Since I have Olympic athletes on the mind right now, I'll use them as my example. Now, I can guarantee you that every single athlete who gets to the Olympic level (or any level beyond pee-wee really), chooses the sport they choose because they love it and excel in it. Not because they want to look a certain way. But I'm not an Olympic athlete. I don't need to train 8 hours a day in an effort to get good at one specific thing (maybe in my next life). What I want is to be fit and athletic enough to do lots of different things recreationally. That is, I just need to be able to keep up with my hyper-active children. I want to be able to avoid injuries as I get older, and like we've talked about before, I want to look strong and healthy. Keep that in mind as you view these images.
Obviously whoever put these images together is a huge proponent of shorter interval, higher intensity training. I don't like that they chose unflattering images of long distance runners to argue their case. BUT, there is some truth to what these images show.
Long distance athletes have a difficult time maintaining muscle. Not that serious endurance athletes care about that. I'm guessing they care about winning. But in terms of re-shaping MY body, I'm more more interested in the sprinter style physique. So that's what I focus on. Weights and shorter, more intense cardio workouts that add lean muscle tissue, burn a crazy amount of calories, and up my metabolism. That's not to say I'll never participate in a long-distance event ever again. I will. Actually I plan to do at least one 1/2 marathon this summer. But I will train MUCH differently than I have in the past. People tell me that training for a 1/2 marathon CAN be done without losing mass and gaining fat. If it happens, it will be a first for me. For now, however, I'm sticking with High Intensity Interval Training 3 days/week (sometimes just 2). HIIT workouts give me more bang for my buck. I'm definitely a believer.
Because there's SO much information out there about High Intensity Interval Training, I'm not going to worry about giving you my wordy and maybe not entirely accurate explanation of it. I think I'll just copy and paste an article from the author of built lean. Yeah, I'm lazy like that.
What is High Intensity Interval Training?
High Intensity Interval Training involves alternating between very intense bouts of exercise and low intensity exercise. For example, sprinting for 30 seconds, then walking for 60 seconds is high intensity interval training. HIIT can be used both anaerobically (in the gym with weights) and aerobically with cardio.
Why Is HIIT the Best Cardio to Burn Fat?
Exercise physiologists used to believe that “steady state” cardio was superior for fat loss because relatively more fat is used by the body as fuel at lower exercise intensities than at higher intensities. The “Fat Burning Zone” shown on most cardio equipment as only 60%-65% of max heart rate is really a myth and is NOT optimal for burning fat. Yes, you burn more fat relative to glycogen when going for a walk, but what we care about is total fat burn. At higher intensities, you are burning far more fat, even though the fat/glycogen ratio is lower.1 2 In addition, interval training allows you to exercise at very high intensities for a much longer period of time than steady state, so you burn more fat.
As an added bonus, there’s also an afterburn effect known as EPOC (excess-post exercise oxygen consumption). You increase your metabolism and burn more calories for up to 24 hours after interval training, whereas going for a jog burns almost NO calories after.
Other HIIT Benefits
There are a number of great benefits to High Intensity Interval Training besides serious fat burn that include:
• Increased Aerobic Capacity – The amount of oxygen your body can use (oxygen uptake) is increased, so your overall aerobic capacity can increase faster than with low intensity endurance exercise3
• Increased Lactate Threshold – Your ability to handle increased lactic acid buildup in your muscles increases
• Improved Insulin Sensitivity – Your muscles more readily suck in glucose, instead of the glucose going to your fat stores4 5
• Anabolic Effect – Some studies show that interval training combined with consuming slightly more calories than you burn creates an anabolic effect, which helps you put on muscle. The opposite occurs with steady state cardio, which for long durations is catabolic.6
Love HITT. I taught a version of this type of class for years. And even when I had lots of littles at home and wasn't putting in tons of hours of training, I still maintained a pretty good fitness level by doing this type of intense cardio.
ReplyDeleteI love that when I work out like this I can push myself hard enough to feel I had a great workout but not take hours to do it and not get bored.
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