise of lower intensity and considering measurement error. Where appropriate and feasible, higher-intensity exercise training may be considered to support improvements in health-related body composition in older adults.”
Results to me sound underwhelming.
The high-intensity was the following : “In the HIIT group, participants completed a 10-min warm-up followed by four, 4-min intervals at 85–95 % of HRpeak interspersed by 3-
min of active recovery at 60–70 % HRpeak followed by a 5-min cooldown, totalling 40-min of treadmill exercise.” 3 times a week
As someone who trains daily, does sprint triathlons and is active with other sports, I find it implausible that they found anyone off the streets that would last at avg age 71 doing the above 3 times a week for 6 months. Unless these are the Australian version of aging Navy Seals. Or they are really underestimating HRPeak. The study should be re-titled to - “How to get 71 year old people into a condition of over training that they will regret for the rest of their lives”
1 Like