Struggling with HIIT workouts

[Janna123]

Hi

I've just attempted a couple of HIIT (High intensity interval training) workouts and really struggled with them. For the most part I couldn't finish them. I haven't tried this kind of workout for a long time but I'm surprised at how much I struggled. I expected to find them hard and to need to build my stamina, but didn't think they'd have too much of an impact on my asthma. I do 1 hour of pilates and 1 hour of cardio a day, plus walking at least 1 mile a day and swimming a few times a week, I can't just be unfit! Has anyone else struggled with this kind of workout? I used my inhaler before as normal, but needed it again when I was only 5 minutes in!

I'm giving up for tonight and I'll try swimming in the morning, but I just find it all a bit odd! Is it the style of workout that could be a problem?

[Hidden]

Did you warm up before hand? I have found I can run for miles at a steady pace, and if I pushed it hard after 15 mins I feel fine. If I start straight out into HIIT session then I find I start to feel a bit tight.

Its a difficult one because the sessions are supposed to make even healthy people feel out of breath during the hard bits!

[Janna123]

Thanks for replying blackbird

The first video I did included a gentle warm up- I could barely finish that! I didn't go as intense as I could, I wanted to start gentle. I suppose you're right though, should have thought about how it's supposed to get you out of breath!

I woke myself up a few times last night, and really struggle with shopping this morning. I got back to my halls coughing and out of breath so the cleaner I walked past carried some of my bags and helped me to my room! So grateful to her for that. I have been thinking though and maybe this is an exacerbation related thing rather than a workout thing. I have just moved back to uni and I live in a city centre, as opposed to the middle of nowhere at home. So it could be pollution that setting me off. I've also made friends with some Chinese girls in the flat below, so I could have caught a virus from them easily since I'd have no immunity. Or maybe HIIT just hates me Could be that too haha.

I'll try a gentle swim and some pilates and maybe some less intense cardio and see if that affects me. If it does then it's an exacerbation since my lungs always hate exercise. If I'm ok then it's HIIT. Kind of hoping it's not HIIIT, I really enjoyed it (though not sure the person in the room below will enjoy me doing it!)

More trial and error!

[Janna123]

So much for trial and error!

Swimming was awful, managed to push myself to 8 lengths (after long pauses between each one) and then had to give up. Pilates was good though, I did that much better than I have for ages! Cardio was a complete fail. Hmmmm....

[Hidden]

Hi

I've just attempted a couple of HIIT (High intensity interval training) workouts and really struggled with them. For the most part I couldn't finish them. I haven't tried this kind of workout for a long time but I'm surprised at how much I struggled. I expected to find them hard and to need to build my stamina, but didn't think they'd have too much of an impact on my asthma. I do 1 hour of pilates and 1 hour of cardio a day, plus walking at least 1 mile a day and swimming a few times a week, I can't just be unfit! Has anyone else struggled with this kind of workout? I used my inhaler before as normal, but needed it again when I was only 5 minutes in!

I'm giving up for tonight and I'll try swimming in the morning, but I just find it all a bit odd! Is it the style of workout that could be a problem?

Maybe it would be wiser to take some classes first and then try to do it alone. If interested, you can find HIIT classes in London here HIIT classes in London

[Hidden]

If you haven't done these sort of exercises for a while I wouldn't get too disheartened if you couldn't finish them. It takes a while to get fitness levels back up after some time off. Six weeks ago I started back at ballet classes after fourteen years of not doing ballet. Even a fairly basic session at the barre was tiring and I wasn't capable of much at all in the centre. My asthma was fine, but my core strength just wasn't there and so what used to be effortless just wasn't. Six weeks on things are greatly improved.

Do bear in mind that the exercise routines you cite will exercise your body in different ways. Just because you can cope with them doesn't mean that you will be able to cope with another (different) form of exercise when you start it. Take it gently (or you could end up doing more harm than good). You'll get your fitness levels back, but it might take longer than you expected.

[Hidden]

Was thinking of doing HIIT myself, hoping that what they say about it serving as a replacement for time consuming cardio is true.