Running up Hills is easier and way harder
So after a few weeks off, I finally returned to Interval Training. After lifting weights with my good friend yesterday morning, we both did four intervals of sprinting, but to make it interesting, we ran up the hill right outside his house. This was both excruciating AND much easier. I say running up the hill was easier because my body didn’t seem to take the pounding that it normally does as I bound along on flat ground. It also seemed easier as there wasn’t nearly as much mental effort needed to get to maximum effort. I don’t think it’s really possible to ‘kind-of’ sprint uphill. You either do or you don’t. And for me, just running uphill fast is sprinting. When I run on flat ground, I always feel like I should be pushing it a little harder, and that I’m not giving it my all. This was not the case yesterday. I absolutely knew I was at my body’s limit. However, the down side to all of this was, I was running uphill, and that was frickin’ hard.
A couple of other things that really affected the workout were that I had already been lifting, so my body was much more awake and warmed up than it has been any other time I’ve done Intervals. Also, since I felt ready right away, I didn’t jog as much before or after as a warm-up/cool-down. I’m not sure what effect this will have on weight loss, but I noticed that my heart rate was still very high 15 minutes after my last interval, so I’m assuming I’ll be just fine with total calories burned. Also, I hadn’t exercised in about 20 or so days, so I actually went back to four intervals instead of the six I had worked up to. And finally, I didn’t have a watch or my headphones on, so I just looked down at my iPod, which I was using as a stopwatch, and tried to read the dark numbers at a sprint. It usually worked out to be about 25-27 seconds instead of a full 30. I’m fine with this, and don’t really care if my first workout back I didn’t do it perfectly. I’m just glad I broke the seal and have worked out again. One other thing that affected the workout, was it was tremendously cold and while barking in cold air as fast as possible, my throat really began to hurt. I’m not sure it’s good to be breathing that hard when it’s that cold outside, however, football players do it every winter, and they’re not dying. So, I’ll quit whining and keep running.
I did four intervals at about 27 seconds each, resting for about 75 seconds after each one while walking down the hill. The entire workout, including our short warm-up and cool-down was about 12 minutes. This morning when I weighed myself, I was at 231.8 lbs.
Feb 21st 2008
hi how long should hiit last on a bike?
May 10th 2008
I use to be just like that. I talked to this personal trainer one day and he said the best way to stay motivated is to make a journal of exactly what you do every single day. Honestly it really work when I looked at it on paper it was different. When you see no improvement on paper in terms of reps, sets, and distance and haven’t done anything you feel like a lazy asshole that day then get motivated to get on them running shoes and pull out the wieghts.
Aug 14th 2008
Hi, I did a google on HIIT as I want to add it to my routine. Like you, I hated running. Notice the past tense. I now like running because I’m now on a hormonally balanced diet called the Zone Diet. You can google it for more information, but it is a moderate, balanced diet that yields amazing results. Joslin Diabetes Centers recommends a diet that is almost identical. Dr. Sears, the creator, has worked with athletes that have brought home 24 gold medals. Jenny Thompson was the most prolific Zoner medalist and her count was just surpassed by Michael Phelps a day or two ago.
Christian Vande Velde is a Zoner - he recently finished 5th in the Tour de France.
I’d also recommend spending some google time on “pose running.” It has helped me a lot, but takes some time to get your calf muscle strong enough to support the work load.
I’m a decade your senior and I feel better than ever - and I mean this factually. I really really do feel better than ever. I effortlessly lost 25+ lbs of fat while adding ~70 lbs to my bench press - I started pretty weak.
My foundation is the Zone Diet, pose running is a great tool and I hope to add HIIT as another tool in my arsenal.
Best of luck in your exercise adventures.