Cardio, Heart Rate, Liss vs HIIT

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Good Morning Doc’s

Some info first then question at the bottom.

Stats: 43 male 6’4 ~210-220lbs (haven’t weighed in a while)
Max Heart Rate: 177 (220-my age right?)

Liss Cardio on C2 Rower and using Polar h10 chest strap monitor linked to rower:
Heart Rate is about 135 within the first 5 minutes and then I sustained about 145-147 for the remaining 25min.
Strokes per minute 28-32
Total distance a little over 7,000m is 30 minutes

HIIT: on C2 Rower with Polar h10. 10 rounds 30sec intervals 1:30 rest:

Heart rate up to about 110 in first 90 seconds (maximum prelude my timer allows for warm up)
First round up to 138 then 135 was my resting (slowed down) rate
Rounds 2-6 up to 148 but didn’t hit that until the end of the 30 seconds and then stayed up for about a minute then back down to 138 in the last 30 seconds just in time for the next interval
The last 4 rounds same scenario but topped out at 151
Strokes per minute went from about 28-30 up to 38-40 during intervals
Total distance in 20 min a little over 5,000m.

My question is: Are my HIIT numbers enough to actually be considered HIIT? My heart rate never got much above what I sustained during liss. I thought it would have gotten closer to my max but I know 30 seconds isn’t very much time to get it up there on top of relying on tech to provide accurate information.

2

Hey Brian,

Your LISS is probably a bit too high of intensity and you’re likely not going fast enough/hard enough during your HIIT intervals. Stroke rate looks okay for HIIT, but need to pull harder and at a higher power output to get there. Sprint intervals (like this) really need to be done at maximal or near maximal intensity to work. I think you have more left in the tank.

For additional info on heart rate, zones, and so on, check the article accompanying the zone calculator:

1 Like
3

@Jordan_Feigenbaum

A little update. I’ve kept my heart rate around 128-135 for my 30min liss sessions.

For Hiit. I started doing a 5min warm up getting my HR up to about 135 and I have started pulling harder as you suggested during the intervals. Still around 38-40spm during the intervals but my HR is getting up to the 155-159 range, mostly hitting that 159 a couple seconds after the interval has ended.

So I feel it’s an improvement but I am not sure if i’m quite there yet or if i need to get it up more.