HIIT – The “Aerobic” Version…or Part 6 of the “Why Can’t I Lose This Fat” Saga

For those of you that need to catch up on this “how-to” weight loss opus, here are the links:  Part 1, Part 2Part 3 , Part 4 , HIRT Exercise Videos and Part 5.

And now that you’re all caught up, on with Part 6.

HIIT – The “Aerobic” Version

So what is “Aerobic” HIIT training?

Well, to be honest, if you perform it correctly, there is very little aerobic about this type of training. Like Part 5, these HIIT workouts are anaerobic in nature. They will be as intense as the workouts in Part 5, but unlike Part 5, I will be using traditional aerobic exercises and pieces of traditional aerobic exercise equipment instead of the dumbbells and rubber bands.

And like Part 5, this HIIT workout will provide the same benefits:

 

  • Increase your metabolism for up to 36 hours
  • Burn maximum fat in minimum time
  • Increase strength
  • Increase muscular endurance
  • Give you lean, firm muscles
  • Improve your anaerobic endurance
  • Shorten your workout times, and
  • Increase your free time

HIIT Theory

.

Like I said in Part 5, if you want a thorough explanation of the theory behind HIIT training, check out this earlier post.

Here are the basics of this HIIT – Aerobic Training Program

  • With HIIT, you try to work as hard as possible for the assigned time period.
  • Each HIIT- Aerobic workout is made up of an equal number of short duration sprints and longer duration recovery periods.
  • During each sprint, you try to pedal / run / climb as fast as you can.
  • I usually start beginners with a 10 minute workout. That 10 minute workout is usually made up of 10 – 10 second sprints and 10 – 50 second recovery periods.
  • The program can be modified by:
  • Lengthening or shortening the duration of the sprint portion.
  • Lengthening or shortening the duration of the recovery period.
  • Lengthening or shortening the duration of the entire HIIT workout.
  • Increasing or decreasing the intensity of the exercise
  • Increasing or decreasing the number of workouts per week
  • Changing exercises

Here is a chart I designed to help my clients create their own HIIT – Aerobic workouts.

And here is a workout designed for a HIIT beginner.

.

Schedule

.

Week 1: (1) 10 minute HIIT workout 

Week 2: (1) 12 minute HIIT workout

Week 3: (1) 14 minute HIIT workout

Week 4: (1) 16 minute HIIT workout

Week 5: (1) 18 minute HIIT workout

Week 6: (1) 20 minute HIIT workout

The Exercises

.

Just about any “aerobic” exercise can be modified to perform a HIIT workout.

Due to safety concerns however, some exercises are a little less desirable than others. For example, HIIT training on a treadmill does have the potential for a very embarrassing and potentially painful accident.

For Example:

And now a proper HIIT treadmill workout:

HIIT on an Exercise Bike:

HIIT on an Elliptical Machine:

HIIT Hill Sprints – Sprint Up and Walk Down

or HIIT Hill Bounding for those with too much time and energy

.

In addition to these exercises, you can also:

  • Perform your sprints running or swimming in a swimming pool
  • Sprint indoors or outdoors on a flat surface
  • Sprint outdoors on a bike, or
  • Sprint on a Versaclimber

You are limited only by your imagination.

The Beginner’s Workout

.

 

SAMPLE HIIT – AEROBIC WORKOUT

WEEK – WORKOUT

EXERCISE

RESISTANCE

RECOVERY TIME

SPRINT TIME

TOTAL TIME

1-1

ELLIPTICAL MACHINE

INCLINE 8 REISTANCE 10

50 SEC.

10 SEC.

10 MIN

2-1

ELLIPTICAL MACHINE

INCLINE 8 REISTANCE 10

50 SEC.

10 SEC.

12 MIN

3-1

ELLIPTICAL MACHINE

INCLINE 8 REISTANCE 10

50 SEC.

10 SEC.

14 MIN

4-1

ELLIPTICAL MACHINE

INCLINE 8 REISTANCE 10

50 SEC.

10 SEC.

16 MIN

5-1

ELLIPTICAL MACHINE

INCLINE 8 REISTANCE 10

50 SEC.

10 SEC.

18 MIN

6-1

ELLIPTICAL MACHINE

INCLINE 8 REISTANCE 10

50 SEC.

10 SEC.

20 MIN

7-1

ELLIPTICAL MACHINE

INCLINE 8 REISTANCE 10

50 SEC.

10 SEC.

12 MIN

7-2

ELLIPTICAL MACHINE

INCLINE 8 REISTANCE 10

50 SEC.

10 SEC.

12 MIN

8-1

ELLIPTICAL MACHINE

INCLINE 8 REISTANCE 10

50 SEC.

10 SEC.

14 MIN

8-2

ELLIPTICAL MACHINE

INCLINE 8 REISTANCE 10

50 SEC.

10 SEC.

14 MIN

9-1

ELLIPTICAL MACHINE

INCLINE 8 REISTANCE 10

50 SEC.

10 SEC.

16 MIN

9-2

ELLIPTICAL MACHINE

INCLINE 8 REISTANCE 10

50 SEC.

10 SEC.

16 MIN

10-1

ELLIPTICAL MACHINE

INCLINE 8 REISTANCE 10

50 SEC.

10 SEC.

18 MIN

10-2

ELLIPTICAL MACHINE

INCLINE 8 REISTANCE 10

50 SEC.

10 SEC.

18 MIN

11-1

ELLIPTICAL MACHINE

INCLINE 8 REISTANCE 10

50 SEC.

10 SEC.

20 MIN

11-2

ELLIPTICAL MACHINE

INCLINE 8 REISTANCE 10

50 SEC.

10 SEC.

20 MIN

Here is a pdf copy of the sample workout -hiit-workout-aerobic

.

Good luck; and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to comment..

Related Posts

Print Friendly

Related posts:

  1. HIIT – The Anaerobic Version………..or Part 5 of the "Why Can't I Lose This Fat" saga
  2. High Intensity Resistance Training…or Part 4 of the “Why Can’t I Lose This Fat” saga
  3. WORKOUT DESIGN – Why Can't I Lose This Fat – Part 3
  4. Why Can't I Lose This Fat – Part 2
  5. 4 Steps to a Great HIIT Workout
About Douglas Robb

Doug Robb is a personal trainer, a fitness blogger and author, a competitive athlete, and a student of nutrition and exercise science. Since 2008, Doug has expanded his impact by bringing his real-world experience online via his health & fitness blog, Health Habits. Read more posts by Doug at Hive Health Media.

View all posts by author: Douglas Robb

Enter your email address below to receive updates each time we publish new content.

Post comment as twitter logo facebook logo
Sort: Newest | Oldest
canadian pharmacy 5 pts

Informative post and very well written. I really appreciate the construction of words in this post.

ijahamran 5 pts

Hi Doug, just wanna say that we tried this today using steps and it turned out to be a great workout! Definitely including HIIT as part of our weekly routine from now on. Thank you very much for this resource, much appreciated.

I am in the midst of putting together an e-book on this training. I will format the pdf so that you could get it spiral bound and use it as a workout journal.
Is this e-book available yet? Please RSVP
Thanks
B. Wilson

I am probably not going to expand on the program for an ebook, but I think I will put all the parts together into a single pdf and offer it as a free download
Going to work on it now!!!
Should have it online for tomorrow's post

LOVE THE HIIT.
loathe the HIIT :)

Correct - you move to 2 workouts per week at week #7.
After the 11 weeks, you can change any of those variables.
Changing the length of the sprint or the number of sprints per workout will both improve your anaerobic endurance.
Adding a third workout will force your nervous system to adapt quicker due to the reduced time between workouts.
For most people, the difference between these 3 variables is negligible. Do whatever feels 'better' to you and/or works better with your schedule.
You can also increase the resistance of the exercise - higher resistance on the cardio machine or steeper hill...
Hope this helps...thanks for visiting and commenting
I am in the midst of putting together an e-book on this training. I will format the pdf so that you could get it spiral bound and use it as a workout journal.

Hi! Just stumbled across your blog this morning and have been looking for a quick but good workout to do on my eliptical in the mornings before work, so this is great! Just a quick question (or 2. or 3) - on the sample sheet, at week seven it progresses to 7-1 & 7-2, I am assuming this means 2 workouts per week, correct? And then this leads to the next question of after 11 weeks, would you increase the number of times you did it per week, the length of the sprints, or the length of the actual workouts? Or all three? I was looking at the volume and intensity progression tables and wasn't sure which you should switch up first. Thanks! And I'll definitely being checking your blog again in the future.

Good training, but always warm up well first or you are very likely to pull/tear muscle.

What exercise were you planning on using? elliptical is the easiest for HIIT
I would set the incline as high as you can handle but leave the resistance very low
Start with 50 sec at this setting...5-10 seconds before you are going to sprint, start building up your speed.
1-2 seconds before the sprint is to start, quickly increase the resistance as high as you can handle.
The speed you have built at the low resistance will allow you to handle the higher resistance.
After 10 seconds of sprinting, reduce the intensity all the way back down. Recover your energy and do it again

Ha, hill bounding.
For the sample workout, what should the incline and resistance be set at during the recovery period?
If I'm going to ask all these questions about these workouts, it might be a good idea if I, you know, did them or something. Getting my ass into gear is not one of my strong suits, it seems.

Trackbacks

  1. [...] decided to start with Health Habits HIIT aerobic, followed by his HIIT anaerobic, and then following it up with workout 1 from [...]

  2. [...] began with the New Rules of Lifting for Women weights work out and finished with Health Habits aerobic HIIT work out and then anaerobic [...]

  3. [...] out. I can also feel how much is taken out of my body after that work out. So much so that doing a HIIT workout seems dreadful [...]

  4. [...] the link to know more on HIIT training blog comments powered by Disqus var disqus_url = [...]

  5. [...] HIRT workouts for the next 2 weeks..The goals for this phase are Fat Loss / Aerobic Endurance / Anaerobic Endurance / Improved Joint Mobility / Correct Typical Muscular Imbalances [...]

  6. [...] 5, 2011 | 0 Comments Week 52 – HIRT workout #2.The goals for this phase are Fat Loss / Aerobic Endurance / Anaerobic Endurance / Improved Joint Mobility / Correct TypicalMuscular Imbalances [...]

  7. [...] 6, 2011 | 0 Comments Week 52 – HIRT workout #3.The goals for this phase are Fat Loss / Aerobic Endurance / Anaerobic Endurance / Improved Joint Mobility / Correct Typical Muscular Imbalances [...]