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Thread: High Intensity Training

  1. #1
    Master Harry H Howgill's Avatar
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    High Intensity Training

    This BBC article on High Intensity Training (HIT) looks interesting.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17177251

    Although it appears that it can have an effect on the health of some people it probably wouldn't help greatly the fitness of someone who is already at least moderately fit. (Forumites.)

    The following article discusses using HIT for training increases the interval times.

    http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/0...raining&st=cse

    I was wondering how many people fit some sort of high intensity interval training into their training regime.
    Fitness can't be stored. It must be earned over and over, indefinitely.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Trimm Trab's Avatar
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    Re: High Intensity Training

    I do, if I've only got a short amount of time to do some exercise then I'll often do short (very) sharp intervals if only because it's a bit more interesting than banging out half an hour at the same pace. I've also started to add intervals into my twice/thrice weekly run home from work (can't be bothered in the morning!) - though they might be a bit long (over a minute), to count as 'high intensity'.

    My totally unscientific conclusion is: they help. Quite a bit actually. I don't think this should be any great surprise though; lots of highly trained athletes have been using HIT (such as the Tabata method) in their regimes for years. I understand that HIT sessions were featured in Horizon last night, with the result that this morning loads of people at work were hailing it as a cutting edge breakthrough that meant they could get 'fit' by doing three minutes exercise a week, or something like that!

  3. #3
    Senior Member superflyguy's Avatar
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    Re: High Intensity Training

    I do a tabata (20secs hard, 10secs recovery x8) once a weeks. i really hurts! no scientific basis for my thoughts but i'd say it was good and my interval speeds have come down, still want to throw up at the end though!
    i suspect it's too difficult to make a proper analysis due to all the other training.

    I am unsure about advocating such training methods to 'unfit' persons should be very demanding and probably not suited to those just starting out.
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  4. #4
    Moderator noel's Avatar
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    Re: High Intensity Training

    I was discussing this with my colleague over a run at lunchtime today. Although HIT would be great for a lot of people, this doesn't really tick what most people exercise for:
    feeling better about themselves
    losing weight
    enjoyment
    taking part in a competitive sport
    teamwork
    social

    Also, if you're not a committed exerciser, the idea of doing 20 second eye-balls-out reps would put most people off. So, in summary, although it has the potential to improve the health of the nation, very few people will do it. And those who do will be those who were already doing a fair bit of exercise.

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    Re: High Intensity Training

    Didn't see the programme (thankfully since it would have wasted an hour of my life)

    Amused to read the article and the earth shattering discovery that a tiny volume of intense Anaerobic training did not improve the guy's aerobic fitness.
    It dosn't need a genetic test to tell you that ain't going to work - Professor Jamie Timmons

  6. #6
    Master Rob Furness's Avatar
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    Re: High Intensity Training

    I tried Tabata intervals a few times last winter, but to be honest I didn't like them. Not because they're hard, but because the session is too short for me to feel like it's worth bothering. I'll stick with speedwork and tempo runs thanks.
    @Hill_Runner on twitter

  7. #7
    Senior Member dylan's Avatar
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    Re: High Intensity Training

    i think what was missing from the exercise is warm up,
    you go straight into these short reps and your asking for something to pull/snap/tear.

  8. #8
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    Re: High Intensity Training

    Watched the program - lots of unanswered questions.

    Where is the evidence it made him "fit"? It improved his blood profile marginally - I would very much doubt if the result was statistically significant, though presumably they have evidence of some benefit from studies involving a number of people.

    How much warm up did he do? They did mention a warm up but did not tell us how long it took.

    He was of course doing his 20 second efforts on a stationary bike - are there any alternatives to this that do not invite injury? Uphill running flat out for example.

    His VO2 max was unaffected - and they made a big point of this - but VO2 max is relatively fixed anyway, and if they were really interested in this they should have tried some other exercise interventions. They did not measure what % of his VO2 max that he could sustain for a period - this is a significant determinant of how well people perform and it can change very significantly as a result of appropriate training.

    They were of course mainly interested in exercise as a way of improving vascular disease risk factors, rather than as an end in itself; most fell runners aim to improve their performance and enjoy themselves, the other benefits being secondary.
    Last edited by Mike T; 01-03-2012 at 11:18 AM.

  9. #9
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    Re: High Intensity Training

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike T View Post

    He was of course doing his 20 second efforts on a stationary bike - are there any alternatives to this that do not invite injury? Uphill running flat out for example.
    I did Tabata style (20s 100%/10 rec x8) intervals on a Concept II rower when hors de combat running wise last year. My perception (and objective measured distance covered in 20s) was that my performance improved very quickly at rowing - unfortunately I didn't keep it up long enough transitioning back to running to judge the crossover effect. It's certainly a nice low impact way to get the whole body involved and run up an oxygen debt very quickly

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  10. #10
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    Re: High Intensity Training

    Quote Originally Posted by andy k View Post
    Didn't see the programme (thankfully since it would have wasted an hour of my life)

    Amused to read the article and the earth shattering discovery that a tiny volume of intense Anaerobic training did not improve the guy's aerobic fitness.
    It dosn't need a genetic test to tell you that ain't going to work - Professor Jamie Timmons
    It does work in most cases. People have mentioned Tabata training which is , unsurprisingly, based on a study by a japanese bloke called Tabata and involves 4 minutes of work after warm up. It has been shown to be very effective and the science is on tinterweb ( I can't do that thing where you link to other sites).

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