Ive been doing HIIT about 2-3 times a week for around 2 weeks so far, and my legs are starting to hurt! I have large, heavy legs, mainly due to bone mass, and recently ive been in pain when I do HIIT. Is there any other machines I can use to get a similar workout?

I usually do about 1 mile of sprinting and 1 mile of jogging/power walking.


edit: on another note, i hear sprinting speeds up your metabolism for days after? I was wondering if that was true, and if so, how long, and how much sprinting will do this?

I have also experienced lots of pain when I do my HIIT on the treadmill. It originates from my right hip. Is it the way I'm running maybe? If so, how do you "properly" run? My hip will hurt into the next day, and then it hurts too much to run the next day. I feel like I'm making no progress because I keep having to take rest days from running.

My guess is that 1 mile of sprinting is way too much. How long is your total workout? Try intervals of 1 min sprints & 2 min jog (for a total of 20 minutes).

If you are also doing any weight training, especially leg workouts, you will feel pain. I did when I was doing squats & deadlifts three days a week with 2 days of HIIT in between.

And yes, the theory behind HIIT Training is that it does speed up your metabolism for hours after your workout. That is why HIIT Training is generally shorting in length than a steady-state workout because you will actually burn more calories over time doing HIIT even though you'll burn less during 30-60 of running at a constant pace. You can do HIIT Training on any machine but it's more difficult to get up to a sprinting pace on a Elliptical or or Treadmill than with running.

I do HIIT on a Treadmill lol

pretty much lol...

Agreed with xtreme381. Sprinting is a pedal to the metal, all out pace. Holding that pace for a mile would be painful for sure. When I do HIIT, the most sprinting I do is 400m at once - so 400m sprint, rest 2 minutes, 5 rounds. Guaranteed leg burn Otherwise, I'll do 7 rounds of 200m sprints, followed by 100m of walking. Find a good outdoor track if possible - it's way easier to sprint outdoors than on a treadmill .

I understand that you can and should do interval training on a variety of equipment - other options that I can think of offhand are the bicycle, rowing machine and/or the elliptical. I tend to go by time rather than distance - 1 minute high intensity followed by 2 minutes moderate pace for recovery.

Have you talked to a medical professional about the problem? I'd think a sports medicine doc or a chiropractor might be able to offer some insights.

REDfox42 would you agree that sprinting the straights and walking or jogging the corners on a track for 20 minutes is good HIIT. I started this last week as opposed to my normal 3 mile run, and it kicked my butt.

Assuming you are healthy enough to do HIIT, I recommend trying it out on stepper. This can make for a wickedly intense session. I have done it for 15 minutes, doing 15 seconds all out, taking 30 seconds to rest, and repeating up till 15 minutes. I have also done 20 second intervals, all out, then 40 seconds rest for 10-15 minutes, and it's rough too. Just make sure you have the resistance up as high as it will go on the machine, and bust your ass. Your heart will be pumping like crazy!