How Does HIIT Compare To Regular Cardiovascular Exercise?

By Howe Russ


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.

Today you will discover the science behind HIIT and the reason it has become such a practised method in gyms around the world over the last few years.

The old notion of staying on a cardiovascular machine for an hour or more is now yesterday's advice. This is due to the fact that HIIT has been shown to yield far more results in a significantly lower time frame. When fat loss is the goal, HIIT is certainly the way to do it.

HIIT was initially discovered almost by accident, when researchers were trying to discover if exercise could help to prevent our metabolism from lowering as we got older. They noticed that the individuals who had been working at a higher level of intensity in the gym had the far greater weight loss results. Back in 1985 this was big news, but it wasn't until five years later that these results were confirmed in a much more in depth study.

From there, interest in this subject was high and research was being carried out almost every single year. Many athletes adopted it to their own training regime. Sprinters and swimmers were particular fans at this point.

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 study went on to show that it also increased lean muscle mass and prevented muscle breakdown during exercise. The best result of the study, however, was the fact that the HIIT group burnt off over six times more body fat than their steady state cardiovascular counterparts. This showed that one calorie burnt during a HIIT workout was equal to six during regular cardiovascular activity.

While most new concepts and fads fall to pieces when the real scientific data is made available, HIIT just keeps on building a stronger case. Since these breakthrough reports were conducted there have been many further studies showing the fat loss benefits to a solid and consistent HIIT plan.

High intensity interval training is now a fitness principle which is adopted by millions of gym enthusiasts worldwide. Whether you are a personal trainer, a bodybuilder, an athlete or just somebody who is looking to find effective weight loss tips which work quickly, HIIT is here to stay.




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