The Truth About High Intensity Interval Training: Why We All Get it Wrong

[@SteveMagness]

Thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this video, consider sharing and liking. Check out my free weekly newsletter for more insight: thegrowtheq.ck.page/steve

[@PaulViol-x4o]

You produce GREAT videos. Very needed teaching, useful, no nonsense or hype.

[@SteveMagness]

I appreciate that!

[@PaulViol-x4o]

I have an idea for a video: most of us are injured from time to time. Recovery takes months, during which we usually compensate the endurance running by cycling, swimming, and running "slow". Explosive training, however, like fast strides, sprinting, etc. must wait. How can we best compensate for that? I did skip rope, jumps, drills, in the gym, seems to work. (Strain in abs, no sprints, but almost everything else works.) I didn't find any specific videos about this. Maybe it's a niche yet uncovered, or I'm just a bad searcher.

[@bmp713]

There needs to be a lot more criticism of HIIT. It is CRITICAL that your body has already adapted to lower intensity. I have not been able to run at all for years because my body was not ready for high intensity. HIIT caused disabling foot problems. I would give anything to be able to run again.

[@BennyD-y3i]

Great videos Steve. Ive got an interesting question for you that might make a good video. Do you still get the same training benefits (cardiovascular benefit) if you are running intervals/thresholds within your heart rate zones (assuming wearing chest strap for good accuracy) if you are unable to run quicker paces due to fatigue or even due to heat/attitude. I assume you wouldn’t get the same musculoskeletal benefit due to slightly slower paces but would think your LT1 or LT2 (depending on session type) benefits would remain? I’m running around 110 to 140k/week and in the heat a fair bit. I’m going to look at dropping volume so I can attack my sessions more to maximise benefits (currently I’m running paces a bit slower at approx 5sec/k due to heat/fatigue).

[@matthewstarek7368]

GREAT video. Really appreciate the combination of academic and practical experience. Thanks for the useful content. I would add that the see-saw concept to illustrate that endurance and speed cannot be maximized at the same time is, in my humble opinion, under-discussed. Very helpful.

[@SteveMagness]

Yep! Spot on. We'll cover more in depth soon.

[@edwin5419]

This really clarified a lot for me. Thanks!

[@jonedmonds1681]

Very good talk, totally agree with criticism of HITT studies, as it is best at peaking. That’s why I stick to mostly building a base all winter, and do 8 weeks of peaking ready for the start of my sport season. I aim to do 1 in 5 runs being long intervals through this base build.

[@EvilSecondTwin]

Not sure how I found your channel but your rants go makes sense!!

[@SteveMagness]

Thanks a lot. Glad you enjoy them.

[@gerym341]

Thank you for sharing those very important insights

[@skiziskin]

I like this. I'm old and sick but still run both because I simply love to run and because I need to stay strong in the off season so I can climb and ski big days in the backcountry in winter. I love to run 100s, 200s, and 400s because it feels amazing. I was a moderately successful sprinter in high school fifty years ago. But I also have autoimmune disease that makes my recovery needs much greater. So if my objective is to be strong aerobically to ski all day, my main focus has to be on the endurance side. But in the backcountry, I also need to be able to move fast over short distances to minimize exposure to avalanche danger, then recover so I can continue doing that at various times throughout the day. HIIT is beneficial for that as well. But it doesn't need to be the primary focus of my training. So most of my effort is at very low heart rates and long durations. But without getting too scientific about it because my goal is not as specific as a race or a pace, I can just plug some intensity into my training whenever I feel like it and not do so much that it increases my recovery needs further. Probably one day in ten includes some high intensity measured by those distances I enjoy running on the track, while some trail runs also include some steep uphills that might even be too steep for me to run but still push me to near maximum effort. I don't need to worry about my race performance so I can just apply these principles to what I do to maintain a level of fitness that will allow me to climb and ski at a high level winter after winter. Thanks for the perspective you always provide. It informs what I do to stay fit and strong enough to do the things I love.

[@ianbarnett6027]

Great information here. Found it very interesting. Thank you.

[@SteveMagness]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@KINGORAMONE]

..this is very timely! Super

[@SteveMagness]

Glad you think so!

[@ronsample6116]

I absolutely agree with you, but I think what you are emphasizing is very different than what, Peter Attia is talking about. Steve you are talking to track athletes training for high performance. Attia is really directing his comments to general fitness. His focus is on longevity type exercise designed to increase general fitness in a large population. You are focusing on specific high-performance athletes. I love your work.

[@SteveMagness]

Thanks. Even for health and longevity, I wouldn't recommend HIIT in this style! In fact, it's probably worse. A track athlete can handle it because they are prepared. A novice, not so much.

[@ronsample6116]

@@SteveMagness Keep up the good work

[@KevinPonds]

Steve, Thank you for your recent videos, I especially enjoyed this one and the previous one. This one speaks to the importance of progression in workouts and periodization. 1) What are your thoughts on an approach that includes different types of stimulus continuously, without a sharpening phase? I think sometimes referred to as "complex system" and used by runners like Monaghetti and De Castella. 2) If I have workouts which do not have progressive stimulus, does changing up the stimulus type regularly (ie, monthly) do anything to counteract staleness there? Imagine a plan where I am doing two workouts per week -- and something like fast reps and tempo weekly for 4 weeks, then vo2max and fast reps for the next 4 weeks, then vo2max and tempo for the next 4 weeks, etc. I guess in a roundabout way, I am asking what your opinion on something like the blue/gold "Fitness Training" plans in Jack Daniel's book (chapter 7 in my older edition, I think chapter 8 in the current edition). For a recreational runner who does not have a specific season to peak for, but just wants to run 5k/10k at a decent effort year-round.

[@jpbulla]

Love your videos! Could you suggest me a good book about training that goes into more details about this subject, ideally with a cycling focus. Pleas don't recommend me friel`’s training bible

[@SteveMagness]

Great question. Hmm..On cycling I'm not sure. I'll look through my library and see. It's hard because there's not one key training book that covers it all in cycling I don't think.

[@jpbulla]

@SteveMagness it could be more than one book!! Learning is a process, and I'm not in a hurry ... So I'll love to hear your recommendation..Thanks!!

[@raulfinlaysonakadjraoul4449]

Excellent 👌 video .. watching from Jamaica 🇯🇲...I'm a former national championship 🏆 athlete 400m/800m

[@matthewslater9603]

Hi steve. Where do you stand on accumulated work at a given intensity (over session, weeks or months) being the most important stimulus for adaptation and performance?

[@ps13101]

Your vids are so informative! I'm just about to do a HM in a couple of weeks then my next race will be a marathon at the end of April. I had originally planned to keep running 5 days a week (3 easy, 1 long run, 1 VO2 max - replace vo2 with threshold once every 3 or 4 weeks) until I start my marathon block. Thinking raising my vo2 would mean my threshold will have more room to improve but I'm not so sure after this vid. Would you advise against this??

[@paxundpeace9970]

How long have you been running for 5 times a week? I would suggest keeping the VO2 workouts for the half marathon and then start to taper (30% less distance per week) in volume 7-12(14) days before the race. Longest long run about 2 -3weeks before the race. During Marathon Training Threshold is far more important while you can keep doing VO2 max every 4 weeks like 5/6×1K. Threshold session can be longer 4/5*2K or 3*10-12min. Key for long runs is keeping the sound and balanced while still spending for time at race pace.

[@lestontonsplongeurs1038]

Thank you Steve !

[@hikerJohn]

How can I train for TRAIL runs? I can already go slow for 15 hours but how can I get an 8 or 9 min/mile pace for 180 minutes with 2,000 feet of elevation gain/loss? Do I first find a pace I can do for 3 hrs and then get faster at it or do I train for speed and then do that for longer time?

[@kevinburola889]

Agreed! Excellent video. I am slightly confused though as I thought you can still build a base doing intervals? Eg Igloi

[@richardmiddleton7770]

Most of base training is training fat utilization by training at or below LT1. If you're constantly running above LT1 you're not training that system. Intervals are great for training the peripheral systems but they don't take much training and training them too much will lead to a plateau and regression in performance.

[@kevinburola889]

@@richardmiddleton7770 Agreed! But you can train with intervals and still be below LT1? Reason I ask is because I don’t have large and safe area to run so prefer to do so on a soccer field.

[@Jason608]

@@kevinburola889 Steve basically says so in the video. You can train aerobic adaptations by keeping the intensity low enough and by "manipulating the rest intervals" but it's not really explained which manipulations produce which outcome. What I would recommend is to just run at a pace that you can speak in full sentences. It doesn't matter if you do that on a soccer field, a track, a treadmill, a street, a trail, or running circles around your dining room table.

[@SteveMagness]

Yes. You can build a base with Igloi intervals! We'll cover that in a future video. But what Igloi do well is manipulate intensity and rest to make most of the workout highly aerobic, even though you are doing 100-200m repeats. So I wouldn't classify most of their intervals as high intensity. It's more aerobic intervals.

[@kevinburola889]

@@SteveMagness Thanks for the reply Steve. Would love to hear more about Igloi style of training. By manipulating the intervals, it keeps me motivated for longer and I am able to do more volume because of it.

[@geoffreymccann2841]

Social media again is the problem again I feel because HIIT is a quick result its more sexy the right way is essentially boring and slower in the short term. Everyone wants the results yesterday.

[@heypauly2002]

My HIIT is :30 all out, 2:30 rest, that's how long it takes to walk back down the hill. 3 sets of 6 reps. It takes an hour and a half.

[@paxundpeace9970]

18s 30 sec long sprints thats a lot. One or two sets of those are enough.

[@richardmiddleton7770]

​​@@paxundpeace9970 plenty of rest though and I guess he's built upto that amount over the years. It also depends how often he's doing such a workout. He might be doing them only twice a month for instance.

[@lorenheal]

As long as you're able to do them all at your desired pace, that's awesome.

[@LeoShoSilva]

A lovely rant 😂

[@Gwing152]

I listen to other exercise physiologists that aren’t seasoned runners or endurance athletes try to explain all this stuff and I’m like “you literally have no idea what you’re talking about” 🤣 I wish they would take my 20 years of training as a middle distance runner as a masters degree 🥲

[@markbateman9222]

In the 1950s those runners who trained almost entirely on intervals - Zatopek, Pirie, all of Igloi's runners - recognised the necessity of "building a base" before moving on to more intensive race pace stuff. It's just that, unlike Lydiard, they recognised that an interval workout can be almost entirely aerobic. What would you call as workout such as 4000m easy followed by 20x100m easy stride JBR as warmup, 3x20x200 with 100 jog recovery and 1200 easy betwen sets with 4000 easy to cooldown. Has to be aerobic, surely? You cannot run that distance anaerobically!

[@paxundpeace9970]

Maybe can come up with a new definition that is at least a page long. HIIT is an mainly endurance based training that includes a higher number of repetitions or intervals of the same or similar strenious submaximal exercise with short rest and less the then full recovery of the cardio-ventricular systems. Commonly across a short duration of time that can range from a few seconds to several minutes and involves different energry systems mostly like ATP Anerobic to a less degree aerobic.

[@Jason608]

That's basically what I got out of this video. Steve doesn't like how broad the term "HIIT" is because the different workouts that would fall under this category could provide vastly different training stimulus. So to an Olympic coach the term is essentially meaningless. But to a recreational runner, any of said intervals from 5s to 8 minutes are going to be beneficial. I find it ironic that Steve's video 2 weeks ago criticized HR training for being too specific to be applicable to recreational runners. I get that HIIT isn't specific enough for elite athletes, but I'm also starting to think these videos are just sensational challenges to the status quo.

[@SteveMagness]

For a recreational runner, as I covered 2 weeks ago ANYTHING will be beneficial. You could do the dumbest workout alive, and as long as they survived, they'd get some benefit. Clean slate phenomenon. That doesn't mean they should just do anything. I criticized HR for recreational runners because it creates a false degree of specificity. Not that it's too specific. Meaning your rec runner says: "I must stay in zone 4 and not go over 185 for my workout..." when there is no physiological relevant separator between zone 4 and 5. It's just a category. The point of HIIT is that it essentially means a hard workout. But as I outlined two weeks ago, we need some delineation because an all-out 10-second sprint is not the same as 8-minute repeats at a completely aerobic pace. That's why two weeks ago, I introduced using the talk test to understand different intensity levels. Hopefully you see that difference. These videos are meant to educate. Some are targeted more for newer runners, others for experienced.

[@Jason608]

​@@SteveMagness Well I bought your book and I'm through chapter 4 so far which talks about the over-hyping of VO2 max and the HIIT workouts that target it. I think I better understand your perspective if I view your video through that lens. Without having read the book, and just watching a couple of your videos randomly, they didn't seem to speak to one audience (beginners vs. experienced runners) and led me to believe they were contradictory in that regard. However I think my criticism was misplaced. By the way, I have especially enjoyed your explanation about the different energy systems, and oxygen transport so far. I look forward to completing your book in the next couple of weeks. That said, perhaps later chapters of your book will convince me otherwise, but 80/20 Running (Fitzgerald) makes a good case that training by your HR zones is an extremely useful tool regardless of running experience. Too many beginners have no reference point for the RPE scale and think they're running at an easy pace when it's actually more moderate, and need to see their HR proving them otherwise.

[@paxundpeace9970]

Before you can run fsst kilometer you must be able to run 2 or 3 Kilometers

[@evanhadkins5532]

What I can't find research on is the role of intervals, separate from intensity. Would low intensity intervals be better or worse or the same as steady state low intensity, for the same calories expended? I can't find any studies about this. High-intensity workouts vs continuous low or medium intensity comprises two aspects. It may be that variation is a factor on its own - so far as I can find, we just don't know.

[@paxundpeace9970]

Good for what Performance or health or fitness. Common recommendation for fitness and health 2x endurance based workouts like running cycling hiking .... 1x higher intensity workout like Aerobics, soccer hockey or intervall Training hitclasses 2 xstrength mobility Training (home workouts or gym)

[@evanhadkins5532]

@@paxundpeace9970 My interest is health. But the answer would be relevant to both I guess.

[@jacklauren9359]

@@evanhadkins5532if your interest is health then just go off acsm guidelines. Simple

[@TheWolfAkella]

🙏🏽🙏🏽

[@lsantilli]

I don't think that HIIT, really has literally any business being included in any legit elite program. Where I think it is good for is your 40-50 year old Pelaton mom's who are working out for 30-45 mins on an indoor trainer with maybe a kettlebell and a yoga mat following along a screen and they just want to get a good workout for health maintenance in. The only other applicability I think is when you have a preseason for high school runners - that have zero background in athletics or running at all, who can only handle 30 mins to 1 hr of working out at all. These are the kids you want to keep things interesting with so they don't just quit, but also whip them to any degree of fitness with, and that will take a number of weeks to do. Any actual competitive athlete who knows what they are doing just simply needs more refined training.

[@proverbalizer]

I assure you vast numbers of elite runners use intervals (of high intensity) in their training

[@hikerJohn]

If it's not a little too technical then we don't need to watch it. These videos need to be a little over our head, all we have to do is watch it two or three times. If it's not worth watching twice it's not technical enough.

[@dewacen]

Subscribed

[@SteveMagness]

Thanks!

[@Eldooodarino]

Setting up a straw man and knocking it down. I do 8 second hill sprints separated by 10 minute slow jogs while my phosphocreatine/ATP stores rebuild. If I do 8 hill sprints at the end of the workout I'll have sprinted for 64 seconds and jogged a 3 mile warmup plus as 8 slow miles between each sprint. I do strides in which I sprint for about 20 or 25 seconds separated by a few minutes while me heart rate drops. I do 4x4's ( run hard for 4 minutes followed by 3 minutes of walking or slow running recovery) repeated four times. I consider all of these to be HIIT. It's hard to imagine anyone thinking these things are all the same or work the same energy system. They are clearly not Zone 2 long slow distance even though long slow distance is a component of the hill sprints.

[@SteveMagness]

That's the point. Those workouts aren't the same. One is essentially alactic hill sprints. The other is a VO2max/3k specific workout. They don't elicit the same adaptations or have the same purpose...yet both could be considered HIIT. It's about as useful of a descriptor as "cardio"

[@Eldooodarino]

@@SteveMagness They're all high intensity and different. I don't see a problem. There are different sorts of high intensity workout. They're different than LSD. Big deal.

[@SteveMagness]

I think you are missing the point. I'd suggest watching the other videos (and a few to come) or checking out my book The Science of Running. Let's use your example: We take an easy run and in terms of stimulus and adaptation...there's not much difference between me running an hour at 7:15 pace and 6:30 pace. It's minimal. But there's a HUGE stimulus difference between me running repeats at 5:00 pace and 4:15 pace, let alone near max sprinting. So when you call something easy distance, the ballpark of the stimulus is similar, even if the paces are broad. When you call something HIIT, the stimulus varies widely within that ballpark. So in practical terms all HIIT means is a hard-ish workout. Which sure has value if you want to say: "I do two hard workouts a week." But loses practicality beyond that.

[@RXP91]

I'm a guy that likes to ride my bike for hours and run. I do all my training easy. Still getting faster, it's super fun and it's not stressful. I don't see a reason to do any high intensity unless you compete or enjoy it

[@wk633]

Please secure your camera somehow- the shake is giving me vertigo! (I should probably put it in the background and just listen).

[@alexanders4911]

Im a pharmacist ❤ 1.53 half miler

[@seriousbees]

Tldr you believe in progressive overload

[@Surfsailwaves]

Just do some Speedy High Interval Training…?

[@Surfsailwaves]

Loved the mix of science, critical thinking, experience and historical context.

[@richardmiddleton7770]

Most of the time your physical genetics will limit your speed. Look at world class distance runners, they're literally like stick men! Very tall, really long legs and stick thin (very light). With that kind of body you can run fast without even trying!

[@Jason608]

At the very top end, yes, genetics eventually sets the hard limit. But every able bodied adult could train to run a 3 hour marathon for example. That's good enough for recreational runners to feel fulfilled.

[@jacobmatthew5298]

Kipchoge is 5”7

[@BennyD-y3i]

Great videos Steve. Ive got an interesting question for you that might make a good video. Do you still get the same training benefits (cardiovascular benefit) if you are running intervals/thresholds within your heart rate zones (assuming wearing chest strap for good accuracy) if you are unable to run quicker paces due to fatigue or even due to heat/attitude. I assume you wouldn’t get the same musculoskeletal benefit due to slightly slower paces but would think your LT1 or LT2 (depending on session type) benefits would remain? I’m running around 110 to 140k/week and in the heat a fair bit. I’m going to look at dropping volume so I can attack my sessions more to maximise benefits (currently I’m running paces a bit slower at approx 5sec/k due to heat/fatigue).