This is my third week back at the gym since I had to stop in march. I decided to try a few sprint sets after lifting today and I dunno if that's ever going to happen again. I did three thirty second balls to the walls sprints on the seated eliptical with two minute breaks in between. I was planning on doing five sets but three was enough to make me want to curl in a ball and die. Friggin bewlsheet. Now I'm going to go lay down. . . And possibly die from exhaustion. 
Leigh - Yep, done correctly, sprints will mash you. Most people do not give 100%, so are basically doing hard aerobic intervals. They then think they've had a great workout and laugh at people doing aerobic work. They don't do real aerobic work because it "bores" them.
Wiggy has posted about this before.
True 100% sprints will murder your CNS
Did sprints up steep hills today. Yup, came really close to puking.
I am really impressed with that workout from last night. I walked out feeling like I had done my best work out in years, and it took much less tine than my normal trips to the gym. Do ya'll know how many sets I should be trying do do? Now that I can breathe again I really think keeping that going should be a priority.
Cool, hopefully he can help me decide how often and how much I should do. I'd also like to get more input on whether sprints instead if steady state cardio really has the benefits that some people are claiming. Boosting test and hgh sounds lovely right now when I'm really wanting to pack on some muscle, but I dont know enough to know if those claims are reasonable.
Here's Taku's interval program:
Phase 1:
Weeks 1 & 2: 4 X 90 seconds work + 90 seconds recovery.
Weeks 3 & 4: 5 X 60 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery.
Phase 2:
Weeks 5 & 6: 6 X 45 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery.
Weeks 7 & 8: 7 X 30 Seconds work + 20 seconds recovery.
Phase 3:
Weeks 9 & 10: 8 X 20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery.
Weeks 11 & 12: 10 X 20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery.
The above stuff (Papa November added) is just one portion of the total plan as it also has specific recommendations for warm-up and cool down protocols which adds roughly 20 minutes of lower intensity work to the total plan. There is a PDF booklet which contains the full plan over at the VersaClimber home page.
You can also find the original article (written in the 1990's) over at SCRAPPER's web-site.
I also created a "peaking" phase which may be found at my blog.
TAKU
Thanks papa and taku. I may try that out. Here is my question though, can you tell me anything about the claims that people are making about hiit training vs steady state cardio and how it affects the endocrine system? Is it really better than steady state for someone who is mainly using it as a calorie dump?
Last year I lost a good bit of weight and My main reason for going back to the gym is to be able to eat more with
My phone has lost its mind. I'll try posting my questions again later.
Leigh -Thanks, I was trying to say that my main reason for continuing to work out is that I am enjoying not being a fatass but want to get back to eating a good deal more. My wife and I cook. It's what we do and I miss the huge elaborate meals three or four times a week. Hell, I miss having people over all the time and stuffing them full of delicious food. I want my hobby back.RIPTJR_QuinTheEskimo - Thanks papa and taku. I may try that out. Here is my question though, can you tell me anything about the claims that people are making about hiit training vs steady state cardio and how it affects the endocrine system? Is it really better than steady state for someone who is mainly using it as a calorie dump?For pure calorie burning, steady state is more effective.
Last year I lost a good bit of weight and My main reason for going back to the gym is to be able to eat more with
I have a two part plan to reach that point. I want to put on 20-30 pounds of muscle which will burn calories just by existing and help me to burn more when I lift (plus mrs eskimo likes them). And I will be doing cardio three or four times a week. The claims that hiit training helps with muscle gains is what drew me that direction to begin with, but I dont have the knowledge or experience to seperate the bro science from the facts.
Also I would prefer to keep my workouts fairly brief. I hate spending my evenings away from my family. My goal is 40 minutes or less of cardio each session. With that small of a window would I be better doing sprints or steady state?
Sub for later
Yeah, I've been eating about a thousand calories a day more than I was while maintaining before I started lifting and I've still dropped a few pounds. I may get to bump it up a bit to try and gain a few pounds. I've never lifted weights without trying to lose weight so I'm pretty excited to see what kind of muscle I can build with a calorie surplus.
Taku, besides the Versa Climber site, where else can I find feedback/reviews on the benefits of this piece of equipment. I want our athletic department to put it in a budget for next year and may need to present data justifying the purchase. I have always liked VersaClimber, safe, effective, low maintanence, and space efficient.
100% workload for 90 seconds? That is fucking killer man.
Best cardio shape I was in I did one steady distance week and stadium stairs 2x per week (full blast up, long slow walk back down around 170 steps 5-6 times)
The versaclimber is an epic waste of money. It doesn't provide a single benefit that can't already be had for SIGNIFICANTLY less money. I should know, I have one.
JS,
I agree they are expensive. I do think the VC is a good tool. I don't work for them and have no professional stake in the company. Hpwever I am friends with a lot of the folks who work at VC. It is a small, privately owned company still run by the guy who startedt it years ago. I am guessing this is part of the reason they are so pricey...
One can certainly do a lot without one...But if you do have access to one, they are worth using IMHO.
TAKU
If you have free access to one, yea I think they can be nice to use, but I just don't think it makes any sense to buy one. I don't think it makes any sense for an athletic department on a limited budget to buy one. You could buy a Concept2 Rower and an Airdyne and several kettlebells and still have money left over.
Why? The variety of training you can accomplish with all of those other things FAR exceeds what you can do with a Versaclimber, which provides only one use and one fixed range of motion.
I bought my Versaclimber for more sport specific training than most people who use it(mountaineering), and while it does replicate the motion of climbing steep snow more than pretty much any other cardio machine I can think of, I find that it doesn't provide a single benefit that cannot otherwise be obtained with other(significantly cheaper) equipment and methods of training.
Agree with Leigh on his statements above.
TAKU
ttt
Yeah I'm looking at the VC for the cardio benefits. I train primarily wrestlers so I want a way to ramp their cardio up quick without them going on long runs with chance for injury. Our weightroom is pretty well equiped. Four complete sets of kettlebells, 15 to 65 lbs. , 16 slamming platforms, dumbells to 145 lbs. and one airdyne rower along with treadmills and stationary bikes. Was just looking at something different to get their heart rate going before grappling or weight training. I use one at another gym and it kills me. I could be just old and out of shape though.