Ok I've been reading many things about this and want to try it but have a few questions.

I am 5ft 114lbs. I want to lose weight plus get toned.

1. why lift 1st? Do you have to lift 1st? Or can you do it afterwards? What are the pros and cons?

2. some place say do no more than 15min some say 20?

3. Is walking 5 min before and 5 min after good warm up and cool down? I stretch for 10min after I lift. And Ilift after HIIT.

4. Is it okay to lift the same day you HIIT or better to do on seperate days?

5. Is it true not to do more than 3 times a week? If so, can that be my only cardio or should i try to do other cardio during the week?

6. Are you supposed to do sprint for 1 min or 30 seconds? I'd say I was intermediate so do you just build up to 1 min but never go over that?

7. If I jump rope can I do walk on treadmill for 5min to warm up, fast jump rope for 1 min, slow jump rope for 1min or must I do something like walk in place not a slow jump rope for the low portion? And then 5 min again on the treadmill walking to cool down.

Thanks for any replies.

You lift first because if you do intense cardio first you should not have enough energy to lift with any degree of intensity.

You only need to do HIIT 2 or 3 times a week because HIIT activates EPOC (exercise post oxygen consumption) which lasts up to 48 hours. Some people prefer to do HIIT 2 times per week and some other form of long slow (also called steady state) cardio (like a 30-60 minute run or cycle) one other time per week for a total of 3 cardio sessions per week.

Your sprint should only last 10-30 seconds. No one can sprint at 100% speed for more than 30 seconds, not even world class athletes and certainly not us ordinary people. If you try to run fast for more than 30 seconds then you will have to pace yourself and will NOT be sprinting at 100% intensity. You should increase the difficulty of HIIT by reducing the rest intervals, not by increasing the duration of the High Intensity Intervals. You only need to do 6-8 High Intensity Intervals for maximum effect so the better shape you are in the shorter the total duration of the session will last. So start with sprinting 100 yards, then walking for 2 minutes. 8 cycles of that should last approximately 20 minutes. Then gradually reduce the rest intervals. For variety you can sprint up a hill or up stairs. I only warm up by walking from the car to the steep hill I do my sprints on. I sprint up the hill and walk back down for the rest interval. As soon as I reach the bottom, I sprint back up the hill. My cool down is the walk back to my car.

Thanks for the reply.

Should I try to just lift on a different day?

I have a treadmill so I dont know that I can go as fast as I can with out possibly hurting myself. But I try to go really fast but next time I will do for just 30 secs then rest for a 1 1/2 min or so. Maybe a jump rope would be better? Cuz I can try to go as fast as I can for 30 seconds. And really actually try and only miss the rope instead of fall of the treadmill?

I have kids so I can't leave the house to do my sprints and it normally is always raining here.

Can you just do HIIT as your cardio all the time? Or must you do some low intensity cardio sometimes? or give HIIT a break?

I am 5ft 114lbs. I want to lose weight plus get toned.

1. why lift 1st? Do you have to lift 1st? Or can you do it afterwards? What are the pros and cons?

Given the intensity involved, you may want to do HIIT afterwards


2. some place say do no more than 15min some say 20?

Depends on the interval protocol used and the energy system being trained ...that said, you could easily go to 30+ minutes in certain HIIT situations...but usually not much beyond that.


3. Is walking 5 min before and 5 min after good warm up and cool down? I stretch for 10min after I lift. And Ilift after HIIT.

both cool and warm up sessions are essential - either walk or simply do very low intensity version of your planned cardio..and I would do HIIT after lifting


4. Is it okay to lift the same day you HIIT or better to do on seperate days?

yup, you can do both on the same day, tho if you lift 3X a week, sometimes it is just more convenient to do HIIT on the other days


5. Is it true not to do more than 3 times a week? If so, can that be my only cardio or should i try to do other cardio during the week?

Some debate on this. For example a very reputable trainer ( Alywn Cosgrove ) who incorporates a 4X a week and 5X a week HIIT schedule as part of his fat loss program - 4X for 3 weeks, the other 5X for 4 weeks. But, for most beginners, 2-3X a week is the norm. On non HIIT days, you can do long steady aerobic cardio if you want


6. Are you supposed to do sprint for 1 min or 30 seconds? I'd say I was intermediate so do you just build up to 1 min but never go over that?

There is no hard and fast rule. In fact, the landmark study that highlighted the relationship between HIIT & fat loss, used work intervals of 15- 30 seconds, and 60 - 90 seconds. Cosgrove , for example, advocates 60 second intervals....120 second recovery intervals


7. If I jump rope can I do walk on treadmill for 5min to warm up, fast jump rope for 1 min, slow jump rope for 1min or must I do something like walk in place not a slow jump rope for the low portion? And then 5 min again on the treadmill walking to cool down.

HIIT protocols differ, you can do 1:1 ( as per your example above ) , 1:2 or even 1:3+ Again the same study I noted above likely came closer to using 1:2 and 1:3 interval protocols