High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) 5x Less Effective than Steady State Cardio???

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???

By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.BurnTheFat.com

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???

December 1st, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Category: Cardio Training, Guest Article, Science | 3 comments

What is High Intensity?

I hope thats sweat, but I have a feeling its just water...

That might be sweat, but I think it's just water...

Here’s an exercise in stream-of-consciousness…

What do you think of when you read the term “high intensity?”

Do you think of gritting your teeth, repping out, squeezing your muscles as hard as possible, running as fast as you can, or sweating a lot?

Now, let me ask you another question. When was the last time you reached high intensity in your training program?

Maybe you train with high intensity every session, maybe it’s once or twice a week, or every now and then. Maybe the last time you reached high intensity was in high school or college athletics.

I’m astonished when I hear of people doing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) 5-7 days a week, and still seeing very little progress towards their goals. It makes me wonder if most people really have a clear idea about what high intensity training entails.
Continue reading What is High Intensity?

March 23rd, 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Category: Strength Training | 2 comments