Okay sorry for the dramatic headline but I need answers if possible! I talked to a trainer here at work that instructed me to get on the elliptical and for the first 5 minutes, train as hard as I can then afterward do like 15 mins of walking at a comfortable pace, is this true? I feel like there are so many different things ppl say so I don't want to be no working out in the most efficient way. Thanks!
Please help!
- Thread starter liljmk
- Start date
I wrote this in another thread about HIIT. Don't get much clearer than this:
Popular training methods come around in cycles of popularity every few years. Lately, everyone and their mother's will tell you that weight training with 8-12 reps, HIIT, and a balanced diet will help anyone and everyone.
First, let me say these guidelines are a good starting point for most beginners and intermediate lifters. However, we all know that each of us are metabolically and physiologically unique. A host of variables plays a role as to what methods will work best for you, such as somatotype, training age, etc. Where 8-12 reps may be ideal for most individuals, realize that this ideal rep range will decrease as training age increases for instance. By training age, I simply mean, how many years you have been CONSISTENTLY training.
I am not posting this to point fingers at what is right or wrong in my opinion currently. I am posting this to say that I think HIIT is here to stay. We all throw the recommendation out there to anyone who is looking to lose fat to implement HIIT, but why? What is HIIT and why is it better then steady state cardio?
Steady state cardio (running at the same intensity for prolonged periods of time) uses primarily fat stores as its energy source. Back in the day, this fact led many to believe that SS cardio was the preferred method of exercise for shedding the pounds.
How does HIIT differ from this? Actually, first let's discuss what HIIT is for those who may not know. HIIT is simply the alteration between high intensity and low intensity training intervals. This can be done with any form of exercise, such as running, cycling, swimming, elliptical training, etc. For instance, you may set up a 1:2 protocol. You will set a total training duration, in this case assume 20 minutes. You can split these 20 minutes up however you would like. For simplicity's sake, let's assume we do 10, 2-minute intervals totaling the 20 minutes. Each of these 10 intervals is then broken up into the high/low intensity intervals. Going back to the 1:2 ratio we set up, we would exercise at high intensity for 40 seconds and immediately follow this with a low intensity bout lasting 80 seconds totalling a single 2-minute interval. Follow this principle for each of the 10 intervals. That, in a nutshell is HIIT.
So, back to how HIIT differs from SS cardio. HIIT uses primarily carbohydrates as its fuel source. This may not seem logical to you; it may seem better to burn fat then carbohydrates if fat loss is the goal. Stick with me though!
Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) plays a much larger role in fat loss, and HIIT drastically increases your TDEE. So now we are talking energy (calorie) balances instead of fat burning. After a bout of HIIT, something known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) is increased.
While you may burn more calories and fat during SS cardio, when you factor EPOC into the equation, you actually end up burning more energy performing HIIT rather then SS cardio.
The beauty of HIIT lies in the fact that you do not have to, nor should you be able to, train as long as you would with SS cardio. In a nutshell, HIIT is more effective due to the increase EPOC and energy utilization and more efficient due to the time consumption issue.
There are many other benefits of HIIT. It tends to keep your Type IIa muscle fibers on the fast twitch side of the spectrum. Type II muscle fibers are those used for quick utilization, explosion, and power for activities such as sprints or weight training. Type IIb are for pure power. Type IIa are your middle of the road fibers. They can take on qualities of both fast twitch or slow twitch. SS cardio tends to keep these Type IIa fibers on the slow (type I) fiber side and HIIT tends to keep these on the fast (type II) fiber side.
Although HIIT is considered to be an anaerobic exercise, it has been proven to also improve aerobic capacity.
It has been shown that HIIT elevates the level of growth hormone (GH) in the bloodstream, which is never a bad thing for those of you looking to add lean muscle. (This should be all of you!)
Some studies show that your resting metabolic rate remains elevated for over a 24-hour period after a bout of HIIT.
There is more to be said, but I hope at this point, for those of you who did not understand why HIIT is so popular right now, you now see the importance of utilizing this type of training. For those of you looking to shed some fat or for those of you looking to maintain muscle while improving your cardiovascular systems, this is for you.
And as always, what works best for one, may not work best for another. With this said, don't be afraid to mix up your routines such as 2 days of HIIT per week and 1 day of SS cardio.
Popular training methods come around in cycles of popularity every few years. Lately, everyone and their mother's will tell you that weight training with 8-12 reps, HIIT, and a balanced diet will help anyone and everyone.
First, let me say these guidelines are a good starting point for most beginners and intermediate lifters. However, we all know that each of us are metabolically and physiologically unique. A host of variables plays a role as to what methods will work best for you, such as somatotype, training age, etc. Where 8-12 reps may be ideal for most individuals, realize that this ideal rep range will decrease as training age increases for instance. By training age, I simply mean, how many years you have been CONSISTENTLY training.
I am not posting this to point fingers at what is right or wrong in my opinion currently. I am posting this to say that I think HIIT is here to stay. We all throw the recommendation out there to anyone who is looking to lose fat to implement HIIT, but why? What is HIIT and why is it better then steady state cardio?
Steady state cardio (running at the same intensity for prolonged periods of time) uses primarily fat stores as its energy source. Back in the day, this fact led many to believe that SS cardio was the preferred method of exercise for shedding the pounds.
How does HIIT differ from this? Actually, first let's discuss what HIIT is for those who may not know. HIIT is simply the alteration between high intensity and low intensity training intervals. This can be done with any form of exercise, such as running, cycling, swimming, elliptical training, etc. For instance, you may set up a 1:2 protocol. You will set a total training duration, in this case assume 20 minutes. You can split these 20 minutes up however you would like. For simplicity's sake, let's assume we do 10, 2-minute intervals totaling the 20 minutes. Each of these 10 intervals is then broken up into the high/low intensity intervals. Going back to the 1:2 ratio we set up, we would exercise at high intensity for 40 seconds and immediately follow this with a low intensity bout lasting 80 seconds totalling a single 2-minute interval. Follow this principle for each of the 10 intervals. That, in a nutshell is HIIT.
So, back to how HIIT differs from SS cardio. HIIT uses primarily carbohydrates as its fuel source. This may not seem logical to you; it may seem better to burn fat then carbohydrates if fat loss is the goal. Stick with me though!
Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) plays a much larger role in fat loss, and HIIT drastically increases your TDEE. So now we are talking energy (calorie) balances instead of fat burning. After a bout of HIIT, something known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) is increased.
While you may burn more calories and fat during SS cardio, when you factor EPOC into the equation, you actually end up burning more energy performing HIIT rather then SS cardio.
The beauty of HIIT lies in the fact that you do not have to, nor should you be able to, train as long as you would with SS cardio. In a nutshell, HIIT is more effective due to the increase EPOC and energy utilization and more efficient due to the time consumption issue.
There are many other benefits of HIIT. It tends to keep your Type IIa muscle fibers on the fast twitch side of the spectrum. Type II muscle fibers are those used for quick utilization, explosion, and power for activities such as sprints or weight training. Type IIb are for pure power. Type IIa are your middle of the road fibers. They can take on qualities of both fast twitch or slow twitch. SS cardio tends to keep these Type IIa fibers on the slow (type I) fiber side and HIIT tends to keep these on the fast (type II) fiber side.
Although HIIT is considered to be an anaerobic exercise, it has been proven to also improve aerobic capacity.
It has been shown that HIIT elevates the level of growth hormone (GH) in the bloodstream, which is never a bad thing for those of you looking to add lean muscle. (This should be all of you!)
Some studies show that your resting metabolic rate remains elevated for over a 24-hour period after a bout of HIIT.
There is more to be said, but I hope at this point, for those of you who did not understand why HIIT is so popular right now, you now see the importance of utilizing this type of training. For those of you looking to shed some fat or for those of you looking to maintain muscle while improving your cardiovascular systems, this is for you.
And as always, what works best for one, may not work best for another. With this said, don't be afraid to mix up your routines such as 2 days of HIIT per week and 1 day of SS cardio.