thoughts on this article

[Guest guest]

any experts out there have some thoughts. just another thing to confuse us? i do

like to do hiit but just wondering if i don't feel like doing it and do steady

state instead it won't be the end of me and fat burning LOL

http://stronglifts.com/hiit-interval-training-fat-loss/

Why HIIT Is NOT Better For Fat Loss

Jan 21st, 2010 by Mehdi Posted in Lose Fat | Print

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) alternates low & high intensity

activities. Example: alternate 30sec sprinting with 60sec jogging for 10-30mins.

Spinning & Tabata are other popular forms of Interval Training.

But is HIIT really more efficient to lose fat than steady state cardio? In this

post you'll get a comparison between both in terms of fat loss.

How Cardio Helps Fat Loss. To lose fat you need a caloric deficit. Either by

eating less calories or by burning more calories or both. Here's how HIIT &

steady state cardio help you create this caloric deficit:

* Burn Calories. Your body uses the food you eat as fuel for cardio. The

more & higher intensity cardio you do, the more calories you'll burn.

* Increase Metabolic Rate. Your body burns more calories at rest during the

hours post cardio. This is the post-workout afterburn or EPOC.

* Eat More. Cardio allows you eat more while having a caloric deficit. This

can prevent starvation with lighter males/females.

There are more ways that cardio can help fat loss, but they don't matter within

the context of this post. What matters is that you need a caloric deficit to

lose fat (and you can do this without cardio, through dieting & lifting alone).

How Much Calories Does Cardio Burn? Everything depends on the intensity at which

you do cardio, and how long you do it. Here are some estimates:

* Low Intensity. Less than 65% of your max heart rate. Walking burns only

5kcal/min. That's why it's not efficient for fat loss.

* Moderate Intensity. 65-85% of your max heart rate. Steady state cardio at

moderate intensity on the elliptical trainer burns about 10kcal/min.

* High Intensity. +85% of your max heart rate. Sprints burn 15kcal/min. But

most people can't sustain this kind of intensity for long.

These are estimates. The best way to find out how much you burn is using the

bodybugg. And people who've used it, found that HIIT burns about the same or

less calories than steady state cardio. 2 reasons:

* Average intensity is the same since HIIT alternates between high & low

intensities (sprints then jogging). So you end up burning 10kcal/min.

* Most people never get the most out of HIIT because they aren't pushing

themselves hard enough. Meaning: never until their muscles burn.

EPOC. Then there's HIIT's biggest selling point: EPOC. According to this study

HIIT has an EPOC of 14% vs 7% with steady state cardio. So if 30mins of HIIT

burns as much as 30mins steady state cardio, that's 342kcal vs 321kcal.

Do 30mins HIIT 3x/week (which is a lot) and you'll burn 252kcal per month extra

from EPOC. Since you need to burn 3500kcal to lose 1lb fat this is

insignificant. But again, these numbers are estimates. Use the bodybugg for

proof.

So in theory HIIT will burn more than steady state cardio through EPOC, but not

as much as people usually think. As I posted before: people often overestimate

how much calories they burn. That's one reason why you can't lose fat.

Cardio Duration. The longer you do cardio, the more total calories you'll burn.

You must be in really good shape to handle 30mins HIIT while anyone can do

45mins moderate intensity steady state cardio. Compare calories burned:

* 30mins HIIT: burns 324kcal (incl 14% EPOC)

* 45mins steady state cardio: burns 481kcal (incl 7% EPOC)

So you'll burn 628kcal/month more if you do 3×45mins steady state cardio than if

you'd do 3×30mins HIIT. But people usually do 20mins HIIT. This would burn

228kcal incl EPOC or 3036kcal/month less. Which is almost 1lb of fat.

Cardio Frequency. 20mins of HIIT 3x/week is hard to recover from because it's

high intensity. You'll stall if you do StrongLifts 5×5 + HIIT 3x/week. But you

can easily do steady state cardio 4x/week without issues.

4×45mins steady state cardio per week burns 7696kcal/month or +2lbs of fat.

3×20mins of HIIT only burns 2736kcal/month. So HIIT burns less total calories,

is harder physically & mentally and causes stalling by messing with recovery.

Again: don't believe me. Get the bodybugg and do the test. Compare how many

calories you burn with HIIT vs steady state cardio. Then decide what is most

efficient knowing that burning more calories matters most to lose fat.

Should You Never Do HIIT? No. HIIT has benefits: it takes less time, is more fun

and more things I won't get into here. Did I write that you won't lose fat if

you do HIIT? No, you will. But less than you might think.

My point is that for fat loss burning calories matters. Steady state cardio

burns more calories and with less effort. Here are 5 quick cardio tips to lose

fat:

1. Don't do HIIT if you do StrongLifts 5×5. Your legs will never get enough

recovery. Do steady state cardio only. Up to 4×45mins/week.

2. Don't do HIIT if you're a beginner with zero fitness levels. This would be

like starting with 220lbs on Squats. Build base fitness levels first.

3. If you lack time to do 4×45mins/week steady state cardio, do 3×30mins.

This burns about as many as calories as 3×30mins HIIT does.

4. If you lack time to do 3×30mins/week steady state cardio, focus on diet &

strength. You'll lose fat, but slower. Accept it.

5. If you get bored of the steady state cardio: get over it. It's meant to be

effective, not fun. Really. Once you've got body fat down you can quit it.

Again: I'm NOT against HIIT. I do it. I'm against people wasting their time. You

have to train hard, but you also have to train smart. Steady state cardio burns

more calories with less effort. That's training smart.