Hiit vs steady state

Piper911

So I absolutely hate Hiit. Is doing a half hour of HIIT really a lot better for you then and hour of steady state cardio where I keep my hr between 150 and 165? (I'm a 30 female). I absolutely love the elliptical and can kind of zone out and go for an hour or longer, but HITT just makes me irritated the whole time. Being overweight and unfit also makes me irritated though so if it's really that much better I can do it. Just looking for opinions!

AnvilHead

Good reading with lots of useful information for you (several parts to the article if you click through the links:) Steady State and Interval Training, Part I

auddii

If you're doing true HIIT, you wouldn't last 30 minutes. And if you hate it, don't do it. The benefit of HIIT is that you can do shorter workouts, if you prefer a longer workout where you can zone out, go for it.

Personally, I find steady state cardio more beneficial because I can workout for longer (waste time before dinner so I'm not home snacking while cooking), plus it allows me to set aside a few hours a week to read.

AnvilHead

Many people confuse HIIT with Interval Training, and they're not the same thing. Bumping up the intensity a few notches on a cardio machine (or walking a little faster or whatever) every so often during a workout is aerobic interval training, but it's not HIIT. HIIT is high intensity (hence the 'HI' in the acronym), and it means that you're basically going all-out during the intervals. An example would be doing a 100-yard sprint as fast as you can, walking back to the start point, immediately doing another 100-yard sprint, repeating however many times your workout calls for.

If a workout just makes you feel "irritated" the whole time, maybe it's aerobic interval training. If a workout leaves you gasping for breath, muscles burning from the lactic acid accumulation, trying your hardest not to puke and completely exhausted at the end, that's HIIT. If you're doing a true HIIT workout and can last 30 minutes, you're a superhuman cardio monster

jemhh

I rarely do HIIT. I prefer LISS cardio like walking.

xcalygrl

Like the others have said, if you don't enjoy it, don't do it. You probably won't stick to it long because it will start to feel like a chore.

As for is one better than the other, that's highly dependent on the individual. If you have an hour to dedicate to the elliptical, do that. If you only have 15-20 mins, then HIIT would be the better option.

I personally choose steady state cardio over HIIT. And if given the option, I would chose lifting over cardio every time.

aitapia8

Totally depends on your goal as well as many other factors.
HIIT is amazing because you can get a workout done quickly if you are in a hurry. Additionally, HIIT is great for weight loss when compared to steady state exercise. Now all that is fine and dandy, but ultimately it falls down to your likes and interests. If doing HIIT is something that you absolutely dislike, then steady state is the way to go for you! It's better for you to want to exercise by doing steady state than you dreading exercise because you feel you have to do HIIT.
No matter what you choose, just have fun with it and the results you seek will come.

Azdak

HIIT is a training method, not a weight loss method. To continue improving your fitness, you should include some higher-intensity intervals into your routine. This can be done a number of ways without having to resort to true HIIT style training--tempo runs or intervals, etc.