Can I do HIIT and weight training on the same day?

Is it okay to do HIIT and weights on the same day and if so how should you do them for best results. How to train twice in one day for faster fat loss.
Is it okay to do HIIT and weights on the same day and if so how should you do them for best results. How to train twice in one day for faster fat loss.
Do you want to train twice a day but are not sure how to get started. This is how you can do booth HIIT and weight training on the same day.

For fast fat loss nothing beats HIIT apart from doubling up on your training sessions. But what about doing weights and HIIT on the same day?

 

I often do double workouts. I’ll do a morning weights session and then in the evening I’ll do a short but intense 20 minute weighted HIIT workout. It’s amazing.

 

So to answer your question, yes you can certainly do both HIIT and Weights on the same day but how you split that might change from person to person.

 

The question is, is your HIIT involving weighted exercises and which exercises are you working in both sessions.

 

Are your weights sessions already full body workouts or are the split up to body parts only in traditional bodybuilding style.  

 

Knowing the answers to these will help you determine how to incorporate both HIIT and weight training into one day.

 

What is HIIT

High intensity interval training covers a huge range or exercises and workouts. By definition High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is classed as any exercise or exercises performed at high intensity followed by a short recovery period, until you can’t do any more.  

 

How you structure your HIIT is entirely up to you or your trainer as long as it fits into that definition.

 

By definition HIIT could be;

  • Sprint intervals e.g. Sprint 200m walk 100m x 5

Or

  • Circuit training e.g. chose 2-10 exercises with or without weights and perform 30 seconds of max work with 15 second rest intervals.

 

Or anything in between.

 

 

Short HIIT workouts With Weights

 

Your HIIT might be 5 x 100m sprints which you could easily do after a weights session. It would only take 5-10 minutes and wouldn’t be an issue.

 

It would also be fine it you ended your weight training workouts with a quick 4 minute Tabata. Not a problem. 

 

So for shorter bouts of HIIT adding them to the end of your current weight workout would be fine, assuming they are under 10 minutes or so. 

 

Full 30 minute HIIT workouts with weights

Or your HIIT workout might be a 30 minute bodyweight cardio style workout such as this HIIT workout here. Where you are doing squat jumps, high knees and mountain climbers.

 

In this scenario it would be best if you split  your day so in the morning you would perform a  HIIT workout and then in the evening you’d do a resistance workout.

 

The main reason for this is that you generally want to avoid long taxing workouts as it increases the risk of injury and your body will start breaking down muscle tissue for energy.

 

That said with proper nutrition the later isn’t an issue.

 

I know athletes that train for 3-5 hours straight. And they are superior human beings that are fitter than all of us.

 

To be able to train for long periods of time (over an 90 minutes) is fine with proper nutrition and may require supplements such as Branch Chain Amino Acids BCAAs before your workout.

 

I include weights in my HIIT sessions where possible, it’s the best way to see fast fitness and body shape changes. So if you could combine your HIIT with your weights session could that be the way forward?

 

As you can see there are many cases where doing HIIT and Weights on the same day is absolutely fine. It’s how you split them up to manage the work load for the best results that matters.

 

If you can’t split your time and your focus is fat loss then make your workouts more HIIT based. Include your weighted exercises and mix in bodyweight moves for a more intense session. Your body will hate you for it at the time but the results will be so worth it.

 

Your priority is to;

  1. Not to over work muscles too much. Allow 24 hours rest as a minimum per muscle. Allow your body to rest and recover between workouts. So don’t do legs twice in one day for example.
  2. Be able to work maximally during your HIIT workouts. If you cant physically work maximally it isn’t really HIIT, workout at a time when you have enough energy to train hard. This may mean splitting your workouts as discussed. 
  3. Do what works for you. At the end of the day if you feel that you could train longer or train twice a day then do it. Your body will soon let you know if it’s too much. This could be through injury, being tired all the time, losing motivation, getting ill or just being too sore to train.
  4. Know what you are trying to achieve. HIIT workouts are great because they are short in time meaning they can be added onto your current workout. But if you’ve just done a 45 minute weight workout with the intention to build muscle then do a HIIT workout with the intention to burn fat then your post workout nutrition will be affected.

 

So there you have it, go with what you feel. As a rule of thumb if you want to add the HIIT onto the end of your weights workout keep it under 10 minutes, if you want to do a longer HIIT and get more done then split the sessions up, or combine the two workouts into one.