HITT training on a Cruzbike

[The Brook]

Hello all,

I've been reading up on High Intensity Interval Training (HITT) as a good way to burn off fat using shorter sessions.
The way I read these articles say that after a 5 minute warm-up, you then go all out for as long as you can (somewhere around 1-2 minutes), then back off and catch your breath, the again go all out for as long as possible), then again back off to catch your breath, do this for around 30 to 45 minutes.
What seems to happen is that after your workout,

 

[LarryOz]

Brook - it looks like you must have cut off part of your sentence. I am not sure how HITT training is at burning fat. From my experience that kind of interval training will burn off all the glucose in your muscles. It will help your top end strength and VO2 Max - not sure about burning fat though. I do know that if you go on the Keto diet (basically eat no sugar, cut out anything processed, and severly limit wheat products, your body will burn your fat away at a relatively low exertion level. Jim, Maria, Bob, Tanya, myself and many of Cruzbikers are a testament to that fact. Search on this forum for something to do with diet, or ketosis and you will find volumes. I'm sure someone will look it up and post the link for you in a while. My 2 cents

 

[The Brook]

Hi all,
Sorry, When I went to post my question, part of it cut off, and I didn't have the time to fix it before needing to leave for a few hours.
What I've been told by local riders here is that HIIT usually involves riding at a very difficult pace for 30-90 seconds followed by a rest for double that time. Once you become more fit, the intensity split will become 50-50. This recovery is called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption or EPOC, which means that there is a substantially large increase of oxygen intake to replenish the oxygen deficiency that you just experienced. This is important because you will actually be burning calories long after the workout is over.

After a Tibial plateau fracture in Feb 2015, it took me approx 8 months before I could walk without a cane, and another 6 months before I could ride somewhat comfortably on a recumbent trainer, and I'd put on 15 pounds in that time. Last August, after getting the hardware removed from my leg, I was finally allowed to get back on my Freerider and ride, what a pleasure. But winter comes early here in Montreal, and I had to get back indoors in late October. I worked on the trainer in my mother in law's apartment complex until the end of the year.

I took a membership at my local gym in January, and rode the recumbent trainer about 5 times a week until April working to get my strength and endurance back. Then, I rode my Freerider and really was able to push a lot harder, getting close to my past form. But in that time , until July, I only was able to lose 3 pounds.

I checked with my doctor about HIIT training, He had me do stress test, it was good, and he gave me the go ahead. In the 2 months since, I've lost another 6 pounds, and my strength and VO2 Max have increased quite a bit. I find that the hills I ride outside of Montreal (Quite flat on the island) are much easier to climb than they were before my accident.

I just now checked the Keto diet, and will try to incorporate in my diet, I'd like to lose another 15-20 pounds, and it looks like it's quite manageable. If only I can discipline myself to cut out sugar !

Thanks for the info,
Denis

 

[Emeljay]

link to the thread Larry mentioned:

https://www.cruzbike.com/forum/threads/diet-low-carb-and-ultra-cycling.11000/

 

[LarryOz]

I just now checked the Keto diet, and will try to incorporate in my diet, I'd like to lose another 15-20 pounds, and it looks like it's quite manageable. If only I can discipline myself to cut out sugar !

Hi Denis.
Yes, the sugar is the hardest part, and you will probably find out like most of us that you are addicted to it. It might be harder than caffeine to kick. But if you can manage to do it, you will find a delightful surprise in that you will actually taste all other foods much much more. You will discover an interesting sweetness in vegetables, and fruits will become so sweet that you will not believe it! Everything eat tastes better! The nicest part of this "diet" is that you do not have to really count anything, no grams of carbs, grams of this, grams of that. I found I could eat just about as much as I wanted of meats and veggies (within reason of course), real butter, etc and I still lost weight extremely fast. Jim & Maria have also proved that you can ride virtually all day with no intake of actual calories (as long as you get electrolytes you need), and you keep your heart-rate at or below your endurance threshold (this also raises as you gain fitness). Maria rode an entire 24 hours (and set a record) and all she ate were a couple of crackers. And this doesn't limit you to riding slow. I have ridden a 3:56 Century on no fuel, and Jim Parker just won the 2017 UMCA Century National Championship drinking only water with electrolytes.
Good Luck and let us know how it goes!

 

[The Brook]

It's been nearly 2 months since my girlfriend and I started the Keto way of life, she's lost 10 pounds, and I've lost 17. I'm now at 205 pounds on my 6'2" frame, and I can see that I can lose another 20 pounds easily.

At the recommendation of a friend who's a trainer and runs triathlons, I've incorporated upper body workouts into my training, i.e, : one 1 day, I'll do HIIT on the recumbent trainer ( and my training HR is going higher , I'm regularly in the 145 to 150 range for about 2 minutes at a time), then the next day, I'll do the weight machines. I find that alternating the days that way, I'm better able to push to higher limits for each discipline. I can only train for 45 minutes to 1 hour a day, due to other time constraints, so this maximizes my usage of my time. A benefit of Keto is that I'm not sore for very long after intense workouts, only for the evening. I feel great the next morning.

My blood pressure is now regularly in the 115/75 range with a resting pulse rate of 51, and my formerly tight jeans are now loose on me!

I'm healthier and fitter than I've been since my teen age football playing years.

Denis

 

[Osiris]

I first became aware of HIIT some 30 years ago, when I was involved in weight lifting. Among the claimed benefits was fat burning. It does this (or so it's claimed) by raising your metabolism so that your body continues to burn energy even at rest. A high metabolism is the reason we could eat as much junk food as we liked in our youth while never getting fat. I know a local cyclist who was obese when he started working out, but managed to lose a tremendous amount of body fat while gaining muscle in a very short time using HIIT combined with dieting. You can see his transformation here:

 

[The Brook]

While I'm not at that level yet, I find that HIIT training every 2nd day, alternating with Weight training the other days, and following a Keto way of life has helped tremendously. I'm now hitting the low to mid 150 BPM's during my intervals, (I'm 62 years old) and my resting HR is now at 51 BPM's. I've lost 27 lbs.
since Oct 12th, my shoulders and arms have bulked up and I need a whole new wardrobe, as everything I have is loose on me!

Denis