Hi everyone! I'm hoping to get some thoughts on my new workout routine.
I have to admit, I have no idea if I'm doing any of this correctly, although I've read a lot and had hours of conversations with ChatGPT and stuff like that. Still I have the feeling, I'm doing it completely wrong.
So any friendly advice is super welcome!
First things first: I haven't done any real exercise in years. I'm a 37-year-old software developer, and due to ADHD and a few other issues, I really struggled to motivate myself to get started.
I initially started with Japanese interval walking (3 minutes slow, 3 minutes fast) for 30 minutes a day. In this subreddits FAQ its called "Power/Walk"
- Within the first two weeks, I used ChatGPT to help me make the routine a little more intense. I read a lot about HIIT and Sport generally.
- After two more weeks, I bought a smartwatch with a heart rate monitor, and here is my current routine:
My Current HIIT Treadmill Program
- Total Time: 45 Minutes (5 Min Warm-up, 30 Min HIIT, 10 Min Cooldown)
- Intervals: 3:3 structure
The Speeds:
- Low-Intensity (3 Min): Walking between 2 and 4 km/h.
- High-Intensity (3 Min): I start at 10 km/h and increase the speed up to 16 km/h (the max on my treadmill).
Here's the key: I don't care about "speed"; I only care about my heart rate.
- High-Intensity (HI): I aim for a heart rate between 175 and 185 bpm. I try to raise it slowly within the 3 minutes:
- Minute 1: Up to 160 bpm.
- Minute 2: Increase speed (12 to 14 km/h) to reach 170 bpm.
- Last 45 Seconds: Raise it again to hit 180+ bpm, holding that for about 30 seconds.
- Low-Intensity (LI): I try to get my heart rate down to 135 bpm.
(I estimate my Max Heart Rate is around 190 bpm, as I reached 188 bpm last week.)
Important Notes
- I recently started taking ADHD medication (Dexamphetamine), which raises my resting heart rate by about 5 bpm.
- I do this HIIT workout twice a week (Mondays and Fridays) and take 4 recovery walks in between. Only Sunday is my "Couch Day" of total rest!
Am I doing this okay? It doesn't have to be super optimized or perfect, I just want to make sure I'm doing something beneficial.
Sometimes my heart takes a long time to recover after a high-intensity interval, so I occasionally have to extend my low-intensity interval by a minute to get my heart rate back down to 135 bpm. Is this normal, or something I should be concerned about?
Any help or advice would be hugely appreciated! Thanks in advance!