Fed Up of Long Cardio: Time for HIIT?

Hiya all,

I am pretty much fed up with long cardio sessions. not only that, but doing weights 5x a week plus work plus varsity = no time to do 30-40 mins 3-4 times a week. I read a lot of HIIT in a few magazines and just wanted to check if the following is okay, and if there are any pointers someone can give me.

I plan to do HIIT cardio, 3x a week. It will probably be around 20 minutes total, including:

5 min jog for warmup,
10 min alternating 30 sec sprint, 30 sec jog
5 min warm down.

Any changes suggested in timing/ratio of sprint to jog?? any help appreciated!

PS. I will probably do these first thing in the morning, straight after a strong cuppa coffee and 10 minutes stretching :)

Are you using a heart monitor to ensure that you are in the correct zone to do what ever you want to do?

Im not sure if you own a monitor but precor makes some nice ones that dont cost much if money is an issue. around 50 bucks for the basic.

Hehe i am not sure if its just my love of toys or if it helps but i have been getting great results out of my cardio and i never do over 30.

Hope something helps

sprint walk seems to work better, and walk half the time you sprint, so 1 minute sprint 30 second walk or what ever you can do

thanks for the infos guys!

anyone here do or done HIIT cardio, any more suggestions welcome. thanks! also, if I do it first thing in the morn, what do you guys suggest about postworkout nutrition - timing, quantity, things to eat - I'm sure it will be different for cardio than for weight workout right?

bump for any answers

The only forms of cardio to produce the results I was looking for, reduction of bodyfat with out a loss of strength, are rope jumping and sled pulling. I would jump rope for 20 minutes; about an hour before going to bed, and not eat until the morning (about 6-7 hours). With the sled, I pull 3 times per week for about 20 minutes at a time. I pull in the evenings after training days, and I try to get 2-3 meals before pulling and 1-2 after.

Ermantroudt

yeah do 200 or 400 repeats at 80%-85% they are so effective, but remember to keep at least one long run/week. 1 hr. plus.
good luck
peace