The Lag and Leap: Why HRMs Struggle with HIIT

Imagine your heart rate as a sluggish friend trying to keep up on a sprint. HIIT workouts, like my 21-Day Metabolic Reset, are all about quick bursts of high intensity, followed by rest periods. Your heart rate, well, it takes a while to catch on. This means your heart rate monitor might show a reading that's lower than you actually feel during those intense moments. Frustrating, right?

On top of that, wrist-worn trackers use light to detect blood flow. Those rapid arm movements during jumping jacks or burpees can mess with the signal, leading to wonky readings. So, you might be pushing yourself way harder than the monitor suggests, or feel like you're slacking off when your heart rate hasn't skyrocketed yet.

Beyond the Numbers: How to Really Track Your HIIT Journey

Here's the good news: there are better ways to gauge your HIIT efforts. Ditch the confusion and try these methods:

• The Talk Test: Can you hold a conversation (sort of)? During intervals, you should be breathing hard enough to speak in short sentences, but not gasping for air.

• The Feel Factor: This is all about listening to your body. Aim for an effort of 8 to 9 on a scale of 1 (resting) to 10 (all-out sprint). Basically, you should feel like you couldn't hold a deep conversation, but not about to pass out.

• Timers Are Your Friend: Many apps and workouts have built-in timers that structure your HIIT session with specific work and rest periods. Focus on completing those intervals at the prescribed intensity and duration for a guaranteed challenge.

Body Awareness is Key

While tracking your workout is cool, the most important feedback comes from your body. Here's how to tune in:

• Listen to Your Breath: You should be breathing heavily during intervals, but not feeling lightheaded. Learn to pace yourself and adjust the intensity if your breathing becomes extremely labored.

• Form Over Fatigue: Don't sacrifice good form for intensity. If your form starts to break down during an interval, take a longer rest or reduce the intensity. Pushing through fatigue can lead to injury.

• Recovery Matters: Rest is crucial for HIIT. Listen to your body and extend rest periods if needed. Feeling refreshed before the next interval ensures you can perform at your best.

Combining these methods - the talk test, feel factor, timers, and body awareness - paints a more complete picture of your HIIT workout than relying solely on a heart rate monitor.

HRMs Can Still Help (Sometimes)

While not ideal for real-time effort tracking, heart rate monitors can still be valuable:

• Long-Term Trends: Track your resting heart rate over time. A decrease can indicate improved cardiovascular fitness.

• Post-Workout Analysis: After your workout, when your heart rate has stabilized, the HRM data can provide a snapshot of your average heart rate. This can be helpful for gauging overall intensity.

• Active Recovery: On active recovery days, an HRM can help ensure you're not overdoing it.

Chest strap HRMs tend to be more accurate than wrist-worn trackers, but they're still not accurate for HIIT. Those are better used for low to moderate intensity workouts.

Beyond the Numbers: Making the Most of Your HIIT Journey

Here's how to take your HIIT workouts a step further:

• Warm-up and Cool-down: Don't skip the warm-up to prepare your body, and include a cool-down to allow your heart rate to return to normal.

• Challenge Yourself: Gradually increase the intensity, duration, or frequency of your workouts as you get fitter. This is called progressive overload and keeps your body adapting.

• Find Your Fun: Pick workouts you enjoy. There are endless HIIT variations to choose from, like my 21-Day Metabolic Reset, so find something you actually like doing.

Remember, HIIT is about pushing yourself, but also listening to your body. Ditch the confusion of heart rate monitors sometimes, and focus on feeling the burn and getting stronger!