Is High Intensity Interval Training More Effective Than Regular Cardio?

By Russ Hollywood


If you are one of the many people who have recently discovered high intensity interval training as an exercise strategy, you may be wondering how it compares to regular cardiovascular exercise as far as fat burning goes. While HIIT has become one of the most effective weight loss tips of the 21st century so far, very few exercise enthusiasts know much about it.

This isn't a fad or a passing trend, so today you will learn why it's becoming such a popular choice.

Although it has only recently crossed over in to mainstream society, HIIT has been used for nearly three decades. It was previously widely believed that cardiovascular activity performed over a long distance at a steady pace was better for both endurance and fat loss. However, recent studies have blown these old theories out of the water.

The first instance of HIIT was discovered by researchers in 1985, who discovered that a group of exercises lost significantly more body fat when they were pushed at higher levels. These findings started a trend of research which attempted to discover the reason behind the results. Five years later, it was discovered that a group of exercisers lost significantly more body fat again while exercising at a higher intensity, despite the fact that the workouts were almost half the duration and took place three times per week, as opposed to a group doing regular cardiovascular activity five times per week.

The first real instances of people using this new approach in their training was sprinters and swimmers. These athletes saw HIIT as a method to increase their explosive power of short distances, which is very useful in their respective sports.

After initially becoming popular during the 1992 Olympics when many sprinters adopted the approach, the first major breakthrough for fat loss studies didn't arrive until 2001. While the fully expected to confirm that HIIT increased the breakdown of carbohydrates, they didn't expect to discover that it also increased fat breakdown, too. Also, they were shocked to see that this increase in fat burning lasted for 14 hours in some subjects. []

That's right, your body burns calories at an accelerated rate for fourteen hours after finishing a HIIT session, most of which will be fat!

The biggest finding of the whole test, and the one which will undoubtedly interest the most people reading this review, is the fact that researchers confirmed that one calorie used during a HIIT workout shed almost six times the fat of one calorie used during a steady state workout. That's because the body continues to burn calories after the session as a result of keeping the intensity level quite high.

These startling results have since been backed up by many further studies. In fact, over the last few years this training method has crept it's way into many mainstream gyms around the world and it now appears to have earned it's place among proven fitness techniques.

It now stands tall as one of the most effective weight loss tips for anybody looking to burn maximum body fat in minimum time. If you are considering including high intensity interval training in your workout routine, you now know why countless others in the fitness world believe it to be the most effective way to get results.




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