This might sound like a stupid question...

gtfosnorlax

I hope I don't sound stupid, but I am wondering... When I do cardio, I like to mix things up so I don't get bored.
I cannot do long durations at the same speed for 45 minutes (boring and I don't feel like I've accomplished anything) but
I cannot do short durations with HIIT (too short, don't feel like I've accomplished anything and don't feel comfortable doing 30 seconds sprints then 30 seconds jogging over and over again) either. So I sorta mix the two up, I like to do cardio for about an hour and a half, but I mix things up by warming up, going to a higher resistance (forgot to mention, I like the Elliptical and the AMT) then after a few minutes I will go to a much higher resistance. The last few minutes before I go back to a lower resistance I will try to pedal as fast as I can, then go back to regular 'jogging'. I do try to stay in my target heart rate zone, too.

Of course, after this I try to eat my calorie limit and all that fun stuff.

I'm not losing as much as I thought I would, I'm am wondering if this is because I am building muscle...
I read that HIIT alone is good for muscle building and low intensity, long duration is for weight loss.
Because I am mixing the two, is it possible my body is doing both at the same time?

I feel like I just answered my own question, but I'd like some other opinions too.
Or maybe even to know that I'm not the only one who does this sorta workout, lol.

lilchino4af

With workouts like that where you're building muscle while burning fat the best measure of success would be to take measurements because your success won't always show on the scale (muscle mass will offset fat loss). So while the scale seems to be at a stand still or moving very slowly, you could be losing inches around your bust, waist, hips, thighs, etc. Hope this helps!