Interval Training for Fat Loss: HIIT or Miss?
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AlwaysWanderer
Posts: 641 Member
Interval Training for Fat Loss: HIIT or Miss?
http://muscleevo.com/interval-training-fat-loss/
Thought it was pretty interesting, so here you go. Just food for thought.
(there are some diagrams that couldn't be pasted - just follow the link)
BY CHRISTIAN FINN
There is much talk these days about the benefits of interval training for fat loss.
Unfortunately, many of these benefits have been distorted and exaggerated to the point that interval training, or more specifically high-intensity interval training (HIIT), has developed a reputation that it doesn’t really deserve.
“The great enemy of the truth,” said John F. Kennedy “is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
So in case you’ve been taken in by any of the persistent, persuasive but unrealistic myths about interval training and fat loss, I want to give you a “behind the scenes” look at a study that generated a lot of media interest when it was first published.
News reports called it a revolution. People on weight loss forums spent a lot of time talking about it. But when I looked at the research for myself, the results were nowhere near as exciting as they first appeared.
I’ll explain why in a moment. First, let’s take a closer look at what actually happened in the study.
Australian researchers assigned a group of overweight women to one of three groups. Group one served as a control group and did nothing, while group two performed regular steady-state cardio.
Group three (the interval group) were put through a 20 minute cycling regime in which they sprinted on a stationary bike for 8 seconds followed by 12 seconds of cycling lightly. The women performed the workout three times a week.
“They lost three times more weight than other women who exercised at a continuous, regular pace for 40 minutes,” says study co-author Professor Steve Boutcher. “Walking for 60 minutes, seven times a week does not result in much fat loss, usually 1.15 kilograms over 15 weeks,” he says. “For a lot of overweight people this is going to be a revolution.”
At the end of the 15-week study, the interval-training group had lost, on average, 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) of fat. The steady-state group gained 0.5 kilograms (1.1 pounds).
The amount of fat lost in the interval training group wasn’t all that great — 5.5 pounds over 15 weeks, which works out at just 0.4 pounds of fat loss per week. This figure doesn’t really grab your attention like “three times greater weight loss.”
In fact, I can’t figure out how the researchers arrived at a figure of “three times greater weight loss,” as the interval training group lost weight while the steady-state group gained it.
Much has been made of the fact that the interval group lost more fat from their stomach. And when you look at the figure below, the first impression you get is that there was quite a dramatic difference compared to the steady-state group.
However, take a look at the numbers down the left hand side. You’ll see that the interval group lost just 0.15 kilograms of abdominal fat. That’s less than half a pound. Which over a 15-week period, is hardly worth getting excited about.
What about diet? How did that affect the results?
Calorie intake was monitored using 3-day diet diaries that were completed at the start and end of the study.
According to these diaries, the steady state group reported a decrease in their calorie intake over the course of the study in the region of 400 calories per day.
Yet despite this reported reduction in calorie intake, the women in this group actually GAINED weight.
The problem here is that self-reporting is a notoriously inaccurate way to estimate calorie intake. Some studies show that people underestimate their calorie intake by up to 50%. In other words, someone who says they are eating 1000 calories per day may really be eating 2000 calories.
The researchers themselves also point out that their estimates of calorie intake “lack sufficient precision.”
“Our estimates of energy expenditure and intake lack sufficient precision to comfortably conclude that energy balance was unaffected in the [interval training group]. Thus, it is feasible that the change in fat mass that occurred in the [interval group] may have been influenced by unreported changes in diet.”
Or to put it another way, changes in calorie intake might have been primarily responsible for any weight loss. Or they might have had nothing to do with it. We don’t really know for sure.
This is not a criticism of interval training, which – as I wrote in this article published well over a decade ago – is both an efficient and effective way to improve your cardiovascular fitness.
In fact, when Roger Bannister became the first man in history to run a mile in less than four minutes, a large part of his speed and stamina was built using interval training. Many of Bannister’s training sessions were so short that he was able to do them in his lunch break.
I still think interval training is a great way to lose fat. It’s something I’ve used myself on numerous occasions over the years.
But there are many different ways to do cardio. All of them have their place at different times and for different people. Interval training is but one tool in the box, and is a long way from being the magic bullet that some are claiming.
http://muscleevo.com/interval-training-fat-loss/
Thought it was pretty interesting, so here you go. Just food for thought.
(there are some diagrams that couldn't be pasted - just follow the link)
BY CHRISTIAN FINN
There is much talk these days about the benefits of interval training for fat loss.
Unfortunately, many of these benefits have been distorted and exaggerated to the point that interval training, or more specifically high-intensity interval training (HIIT), has developed a reputation that it doesn’t really deserve.
“The great enemy of the truth,” said John F. Kennedy “is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
So in case you’ve been taken in by any of the persistent, persuasive but unrealistic myths about interval training and fat loss, I want to give you a “behind the scenes” look at a study that generated a lot of media interest when it was first published.
News reports called it a revolution. People on weight loss forums spent a lot of time talking about it. But when I looked at the research for myself, the results were nowhere near as exciting as they first appeared.
I’ll explain why in a moment. First, let’s take a closer look at what actually happened in the study.
Australian researchers assigned a group of overweight women to one of three groups. Group one served as a control group and did nothing, while group two performed regular steady-state cardio.
Group three (the interval group) were put through a 20 minute cycling regime in which they sprinted on a stationary bike for 8 seconds followed by 12 seconds of cycling lightly. The women performed the workout three times a week.
“They lost three times more weight than other women who exercised at a continuous, regular pace for 40 minutes,” says study co-author Professor Steve Boutcher. “Walking for 60 minutes, seven times a week does not result in much fat loss, usually 1.15 kilograms over 15 weeks,” he says. “For a lot of overweight people this is going to be a revolution.”
At the end of the 15-week study, the interval-training group had lost, on average, 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) of fat. The steady-state group gained 0.5 kilograms (1.1 pounds).
The amount of fat lost in the interval training group wasn’t all that great — 5.5 pounds over 15 weeks, which works out at just 0.4 pounds of fat loss per week. This figure doesn’t really grab your attention like “three times greater weight loss.”
In fact, I can’t figure out how the researchers arrived at a figure of “three times greater weight loss,” as the interval training group lost weight while the steady-state group gained it.
Much has been made of the fact that the interval group lost more fat from their stomach. And when you look at the figure below, the first impression you get is that there was quite a dramatic difference compared to the steady-state group.
However, take a look at the numbers down the left hand side. You’ll see that the interval group lost just 0.15 kilograms of abdominal fat. That’s less than half a pound. Which over a 15-week period, is hardly worth getting excited about.
What about diet? How did that affect the results?
Calorie intake was monitored using 3-day diet diaries that were completed at the start and end of the study.
According to these diaries, the steady state group reported a decrease in their calorie intake over the course of the study in the region of 400 calories per day.
Yet despite this reported reduction in calorie intake, the women in this group actually GAINED weight.
The problem here is that self-reporting is a notoriously inaccurate way to estimate calorie intake. Some studies show that people underestimate their calorie intake by up to 50%. In other words, someone who says they are eating 1000 calories per day may really be eating 2000 calories.
The researchers themselves also point out that their estimates of calorie intake “lack sufficient precision.”
“Our estimates of energy expenditure and intake lack sufficient precision to comfortably conclude that energy balance was unaffected in the [interval training group]. Thus, it is feasible that the change in fat mass that occurred in the [interval group] may have been influenced by unreported changes in diet.”
Or to put it another way, changes in calorie intake might have been primarily responsible for any weight loss. Or they might have had nothing to do with it. We don’t really know for sure.
This is not a criticism of interval training, which – as I wrote in this article published well over a decade ago – is both an efficient and effective way to improve your cardiovascular fitness.
In fact, when Roger Bannister became the first man in history to run a mile in less than four minutes, a large part of his speed and stamina was built using interval training. Many of Bannister’s training sessions were so short that he was able to do them in his lunch break.
I still think interval training is a great way to lose fat. It’s something I’ve used myself on numerous occasions over the years.
But there are many different ways to do cardio. All of them have their place at different times and for different people. Interval training is but one tool in the box, and is a long way from being the magic bullet that some are claiming.
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Replies
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Not to mention the fact that the much spoken of EPOC from HIIT amounts to about 45 calories over 24 hours. So you burn the extra equivalent of 4 pieces of sugar free gum. Also, if you subtract out the EPOC you get from a similar time of steady state exercise you reduce your extra burn to less than two sticks of sugar free gum.0
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exactly :happy:Not to mention the fact that the much spoken of EPOC from HIIT amounts to about 45 calories over 24 hours. So you burn the extra equivalent of 4 pieces of sugar free gum. Also, if you subtract out the EPOC you get from a similar time of steady state exercise you reduce your extra burn to less than two sticks of sugar free gum.0 -
All I know is I've tried steady state cardio and HIIT (both elliptical) and my weight loss rate increased with HIIT, diet staying the same. That's enough proof for me to keep doing HIIT0
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