Hiit effectiveness

[*zap*]

Ten lengths of all out freestyle swimming has been going very good for me, approx. 25 seconds to swim the length and then rest/repeat. I do a 30 minute low/moderate intensity breast stroke before the 10 lengths. It is a very good overall workout and the lengths hit the core/hip flexors/shoulders pretty good as well as the HIIT benefits.

 

[ehealth]

As a complement for overall training, I just wanted to share something that I have found on the web and I have reviewed lately. It seems one health issue are tight hip flexors, which can be trained to have your body in good conditions. I haven´t tried this it yet, so I can´t give my opinion about it but it´s always good to know healthy options to reach the goal.

https://Top5Health.contactin.bio

 

[Coach Chris]

I am pretty sure the reality of things is that complete body strength training, longer distance constant tempo cardio, high intensity interval and regular rucking for both endurance and high weight is the best overall training program. Posterior chain strength cannot be beat for hauling weight in a pack.

^^^^THIS^^^^

 

[brsnow]

Biggest problem for me when I get to the mountains is not the cardio. It's my knees, lower legs, ankles, feet, and pack carrying muscles being up to the task.

So, you'll be fine with HIIT for cardio, but that isn't going to help the other stuff....

I have never ran into the other stuff outside of injury. Might look into boot/pack fit.

 

[Brendan]

I have never ran into the other stuff outside of injury. Might look into boot/pack fit.

Has nothing to do with boot and pack fit for me. It has to do with those muscles of the lower leg not getting used the way they do in the mountains.

HIIT doesn't train them the way rucking on uneven ground does.

 

[ThinkLeicaBuck]

Any one here strictly do hiit for cardio training? I’m curious on you’re results once you get to the mountains?

I alternate hiit with heart rate training. Think about this, when your hiking in the mountains you push and then stop to catch your breath or let your muscles rest etc.. hiit training is the same thing. Your on the right track training hiit for sure but make sure it’s not the only cardio you do.

 

[ThinkLeicaBuck]

I have never ran into the other stuff outside of injury. Might look into boot/pack fit.

Yoga man.

 

[brsnow]

Yoga man.

Yes, I do Pilates. No pain issues

 

[Teaman1]

Hiit is not all I do, and I start pack training 8 weeks before my hunt and seemed to work good for me last year. I am adding hiit this year though. Trying to see if anyone has noticed benefits from hiit training

 

[ThinkLeicaBuck]

Yes, I do Pilates. No pain issues

Oh crap! I think I meant for that reply to go to the other guy!

 

[Teaman1]

Oh crap! I think I meant for that reply to go to the other guy!

Wasn’t meant for you haha, every other post suggests rucking or something extra so I was just putting it out there that I plan to do more than hiit

 

[Mike from MO]

I've wondered if the 20 Rep Squat program would qualify as a short HIIT workout.

Mark Rippetoe says, "Trust me, if you do an honest 20 rep program, at some point Jesus will talk to you. On the last day of the program, he asked if he could work in."

20 rep squat program is the real deal....i did the full 6 week program one time. Hardest training I've ever done, personally. Great mental training too, because if you're doing it right you will be pushing through some incredible mental barriers. Your body does not want you to finish the program, and if your head isn't right, you definitely won't.

 

[Teaman1]

I think the breaking mental barriers part would be a big plus. The mtn tough guys seem to talk about that a lot.
I’m currently too new to weight lifting again to try a program like that. Just want to get back to where I was before I get to crazy

 

[Mike from MO]

20 rep squat cycles seem to work really well for some people and just ok for most people. The general consensus that I have gathered is that all in all, the results don’t justify the effort. Keep in mind that going in and squatting 20 reps twice a week and adding 5# to the bar each time will get brutally taxing very quickly. It may start to impact progress on your other lifts, especially deadlifts. You may even regress. You usually start a 20 rep cycle right around 50% of your 1 rep max. If you run it for 6 weeks, you’ll be 60# heavier than when you started. Some young, genetic outliers will take it all the way to the former 1 rep max over the course of 10, 12, 16+ weeks.

The problem is, you can’t expect to start adding in a bunch of conditioning volume, LSD or HIIT, on top of this 20 rep cycle and still make progress, especially if you are older than ~35 or so. While there is certainly appeal to it because 20 rep squat cycles involve a lot of suffering, I think most average joes are going to benefit more from squatting increasingly heavy sets of 5 + some conditioning. If you want to move heavy weight for conditioning, pushing a sled for short intervals is productive. Then, of course, you’re going to need to do some rucking as you get close to hunting season.

In the end, it’s not so much that the program is ineffective or not time efficient, it’s just that most people aren’t going to be able to do a whole lot of anything else and still benefit from 20 rep squat cycles because after about 3 weeks in, you’re going to be tired and sore and need almost all of your recovery resources to continue to benefit. Also, my personal observation from these cycles back when I did Crossfit was that most people will drop out after 3 weeks. (In the case of Crossfit, that involves conveniently not showing up on the two nights a week where 20 reps are programmed after the first 2-3 weeks, but also, most people would just fizz out entirely because of the amount of random junk conditioning thrown on top of a 20 rep squat cycle that requires the vast majority of your recovery resources). Also, you’re not doing a program if you are throwing in a bunch of random volume just to do it. There’s a reason 20 rep squat cycles are minimalistic.

Some people just want to complete a marathon, other people just want to squat 405# for 20 reps. Both of those are fine, possibly even noble goals unto themselves that require discipline and hard work, but that doesn’t make either efficient training methodology for other goals like being in shape for elk hunting.

All that being said, I’m not sure we have seen actual true to form attempt at a 20 rep squat cycle as it relates to training for the outcome of of being in shape to hunt, so, if there are some willing guinea pigs, take a stab at it and log your workouts on here because the process and the end results would possibly be beneficial for the sake of posterity.

There is a lot of validity to what @Poser says, and I will say that I would not recommend doing the 20 rep squat program more than once per year (it's a six week cycle). I've only done it once. I started it a second time and just wasn't in the right head space and quickly aborted. I did not find it to be excessively draining to the point I coudln't recover or anything like that; BUT, I did back off more on my off days where I usually would do a HIIT kettlebell or something I might just go for a walk instead. You definitely can't do it long-term and like I said earlier, would not recommend ever doing it more than once in a year. YMMV.

 

[Mike from MO]

If anyone is going to do it as training for a mountain hunt, I would recommend they start the program 7-8 weeks before your hunt, so that you can have one or two weeks to de-load after completing the six week program, and be ready to kick azz in the mountains.

 

[Poser]

If anyone is going to do it as training for a mountain hunt, I would recommend they start the program 7-8 weeks before your hunt, so that you can have one or two weeks to de-load after completing the six week program, and be ready to kick azz in the mountains.

IMHO, that would interfere too much with rucking that close to the hunt. I’d think about it more as a way to jumpstart one’s ruck training.

 

[Starbux]

One hour HIIT class 3 times a week works for me. I like showing up and getting crushed with no thought or planning on my part. Also ruck in the summers before season.

 

[Mike from MO]

One of my favorite 10 min workouts. If you force yourself to push it, it will literally kick your ass every time. Good all around workout that burns your lungs as well

I tried this out last week and will second it as a great 10 minute workout--thanks for sharing!

 

[LostArra]

One hour HIIT class 3 times a week works for me. I like showing up and getting crushed with no thought or planning on my part. Also ruck in the summers before season.

My wife is long time member of a fitness class (Orange Theory) that crushes the HIIT workouts with rowing, treadmill, bike and dumbbells. I don't know if anyone actually gets stronger after the first month but they have excellent group dynamics because most members are very dedicated to the killer workouts that focus on heart rate data. I'm not a group exerciser so I've never been. One of my elk hunting friends goes in preparation for the season and he says it makes him work harder than he would on his own.

 

[Cameron945]

Any one here strictly do hiit for cardio training? I’m curious on you’re results once you get to the mountains?

HIIT training can address the cardiovascular demands and much of the metabolic demands, but there is no substitute for the adaptations you get from training for muscular endurance and strength. You need all of those elements to maximize your performance. You may not peak at all of those elements at one time, but they should all meet harmoniously at a time where they are all quite high. The timing of your hunt should be at that harmonious meeting.