This may sound like a stupid question to all you veterans out there, but I’ve seen stuff about HIIT training but I can’t seem to get a solid answer about how to incoperate it into my lifting program.
I’m not sure exactly what you mean, are you asking WHEN to do HIIT? Personally I would do it on non-lifting days.
If you are looking for HIIT training programs then this is a useful article:
Hope that helps
Also reading the Cardio Roundtable I and II would most likely answer many of your questions.
It really depends on your goals obviously. If your gaining and want to minimize chubbing, then you should go at it on your off days, three days a week or so. Perhaps less depending your metabolism and how fast you are gaining. I actually do my HIIT after my sets just to get the most out of my time at the gym. Nothing long, 15-20 minutes, just keep fat in check.
As for cutting, you will want to do HIIT more liberally, four times a week or more again based on your metabolism and how quickly you are dropping. With four sessoins a week or more, you are obviously going to need to hit it on lifting days, not really an option anymore and whether you do it directly after lifting or on a seperate time is up to you. It is generally agreed however that you shouldn’t go HIIT before lifting because your performance will be considerably weaker. Again, I just go straight after sets to get things done and over with, and I actually do breakdancing so on my off days I still get a 15-20 minutes spin of HIIT.
See what works for you, but if you are new to HIIT, definitely do it seperately from weights because you’ll yearn for a quick death and hate HIIT which means you’ll be less likely to do it. Whatever you are doing, make sure you enjoy it!