Mark Dillon - Personal Trainer - Leicester

    I said I'd post a video of the HIIT session so here it is! Enjoy! Barry is seen running up the hill on his 5th of 10reps that he completed. We also set a new fastest time with our first rep. We completed that first rep in 32seconds! Just about all of the other reps were completed in 36seconds.

    My lungs felt like they were going to explode! And as I sat there watching the machine that is Barry Murray (OptimumNutrition4Sport), an accomplished Ultra Distance Runner, head back up the hill for his 3rd rep of a 40 second grind to the top I couldn't help but think that is what I want to be able to do! I rejoined him on the 4th rep because... well I guess it was pride but what a mistake. My legs died, my breathing was laboured, to say the least, and I was more than happy when Baz told me to wait for him at the top because he was going to take a break after his 5th rep to get some water. Magic! So as I waited all of two minutes for Baz to trot back down the hill and then power his way back up all i could do was sit down and try not to be sick! Literally! At that point I wished I had eaten something so that I could have puked instead of just heaving and spitting like a drunk just before they pass out on the toilet. In retrospect I made the right decision to run on empty with nothing more that a pint of water and 200mg of caffine for breakfast. But I digress. As we walked the short but impossibly far distance to the water fountain we discussed, between gasps of air, that this is the type of session that is suited to me. I think I agreed! Anyway, what Baz was saying is that it is a great session to do for anyone that wants to improve their aerobic fitness. It will improve your VO2Max, your body's ability to take in Oxygen and burn it, making your heart and lungs (cardio-respiratory system for those fluent in geak-speak) more efficient! What's not to like about that!

    Did I mention that Mr. Murray has 5 more reps to do at that point? No? Okay! Well after getting some water and watching Baz grapple with the decision to resume hill reps or spend a bit more time flirting with a cutie walking some dogs, (a lot of dogs), we slowly made our way back down the hill to begin reps numbered 6-10. I say we at this point I hope you know I mean Baz! Did I mention that he's a machine!? Yes? Okay! So as I took a seat at the base of the hill to guard our belongings (ha who am I kidding?). As I sat there contemplating life I resumed watching the man-machine trek up and down the path with the growing disbelief that I had actually agreed to complete the 10th and final repetition with him, so I got up and prepared for the last really big effort of the day. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that I matched Barry's pace all the way to the top. I'd had at least a 10 minute break between the interval that nearly made me puke and that final 35 seconds of assault on the monsterous hill! Sandwiched in between my first and last rep being really good there was: two shitty (sub standard) intervals, nearly puking, contemplating the universe and our discussion about how this was great for me and how to build up to doing the full sub 40 second 10 rep session. Next time I'm taking the video camera!

    My favorite part of the run? The nice slow run back to the car, where I felt as if I could run all day, and our discussion about my horrific reaction to non-paleo foods! But, as they say, that is a story for another day!