HIIT on Stationary Bike

[fit'n'healthy]

I have read that a lot of people do this - but I have a question. For your sprints, do you increase the resistance, the rpm's or both? Can someone post an example of how they do their HIIT on a bike? And do you use a recumbent or regular (does it matter?)

Thanks!!!!!!!!!

[Blondell]

resistance for me on a regular, not recumbent :finger:

[Sportsgirl]

Both resistance and RPM... only on a regular bike.

[Blondell]

I would think increasing RPM's would be obvious, if it's HIIT... :scratch:

[JJ29]

I use a spinning bike and increase the tension a bit but, obviously, sprint out the RPMS as hard as I can. I only do the bike w/ short intervals though.

[fit'n'healthy]

would a recumbant not work? I was going to start doing it in the mornign but don't have time to get to the gym and a recumbant is the only kind the apt workout room has.

[jackieleigh]

I increased both usually...I have had days where I just increased my speed though, got me working just the same I feel

[Audrey]

would a recumbant not work? I was going to start doing it in the mornign but don't have time to get to the gym and a recumbant is the only kind the apt workout room has.

It is going to be very hard to do any kind of "sprint" on a recumbent bike. Yes, you can increase the resistance but your heart rate/intensity will still probably be too low to be considered HIIT.

[Jen]

I use the upright bike, increase resistance & RPMS (speed) for intervals.

[Lindsey]

I use the upright bike, increase resistance & RPMS (speed) for intervals.

I use the upright as well when I need to give my shins a break. As long as I keep the resistance high and keep the RMPS over 90, I get a a great HIIT session.

[fit'n'healthy]

Those of you that do it on the treadmill - do you not count the time it takes to ramp up the speed to do the sprints and the time it takes to go back down?

[WriterlyGirl]

I hate bikes. I finally went to the gym to do HIIT. I think the last time I did it was...like two years ago?

Anyway I did like five intervals on a stationary bike and then had to stop because I honestly thought I would pass out. And I crawled to the stretching area and rested (on my back) for about ten minutes before I could stand up on my wobbly legs again without feeling like I would puke.

[WriterlyGirl]

Those of you that do it on the treadmill - do you not count the time it takes to ramp up the speed to do the sprints and the time it takes to go back down?
To make timing easier (since I can do math and HIIT at the same time) I do this:

Let's assume I'm doing 30 / 60 (sprint / rest).

0:00 Warm-up
5:00 ramp & speed all go up
5:08 (at the latest) everything's set for a mad dash on the machine while everyone around you wonders what the @#$% is wrong with you
5:30 ramp & speed back to rest
5:08 (at the latest) everything's set for rest

[fit'n'healthy]

I'm kind of confused on the timing there. Is the last one supposed to be 5:38?



To make timing easier (since I can do math and HIIT at the same time) I do this:

Let's assume I'm doing 30 / 60 (sprint / rest).

0:00 Warm-up
5:00 ramp & speed all go up
5:08 (at the latest) everything's set for a mad dash on the machine while everyone around you wonders what the @#$% is wrong with you
5:30 ramp & speed back to rest
5:08 (at the latest) everything's set for rest

[JGWright]

I like the magnetic ones the best for HIIT. The one where you can just turn a knob and you have higher resistance.

[Swiss]

Those of you that do it on the treadmill - do you not count the time it takes to ramp up the speed to do the sprints and the time it takes to go back down?

I don't "ramp up." Tried it once and it took too long and just figuring out the math of it whilst trying to sprint was too much. :lol:

I just do a little hop and stand on the sides of the treadmill. Then just hop back on. Much easier. I just hop on 1 second before my sprint interval starts. I hold on to the railing but only for about 2 seconds until I get my footing up to speed.

[Audrey]

I don't "ramp up." Tried it once and it took too long and just figuring out the math of it whilst trying to sprint was too much. :lol:

I just do a little hop and stand on the sides of the treadmill. Then just hop back on. Much easier. I just hop on 1 second before my sprint interval starts. I hold on to the railing but only for about 2 seconds until I get my footing up to speed.

I do the same thing. Otherwise, if I wait for the treadmill to decelerate and accelerate again, it messes up with my rest intervals.

[Liza608]

Those of you that do it on the treadmill - do you not count the time it takes to ramp up the speed to do the sprints and the time it takes to go back down?

This may be a big :finger: , not sure, but I take the last 5 seconds or so of what would be my rest to bump the speed up, that way by the time it's time for my sprint to start I am pretty much at the right speed. I go all they way through the set time for the sprint, then slow back down. I figure it's better to lose time in the rest, rather than the sprint. :shrug: But like I said, I don't know if this is truly acceptable.

[jackieleigh]

This may be a big :finger: , not sure, but I take the last 5 seconds or so of what would be my rest to bump the speed up, that way by the time it's time for my sprint to start I am pretty much at the right speed. I go all they way through the set time for the sprint, then slow back down. I figure it's better to lose time in the rest, rather than the sprint. :shrug: But like I said, I don't know if this is truly acceptable.

This is what I do too. It seems that it comes out where I am doing my sprint and recovery at the right times then- that is when I have active recovery. When my recovery doesnt have to be active I jump off

[Liza608]

This is what I do too. It seems that it comes out where I am doing my sprint and recovery at the right times then- that is when I have active recovery. When my recovery doesnt have to be active I jump off

Yeah, I am supposed to be active recovery right now. I figure the time lags balance out that way.

[char-dawg]

I'm kind of confused on the timing there. Is the last one supposed to be 5:38?
Yes, it was.

But I think that you may be missing the bigger picture here. The objective of HIIT isn't to hit some particular number. The numbers are there in order to quantify things, but if you've been doing this stuff for any length of time, you more or less can feel what you need to do in order to get into that fat-burning zone. Even if you're sprinting (running) outdoors somewhere, it's going to take a couple of seconds for you to get up to full speed, right? So don't sweat the ramp-up/ramp-down. If you normally do 20-second intervals, and you feel like the time it takes for the machine to change is too long, give the machine five extra seconds. :shrug:

Getting good sprints in is the main thing, not hitting some timing goal.

[fit'n'healthy]

I've been using the stationary bike, and have been doing 30:60s intervals. I keep the rests at a level 4, RPM's at about 70-75. Then the sprints I move to level 8, RPM's 100-109. Does this sound right? I don't sweat much, but my heart rate stays above 150 and I feel like throwing up after about 3-4 sprints.

[tsunamii]

I've been using the stationary bike, and have been doing 30:60s intervals. I keep the rests at a level 4, RPM's at about 70-75. Then the sprints I move to level 8, RPM's 100-109. Does this sound right? I don't sweat much, but my heart rate stays above 150 and I feel like throwing up after about 3-4 sprints.

Do you feel like you're going as hard as you can go for 30 seconds at a time? When I'm doing 30/60's on the bike (and I know our bikes are probably different, as are we!:wink:), I sweat buckets and often feel like I'm about to die by the last few intervals. It's all about pushing yourself to that limit for those short bursts.