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From Fellrnr.com, Running tips
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=HIIT Recommendations=
Below are my recommendations based on my interpretation of the available evidence. These recommendations for incorporating HIIT in your training depend on your current fitness goals.
* I To reduce injury risk, I strongly recommend performing HIIT on a stationary bike trainer rather than running. See "HIIT Training Methods" below for details.
* Ease into HIIT gently, following [[Safe Speedwork]] recommendations.
* For sedentary people, HIIT is probably more effective in building initial fitness than Continuous Moderate Exercise. Three sessions per week of [[#Wingate| Wingate]] HIIT on a stationary bike should provide an improvement in fitness for a modest time commitment. Using [[#WinTab| WinTab]] style HIIT may produce similar benefits for a lower time commitment.
* Recreationally active people looking for rounded fitness may benefit from including HIIT in their overall training program. Adding 1-3 sessions per week of [[Cycling HIIT For Runners| Wingate or WinTab HIIT on a stationary bike]] should provide an improvement in fitness.
* Athletes focused on improving their performance in endurance races lasting less than an hour will probably benefit from replacing some of their training load with a combination of both traditional HIIT and shorter Wingate or WinTab style HIIT. Up to one traditional HIIT or 1-3 shorter HIIT sessions could be included in a weekly training routine. Care should be taken to increase [[TRIMP| Training Load]] slowly with the additional HIIT and try to avoid increasing [[Training Monotony]]. The traditional HIIT should be performed by running on a track or other outdoor location. For the shorter HIIT, a stationary bike probably has a lower injury risk, but the additional benefits of outdoor running may outweigh the additional injury risk. However, the fast paces of the shorter HIIT should be introduced gradually, building up the pace over a number of workouts. See [[Cycling HIIT For Runners]] for details.
* There is no direct evidence to indicate if HIIT will help athletes focused on improving their performance in events lasting longer than an hour. However, it seems reasonable that HIIT would provide some benefits. Including 1 or 2 Wingate or WinTab HIIT sessions per week may be appropriate. Using HIIT followed immediately by endurance training may mimic some of the effects of longer training. As noted in the prior bullet point for shorter duration athletes, care should be taken to monitor [[TRIMP| Training Load]] and [[Training Monotony]]. As with athletes focusing on events lasting less than an hour, the stationary bike has the lowest injury risk, but there may be benefits to other training modes. However, athletes competing in longer duration events typically don't have the same need for the very high paces that are sometimes seen at the end of shorter events.
* There is no evidence to suggest that HIIT can be used to replace Continuous Moderate Exercise such as the [[Long Run]] that is a core part of endurance training.
* HIIT can rapidly deplete [[Glycogen stores]], and while these creating the possibility of using HIIT followed by lower intensity endurance training to mimic the effects of a much longer training session. * While Glycogen stores are restored fairly quickly afterward, it seems like much of that may come from breaking down muscle protein. For the research behind this, see [[Glycogen#Glycogen_Depletion_and_HIIT| Glycogen Depletion and HIIT]]. Taking in calories in the form of carbohydrate and protein very soon after HIIT will help prevent muscle loss.* For "all out" intensities, fewer intervals may be more effective. In my experience, 2 intervals, win the second at a slightly lower resistance (slope on the bike) is optimum for reaching and maintaining the highest workloads.
=Incorporating HIIT In Your Training Regime =
Here are some suggestions for adding HIIT to your training. These are not hard and fast rules, as there is a lot of individual variability.
The [[Tabata]] workout is one of the best-known protocols for HIIT and consists of 7-8 repeats of 20 seconds at 170% of [[VO2max|V̇O<sub>2</sub>max]] with 10 seconds rest. The number of repetitions is defined by how long the required intensity can be maintained. An athlete should be able to complete 7-8 intervals; if 9 can be performed, the intensity is increased. However, few people actually follow the [[Tabata]] protocol because it requires specialist equipment to measure [[VO2max|V̇O<sub>2</sub>max]], then calculate 1.7x the [[VO2max|V̇O<sub>2</sub>max]] workload that should be used. In practice, most people do what I call the WinTab workout (see below).
==Wingate==
This style of HIIT is based around the Wingate test, which is used to measure peak anaerobic power and anaerobic capacity<ref name="Vandewalle-1987"/>. ===The Wingate Test===The Wingate Test typically uses a warmup of 10 minutes easy cycling, followed by 2-3x 15 second sprints to get used to the speed. Then the test is normally 30 seconds all out sprinting, though some researchers use a longer period of 40-120 seconds. ===The Test on a Smart Trainer===The test is performed on a mechanically braked cycle ergometer, often a Monarch model. This makes converting the settings to a smart trainer tricky. The Monarch uses a weight to provide the resistance, and the Wingate Test uses 7.5% of your body weight. The formula for working out Watts for the Monarch is the resistance in Kg multiplied by the cadence. So, if you weigh 60 Kg, 7.5% is 4.5Kg, and at a cadence of 80 rpm is 360 watts. Setting your smart trainer's resistance so you get about 360 watts at 80 rpm is a good starting point for the test. ===The Wingate as HIIT===The Wingate HIIT uses 30 seconds of 'all out' intensity, followed by ~4 minutes of recovery, repeated 4-6 times. A similar warmup procedure as the test seems reasonable, with 10 minutes easy, then 2-3x 15 second sprints.
==WinTab (Tabata style Wingate)==
Most athletes that use the [[Tabata]] workout do not use the 170% [[VO2max|V̇O<sub>2</sub>max]] intensity, but rather the Wingate style 'all out' intensity. Because the intensity is not fixed, the WinTab normally has 8 repetitions of 20 seconds all out plus 10 seconds rest, taking 4 minutes (plus [[Warmup]]), rather than the variable number of repetitions of the original [[Tabata]] protocol.
