Complete Cardio Part 2: HIIT Programming

HIIT can take on many different forms and be done with virtually any equipment or absolutely none at all. You can do HIIT while running on a track or a treadmill, with a stationary bike or a stair stepper, with calisthenics and your own bodyweight or with explosive exercises done with free weights.

There’s almost no wrong way to utilize HIIT other than not doing it at all. And while there are numerous exercises that you can do with HIIT, there are also numerous different ways to employ the concept. Below are some of the more effective ways I’ve found to use HIIT.

Standard HIIT
By the phrase "standard HIIT," I’m referring to doing a scheduled block of time of just HIIT. Some evidence suggests that when doing HIIT, a 2:1 ratio of work to rest (high-intensity exercise to low-intensity exercise or rest) provides the best benefits in performance, fat loss and health. For example, you could sprint as fast as possible for 30 seconds and walk for 15 seconds. Or you could jump rope for one minute and rest for 30 seconds. Of course, studies like one out of University of Western Ontario that showed positive results from sprinting for 30 seconds and resting for four minutes suggests that the benefits are substantial even with a HIIT work-to-rest ratio of 1:8. Despite that study, I would still recommend shooting for a 2:1 ratio. If that’s too much for you to handle at first, start off with a 1:2 or 1:4 ratio (or even 1:8 if you need to) and gradually increase the ratio over time.

The intensity of the high-intensity intervals can be something that’s tightly prescribed, such as a certain percent of your maximum heart rate. Or it can be loosely determined based on what feels intense to you. Because I prefer to do a variety of gym exercises, including moves like dumbbell cleans, kettlebell swings and bench step-ups, checking your heart rate manually, or even on a heart-rate monitor is fairly impractical. So I prefer to use a simple 1-10 RPE (rate of perceived exertion) scale like this:

Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale
Use the following scale when rating your HIIT intervals:

Rate                                          Description
0                                                nothing at all
1                                                very easy
2                                                easy
3                                                moderate
4                                                somewhat hard
5                                                hard
6
7                                                very hard
8
9
10                                              very, very hard

During the high-intensity work intervals, you should be somewhere between 6-9 on the RPE scale. Stick with the lower end of that range when just beginning, with the goal of increasing your RPE as you go. If you aren’t taking complete rest between the work intervals, your RPE during the low-intensity (“rest”) intervals should be somewhere in the 1-3 range.

You should also shoot to increase the block of total time spent doing HIIT as you progress. If you start with just 10-15 minutes at first, that’s fine. But your goal should be to slowly increase your total time.

Beginner-to-Advanced HIIT Program

The following HIIT program is designed to progress someone from being a HIIT beginner to the intermediate level of HIIT proficiency. This can be done with any equipment, such as a treadmill, jump rope, pair of dumbbells, kettlebell, exercise bands, medicine ball, TRX or just your body weight and calisthenics.

The suggested time of each phase is not carved in stone. If you feel you need to spend more than two weeks at a particular phase before moving up, then by all means do that. Or if a phase seems too easy and you want to jump right up to the next phase, then do so. This program starts with a 1:4 work-to-rest ratio in Phase 1 for a total workout time of just under 15 minutes. Then in Phase 2, it bumps up the amount of time in the “work” phase to bring the ratio up to 1:2 and the total workout time to 17 minutes. In Phase 3, the rest ratio is cut in half to bring the ratio up to 1:1 and the total workout time goes up to 18.5 minutes. And finally, in Phase 4, the rest ratio is cut in half again to get the ratio up to 2:1 and the total time at 20 minutes.

Phase 1 (1:4 work-to-rest ratio)
Weeks 1-2

Time                        Activity
15 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
15 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
15 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
15 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
15 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
15 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
15 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
15 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
15 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
15 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
15 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
15 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise

Total Number of Intervals Performed*: 12
Total Time: 15 minutes
*One work interval plus one rest interval = one complete interval.

Phase 2 (1:2 work-to-rest ratio)
Weeks 3-4

Time                        Activity
30 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                       High-Intensity Exercise
1 min.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise

Total Number of Intervals Performed: 11
Total Time: 16.5 minutes

Phase 3 (1:1 work-to-rest ratio)
Weeks 5-6

Time                        Activity
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise

Total Number of Intervals Performed: 20
Total Time: 20 minutes

Phase 4 (2:1 work-to-rest ratio)
Weeks 7-8

Time                        Activity
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
15 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
15 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
15 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
15 sec.                        Rest or Low-Intensity Exercise
30 sec.                        High-Intensity Exercise
15 sec.           

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