Is HIIT Primarily For Weight Loss Or Muscle Building?

By Howe Russ


Most gym users who want to know how to build muscle can't seem to get any further forward due to the amount of conflicting information out there. One such area of confusion is HIIT.

Many people who perform this type of exercise are going for weight loss, however there is also a major use here for those looking to improve size and strength.

If most men were honest, they'd happily admit that they don't do enough cardiovascular exercise. It's often seen as the boring alternative to resistance training and they don't have the same level of drive for it.

This is largely because there is a false mentality in most gyms that cardio is for girls. Most guys deem it too boring and not engaging enough.

In fact, everybody needs to do some form of cardio if they want to get fitter and stronger. No matter whether your are a man or a woman, if you wish to get leaner you should be performing some form of cardiovascular exercise alongside your resistance routine. One of the best methods is high intensity interval training.

There is a massive difference between the steady pace of regular cardio, often billed as boring, compared to that of a high intensity session. Despite being performed on the same equipment, it's a completely different style of workout.

High intensity interval training is based around constantly switching between moderate and high intensities, causing your body to tap into both it's aerobic and anaerobic energy systems. There are striking similarities between an interval training session and a resistance workout.

The two primary energy sources we use during exercise are called aerobic and anaerobic. During regular cardio workouts we use our aerobic system. However, during both resistance training and high intensity intervals we use the anaerobic system instead.

Things get even better when you look at how your body burns calories during this type of training. During a normal session your body stops burning calories when you stop exercising. However, if you have performed an interval session your body will continue to burn calories at an increased rate for 16 hours afterwards! This is also known as 'the afterburn effect'.

Over the years it has been proven that HIIT helps you to lose more body fat than regular cardio workouts. If you are trying to figure out how to build muscle you should also be including this type of training in your workouts, as it has been proven that short bursts of high intensity activity will tap into your body's anaerobic energy system and make it easier for you to experience muscular hypertrophy.




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