I can't seem to use the right search terms to get any info that might be out there, so of course, I'm posting here!
When I was taking spin classes at a local gym (which have all been cancelled, grrr), the hour and sometimes longer spin classes were very intense, but I wouldn't say they had the same "I'm going to die" feeling that some of Cathe's workouts have. Yet, at the end of every spin class, I would be so absolutely red-faced with every inch of me soaked (literally) that of course, I felt like I had worked hard. And my clothing grew looser, so I figured that had to be true too. But these classes were totally fun and enjoyable to me with zero dread factor, even with the hard work.
I'm finding with my home workouts, if I do something that's more circuit-oriented, not HIIT, but fairly intense cardio combined with weighted exercises, or weighted exercises with a strong metabolic component, I breathe and sweat like MAD and feel like I'm getting a crazy good workout like with spin. And that makes me feel good!
But when I do something that's really intense cardio for me (like Cathe's Tabatacise, Imax 3, etc.) I gasp for air and at times feel like I'm going to die (hah hah) more than the other workouts, BUT I'm noticing I don't sweat nearly as much as with the other stuff. This makes me feel like I'm not working as hard with these HIIT types of workouts, but that can't be right, given how I feel during (and after) them! Maybe my body is too busy trying to take in oxygen, I don't know!
Bottom line, this is making me prefer much longer but slightly less intense workouts over anything that has HIIT in it, even though I know I've responded positively to HIIT. It's like some weird mental battle I have going on, all based on how much I'll sweat while working out! Who does that? (Me, apparently!)
I don't get it...it makes no logical sense to me. When your rate of perceived exertion is off the charts, shouldn't you sweat to reflect that??
Maybe I should look into a heart rate monitor or something, but I've always been kind of wary of becoming dependent on those.
Does anyone else experience this? Thoughts?