In this article I will be outlining the pros and cons of various ways to monitor your HIIT intervals.
Time
This is by far the most popular way to monitor your intervals. Traditionally you will find HIIT routines around the internet which will tell you how many seconds your high intensity interval should be, and how many your rest should be.
This isn’t always a bad thing, but there isn’t just one cookie cutter HIIT routine that will suit everyone, especially beginners.
Distance
Distance is a decent way to monitor intervals while your running outside on a track where distances are clearly defined, but just as with time there isn’t a magic distance which will give the best results.
The main problem with measuring by distance is, everyone runs at different speeds depending on fitness levels and ability. A 100 meter sprint could take a fit person ~12 seconds, while it could take an overweight or older person ~25 seconds! As we know from previous articles, 12 seconds is usually too short for an interval, and 25 is usually too long. That is why monitoring intervals by distance is a flawed method.
Feeling it
This is a method of monitoring intervals that I never recommend. I understand that some people have a great understanding of their body, and their limits but it just is not precise enough for me to accept.
When I say HIIT by feel, I am talking about people who are doing their HIIT intervals and switching when they feel they are at the right heart rate. For example someone runs until they think they are at 90% MHR, and then switches to their active rest until they feel their heart rate has decreased, and so on.
It can work, but it seems to me that a $40 heart rate monitor is a much better option.
Heart Rate
This is by far my preferred method of monitoring HIIT intervals. The science of HIIT all depends on your heart rate and so it makes sense that seeing exactly what your heart rate is would help you steer your workout in the right direction.
There is an array of heart rate monitors to help you track your intervals available in the HIIT Source Webstore, and they are well worth the piece of mind knowing you are doing your HIIT right.
So what’s best?
Of course, you’ve guessed that if you have to pick only one way to monitor your HIIT intervals, it should be by heart rate. Thankfully, we don’t have to chose only one way and we can mix up between all four!