This is a guest post by my friend Tom Venuto about the steady state cardio versus high intensity interval training cardio debate. There is a lot of misinformation going around concerning these topics, and many guru’s making some outrageous claims. I think Tom gets to the heart of the matter with this article, and I’ll let the information speak for itself.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) 5x Less Effective than Steady State Cardio???
High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT for short, has been promoted as one of the most effective training methods ever to come down the pike, both for fat loss and for cardiovascular fitness. One of the most popular claims for HIIT is that it burns “9 times more fat” than conventional (steady state) cardio. This figure was extracted from a study performed by Angelo Tremblay at Laval University in 1994. But what if I told you that HIIT has never been proven to be 9 times more effective than regular cardio… What if I told you that the same study actually shows that HIIT is 5 times less effective than steady state cardio??? Read on and see the proof for yourself. Continue reading High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) 5x Less Effective than Steady State Cardio??? Guest Article by Tom Venuto CSCS, NSCA-CPT
Running should be a joyful experience, not a boring or exhausting workout.
Today, I went for the perfect run. Why was it perfect? Because I utterly enjoyed it, and I know that it was exactly what I needed today. That’s how training should be – our desires should line up exactly with our needs.
Not only was I eager to get outdoors and run, I wanted to do it right. I wanted to practice the perfect run and know that when I was finished I had done something right and good for me. Allow me to elaborate.
I ran Fall cross country, Winter Track, and Spring Track and Field in high school, and my events were the long distance events. I put a LOT of miles on my body in three years. So many miles, in fact, that I overtrained into injuries that ultimately led to almost three years in physical therapy, which was terminated early because I had maxed out the funds my health insurance was covering. I won’t bore you with the details.
It’s probably too obvious to say that I approach long distance running with caution these days. In fact, I remember saying that I would never run again. That’s what the doctors and specialists were telling me, and I eventually believed them for awhile. I’ve learned a lot about running since then, including many things that I would do differently if given the chance to return to the past.
It’s been awhile since I’ve consistently updated the blog, but I’ve been consistently pushing my limits in play and training. Have you? Here’s a primal activity for you to try out this week:
Most people stay indoors as much as possible when it rains or snows. People don’t want to get wet, they don’t want to be inconvenienced, and they definitely don’t want to challenge themselves to try something new and exciting. If you’re the type to avoid the great outdoors when the air is slightly more moist from precipitation, then I’ll let you in on a little secret… humans are waterproof! And so are poncho’s!
I took about 90 minutes today to get out in the woods with my dog Ronin, who has his American Kennel Club “Canine Good Citizen” test tonight (CGC info here). In the last 5 months that we’ve owned Ronin, I’ve discovered that he performs much better in obedience when he gets moderate exercise throughout the week. He’s more discerning, faster, and more compliant when he has a balanced activity level. Naturally, I want him to pass his test, so it behooves us to give him a little bit of physical and mental stimulation today (the test is 10 obedience skills, and all must be successfully completed to pass the exam, no mistakes allowed – one fluke and we fail). Here are some highlights from our rainy day workout…
Sometimes, we just need a simple and quick strength training workout routine. That’s when bodyweight exercise programs come in. This circuit is guaranteed to give you both strength training and cardio benefits, while scorching your metabolism into fat burning mode. You’ll be huffing and puffing, but this one is over in just 15 minutes. [...]
