HIIT vs. Weight Lifting

lectriceye

I need a bit of help on what I should be doing for my strength and how to stay toned and keep some muscle.

I love cardio as I am more of an Ectomorph, and I get a decent amount of it. But I know I need strength. Besides cardio, I do one day HIIT and sometimes weight lifting. I really don't like weight lifting, not that that matters as I will do it if necessary.

But what I really want to know is if I add another day of HIIT instead of weight lifting, will that be just as good as weightlifting? Or am I better off keeping/adding some weights into my routine? I'm not looking to Hulk out but I want to keep some muscle definition (even if it is ever so slight). Advice?

jjpptt2

HIIT and weight lifting stress/train the body in different ways. As such, different adaptations will occur. Whether or not one is "good enough" will depend on your goals and expectations. But they are not the same.

rainbowbow

Male or Female?
What's your desire physique?
What's your desired healthy lifestyle?
Which one do you enjoy more?


Both are excellent forms of exercise; but they're different. If your only concern is a healthy lifestyle, then whichever exercise you like and can stick to is best. if you have specific goals, specify them so we can narrow down what it is you hope to achieve.

lectriceye

Thank you jjpptt2, I had a feeling that might be the answer. I am leaning towards adding in weight lifting, because it certainly feels different!

rainbowbow:

Female, and toned.
I workout 5-6 days a week and I definitely prefer HIIT. I am not a heavy lifter as 30lbs is my heaviest squatting weight I can manage. I know you can't spot reduce so i've been working on carving out some abs for years. Which may never be in my future as I don't think i'm built that way. I did get some nice definition in my arms for once though, and I would like to keep it. I'm not sure if HIIT would be enough to keep it though? In HIIT I use bodyweight and max 12lbs. Weight lifting, i'm using 15lbs for arms...

rybo

Yes, they aren't a substitute for each other. While they both may tax the cns, the physical adaptation they induce are very different.

rainbowbow

lectriceye wrote: »

Thank you jjpptt2, I had a feeling that might be the answer. I am leaning towards adding in weight lifting, because it certainly feels different!

rainbowbow:

Female, and toned.
I workout 5-6 days a week and I definitely prefer HIIT. I am not a heavy lifter as 30lbs is my heaviest squatting weight I can manage. I know you can't spot reduce so i've been working on carving out some abs for years. Which may never be in my future as I don't think i'm built that way. I did get some nice definition in my arms for once though, and I would like to keep it. I'm not sure if HIIT would be enough to keep it though? In HIIT I use bodyweight and max 12lbs. Weight lifting, i'm using 15lbs for arms...

Define "toned".

This is the look most people obtain from long-term HIIT training and controlling calories:



Some defining features are a very slim body with not too much muscle mass (especially on the legs and glutes) and an overall level of leanness. I personally think HIIT is very affective for obtaining that certain look that females (in general) tend to like.

If you goal is to be strong, to have perform certain athletic performance (like sports) then you can still achieve a "toned" look, but some of the best aesthetic physiques of women in this category look more like this:





But in these cases, physique is usually secondary to specific performance goals.



To recap, for general health you can perform whichever one you prefer. If you main goal is aesthetics, determine what specific look you're going for. I've trained many women whose main goal is certainly MUCH more aligned with the first images; but ultimately what seems to be the key is lower (~20%) body fat.

Edit: p.s. Allison stokke is like my ultimate body goals.

lectriceye

rainbowbow:

The look I like most is definitely the HIIT pictures you posted! In fact those are even more toned than I would hope to get. My eating is pretty good, I'm not sure what my fat % is though. Last time it was ever measured it was 14% but that was a long long time ago. I am already lean but I am trying to define muscles now, and get that elusive flat stomach. Muscles are starting to show and i'd say i'm closest to the 2nd HIIT picture down on the left.

My current weekly routine is: pilates, spinning, 1 mixed cardio day, and HIIT for 45mins. I can add in another 45min HIIT but would that be enough?

Thank you so much for the replies! It's really helping me out.

rainbowbow

lectriceye wrote: »

rainbowbow:

The look I like most is definitely the HIIT pictures you posted! In fact those are even more toned than I would hope to get. My eating is pretty good, I'm not sure what my fat % is though. Last time it was ever measured it was 14% but that was a long long time ago. I am already lean but I am trying to define muscles now, and get that elusive flat stomach. Muscles are starting to show and i'd say i'm closest to the 2nd HIIT picture down on the left.

My current weekly routine is: pilates, spinning, 1 mixed cardio day, and HIIT for 45mins. I can add in another 45min HIIT but would that be enough?

Thank you so much for the replies! It's really helping me out.

I'm wondering if you're actually doing HIIT or just body weight intervals because 45 minutes sounds like a lot if you're doing work at the intensity of real HIIT.

I would recommend some of the workouts online by bodyrock which use kettlebells, weighted vests, some parallel bars, etc. that are between 5 and 12 minutes MAX that really up the intensity of you want to get those particular results. Perform this often 3-4 times a week and make sure you're always increasing the intensity, weight, reps performed, etc. to make sure you're progressing accordingly.

Hope this helps!

richardpkennedy1

Love that pole vaulter!

Penthesilea514

Out of curiosity, @rainbowbow, what would you recommend if you liked the other pictures (the more athletic ones)?

sdtrex

The real answer for real people: do whatever you can do and enjoy consistently and whatever works for you. Forget the magic bullet. If you like HIT go for it. If you like walking the dog, great. Just get up and get going.

jjpptt2

sdtrex wrote: »

The real answer for real people: do whatever you can do and enjoy consistently and whatever works for you. Forget the magic bullet. If you like HIT go for it. If you like walking the dog, great. Just get up and get going.

What about real people with real goals? What should they do?

lectriceye

Thanks rainbowbow
I'm probably doing a light version of HIIT. We use weights off and on and do intervals much like Insanity. But it's a group class so I'm not sure. I will look up some of the videos you suggested!

Sdtrex, you are right too. I need to keep that in mind as well!

Luna3386

Sadly, women can't hulk up.

Motorsheen

yeah... I mean, ya know.... if you post more photographs like the ones above, I won't complain, I damn sure won't.