TRUE Workouts: High Level HIIT Cardio Workout
HIIT cardio workouts are an excellent way to build up your body’s endurance as well as maintaining muscle mass and burn more calories. HIIT training is a workout that you cannot afford to pass up if you are looking to increase your endurance and get healthy.
Exercise Goals
The goal of this workout is to stress your muscular endurance and cardiovascular system. You will be using varied intensities and times. This should provide an experience similar to High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Your legs will likely feel the brunt of the fatigue from this workout. When the intensity says low you should be able to carry on a conversation. When the intensity says medium it should be hard for you to say a sentence. When the intensity says high you should only be able to say a word.
Tips Before the Workout
First of all, make sure you complete a proper warm up before jumping into this workout. This should consist of some stretching and/or foam rolling. The Recumbent Bike in this workout should be used as your specific warmup. When the intensity says “High”, go as hard as you can for one minute. Remember: You cannot maximally sprint for 1 minute so you will have to pace yourself just a bit, but the effort should be near maximal.
If you do not have all the pieces of cardio at your facility, feel free to compromise. For example: You only have a standard treadmill, recumbent bike and standard elliptical, use those for the exercises listed.
To adjust this workout for your skill level there are a few things to consider.
- For a Beginner, follow the workout as stated, you will just go a bit slower on your high intensity sections.
- For an Intermediate, follow the workout as stated, but to the higher end of the level range.
- For an Advanced, follow the workout as stated, but to the higher end of the level range and try not to rest during the whole circuit, then repeat the workout after 5 minutes of rest.
Proper Forms To Remember For This Workout
- C900 Recumbent Bike
Once you are seated with your feet on the pedals, grab the seat adjustment underneath the seat. Adjust the seat forward or backward so that when one leg is pedaling at the furthest point away from you there is still a very slight bend in that knee. Once you are at that position, release the handle and be sure the seat clicks into place. - C900 Elliptical
There are no adjustments that need to be made in order to use this Elliptical. Once on this cardio piece remember to use your arms and legs in unison to make it a total body workout. - Alpine Runner
Once on this treadmill, start with a slow walk and simply adjust your incline first, keep walking slowly till the Alpine Runner reaches the desired incline. Then adjust your speed to the appropriate difficulty. If running/sprinting remember to try to land on your mid-foot, not your heel. - Spectrum
There are no adjustments that need to be made in order to use the Spectrum. Once your feet are on the pedals, place your hands on the grips which are most comfortable to you. Start pedaling slowly in order to adjust the stride length. Once the stride length is adjusted pick the speed and level you will be using for the workout. Remember to use your arms and legs simultaneously in order to make this a full body workout. - C900 Upright Bike
To get the C900 Upright Bike set up properly you will have to guess on the seat height the first time. To adjust the seat grasp the handle just below the seat and pull the seat up or push it down, release the handle and be sure the seat clicks into place. Once seated on the bike with your feet on the pedals, you will want your most outstretched leg to be slightly bent at the bottom position. If your knee is fully extended or too bent, get off the bike and adjust the seat down or up accordingly. When doing sprints on this bike you may stand up to pedal and not even use the seat.
The Exercise
Final Thoughts
Be sure to cool down and stretch after this workout. Because of all the cardio your lower body may feel extra fatigued, this is normal. Be sure to log your levels/intensities used and simply repeat this workout in a week or two to see how much better you have gotten. Make sure you stretch, stay active, eat enough food, hydrate, and rest enough. All these factors will help you recover faster.