HIIT versus Prolonged High Intensity

[ppalonghorn]

Forum Experts-

I need some advice on HIIT versus prolonged high intensity cardio.

First, I am a 25 yo male - 210 lbs - 6'1" - 18ish% body fat

I've been reading up on HIIT the last few weeks, and it really seems like the way to go. My question is this:

I have absolutely zero problem (when doing cardio on the elliptical) keeping my heart rate at 165+ bpm for 40+ minutes, which according to this chart (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Exercise_zones.png), is getting me very close to VO2. This is what I am referring to as "prolonged high intensity cardio".

Now, do you all think I should stick with what I am currently doing, or should I move to more traditional HIIT? Am I going to get the benefits of HIIT through the "prolonged high intensity cardio" that I am doing now???

PLEASE HELP!!!

Thanks so much.

[ghettoboyd]

from what ive read prolonged high intensity cardio burns more calories while your exercising while HITT burns more calories post exercise. i personaly do both as to get the best of both worlds and keep things from getting borring.both are benifical,its really a matter of prefrence.

[FireGuy]

Prolonged LOW intensity cardio is still the best way to go for burning fat and preserving muscle IMHO.

[ppalonghorn]

Hi FireGuy-

My goal here is lean definition...not necessarily crazy swollness....

Still thinking the same thing?

[AdamGH]

good article:

Yes, believe it or not, all of those hours upon boring hours of repetitive low to moderate intensity cardio training sessions are not the best way to lose body fat and reveal your abs. Many trainers and the media seem obsessed with the thinking that the best and only way to lose body fat is through long boring cardio routines. Well, I’m here to tell you that they couldn’t be more wrong!

Look around and you’ll see people all the time laboriously pumping away on some cardio machine day after day wondering why they can’t lose any more body fat. While it is true that aerobic training (cardio) does burn a higher percentage of fat during the actual exercising than anaerobic training such as wind sprints or weight training (which rely more heavily on carbs for energy), this does not mean that aerobic training will promote a leaner body than anaerobic training. The reason for this relates to the important aspects of your overall RMR, the quantity of lean body mass you possess, the hormonal response from the exercise stimulus, and the residual metabolic effect of your training session in the hours and days following your workout.

First, as previously stated, your RMR remains elevated for only 1-2 hours following a typical cardio workout. Conversely, your RMR remains elevated for up to 1-2 days following a strenuous anaerobic training session (weight training, sprints, and other high intensity exercises) in which a large quantity of your skeletal muscle has been traumatized. This trauma created in your muscles during anaerobic training is the process of muscle protein breakdown. Then, in the hours and days following that anaerobic training session, your body must repair the damaged muscle. This is called muscle protein synthesis. During this whole process, your RMR is elevated due to the repair work your body is performing. Hence, you end up burning a lot more additional calories from this residual RMR increase than you would have from the cardio training session. In the long run, this aspect is more important towards creating a lean body than those few extra fat calories that you would have burned during a cardio workout.

Second, as simple as this fact sounds, it is most often overlooked in people trying to lose weight who think that they have to focus on cardio to lose the weight. Weight training builds lean muscle mass and therefore increases your RMR. Excessive cardio training actually can cause a loss of lean muscle mass, therefore decreasing your RMR. Hence, the lower your RMR, the harder it’s going to be to lose any more body fat and easier to store body fat if you happen to overeat. The result is that people who use primarily cardio-based workouts and also have a poor diet frequently acquire that “skinny-fat” appearance where they have very little muscle definition coupled with excess body fat.

It is common to hear fitness professionals and medical doctors prescribe low to moderate intensity aerobic training (cardio) to people who are trying to prevent heart disease or lose weight. Most often, the recommendations constitute something along the lines of “perform 30-60 minutes of steady pace cardio 3-5 times per week maintaining your heart rate at a moderate level”. Before you just give in to this popular belief and become the “hamster on the wheel” doing endless hours of boring cardio, I’d like you to consider some recent scientific research that indicates that steady pace endurance cardio work may not be all it’s cracked up to be.

First, realize that our bodies are designed to perform physical activity in bursts of exertion followed by recovery, or stop-and-go movement instead of steady state movement. Recent research is suggesting that physical variability is one of the most important aspects to consider in your training. This tendency can be seen throughout nature as all animals demonstrate stop-and-go motion instead of steady state motion. In fact, humans are the only creatures in nature that attempt to do “endurance” type physical activities.

Most competitive sports (with the exception of endurance running or cycling) are also based on stop-and-go movement or short bursts of exertion followed by recovery. To examine an example of the different effects of endurance or steady state training versus stop-and-go training, consider the physiques of marathoners versus sprinters. Most sprinters carry a physique that is very lean, muscular, and powerful looking, while the typical dedicated marathoner is more often emaciated and sickly looking. Now which would you rather resemble?

Another factor to keep in mind regarding the benefits of physical variability is the internal effect of various forms of exercise on our body. Scientists have known that excessive steady state endurance exercise (different for everyone, but sometimes defined as greater than 60 minutes per session, most days of the week) increases free radical production in the body, can degenerate joints, reduces immune function, causes muscle wasting, and can cause a pro-inflammatory response in the body that can potentially lead to chronic diseases.

On the other hand, highly variable intensity training has been linked to increased anti-oxidant production in the body and an anti-inflammatory response, a more efficient nitric oxide response (which can encourage a healthy cardiovascular system), and an increased metabolic rate response (which can assist with weight loss). Furthermore, steady state endurance training only trains the heart at one specific heart rate range and doesn’t train it to respond to various every day stressors. On the other hand, highly variable intensity training teaches the heart to respond to and recovery from a variety of demands making it less likely to fail when you need it.

The important aspect of variable intensity training that makes it superior over steady state cardio is the recovery period in between bursts of exertion. That recovery period is crucially important for the body to elicit a healthy response to an exercise stimulus.

Another benefit of variable intensity training is that it is much more interesting and has lower drop-out rates than long boring steady state cardio programs.

To summarize, some of the potential benefits of variable intensity training compared to steady state endurance training are as follows: improved cardiovascular health, increased anti-oxidant protection, improved immune function, reduced risk for joint wear and tear, reduced muscle wasting, increased residual metabolic rate following exercise, and an increased capacity for the heart to handle life’s every day stressors. There are many ways you can reap the benefits of stop-and-go or variable intensity physical training. Wind sprints or hill sprints are the ultimate in variable intensity training and will get you ripped and muscular in no time flat. If you’re in good enough shape to sprint, always sprint instead of jogging. Trust me…your body will look much better for it! For a great finish to your weight training workouts, or for a great workout on their own, try about 6-12 all-out sprints of about 50-100 yards with 30-90 seconds rest in between.

Another great method of incorporating highly variable intensity exercise is to play sports. Most competitive sports such as football, basketball, racquetball, tennis, hockey, etc. are naturally comprised of highly variable stop-and-go motion. In addition, weight training naturally incorporates short bursts of exertion followed by recovery periods. High intensity interval training (varying between high and low intensity intervals on any piece of cardio equipment) is yet another training method that utilizes exertion and recovery periods. For example, an interval training session on the treadmill could look something like this (caution - this may be too fast for shorter individuals or if you’re not yet in good shape; adjust appropriately):

Warm-up for 3-4 minutes at a fast walk or light jog
Interval 1 - run at 8.0 mi/hr for 1 minute
Interval 2 - walk at 4.0 mi/hr for 1.5 minutes
Interval 3 - run at 10.0 mi/hr for 1 minute
Interval 4 - walk at 4.0 mi/hr for 1.5 minutes
Repeat those 4 intervals 4 times for a very intense 20-minute workout.

Hopefully this section has convinced you to focus the majority of your training on weight training and other forms of resistance training coupled with high intensity “interval type cardio” and/or sprints in your quest for losing body fat to uncover your abs. I also recommend mixing in high intensity type training such as jumping rope, boxing, a rowing machine, stair climbing, and hill running into your routine in your quest to get lean. I guarantee you that a 20-minute high intensity interval training session is much more effective than a 40-50 minute boring steady pace cardio session due to several factors discussed previously such as the residual metabolic after-burn effect, muscle retention, hormonal response, heart rate variability, etc. It will also save you time!

[FireGuy]

Hi FireGuy-

My goal here is lean definition...not necessarily crazy swollness....

Still thinking the same thing?

Especially if that is your goal...

[IamtheChitt]

I have been sticking with only low intensity cardio, but I plan on adding high intensity cardio on my off days.

[ppalonghorn]

Adam - the article was definitely a help - I'm definitely going to make the transition to HIIT 3 days a week

[FireGuy]

If you can do HIIT cardio after weights you didnt work out hard enough.