Low Intensity Vs High Intensity

9chimera11
9chimera11 Posts: 40 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've been doing low intensity cardio for about 5 months now but my weightloss is slow. I was ok with the rate because I think I have some hormone imbalances and other things to sort out too...for the last 2 - 3 weeks my scale has been stuck in the same place.
I read this article about how cardio can kill a workout when done more than 45 minutes. It recommends high intensity interval training, which I tried but failed because I'm not fit enough for such intense activities.

this is that article http://www.daveywaveyfitness.com/tips/is-your-cardio-killing-your-results/


I do weight lifting and love it. I eat moderately and most of the time am under my calorie goal. I decided to increase cardio because of this but after reading this article now i'm worried. What is the correct method for cardio? [Except interval training that is.] Doesn't low intensity work at all?

Please help :(

Replies

  • Absref71
    Absref71 Posts: 75 Member
    Check out high intensity interval training, it will increase your overall metabolic rate during the week and you don't have to be fit, just do as much as you can and work on it
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
    Ignore that article. It is dumb and shows that the author lacks a basic understanding of aerobic exercise. Low intensity is fine if that's what you want to do and are eating properly. I would recommend though that you increase the intensity once in a while as that will more effectively increase your fitness level. In the long run, the higher your fitness level the more calories you can burn more easily.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Ignore that article. It is dumb and shows that the author lacks a basic understanding of aerobic exercise. Low intensity is fine if that's what you want to do and are eating properly. I would recommend though that you increase the intensity once in a while as that will more effectively increase your fitness level. In the long run, the higher your fitness level the more calories you can burn more easily.

    Thank you--it took me about 5 seconds to come to the same conclusion. For everyone, here are some ways to tell when an article is not so reliable:

    1. It's written by a guy who calls himself "Davey Wavey".

    2. It's written by a guy who has to post a picture of himself with his pants pulled halfway down to get attention.

    3. No, seriously---the guy calls himself "Davey Wavey".

    4. It uses the following phrase: " more than 45 minutes of cardio...your body will start burning muscle--not fat".

    5. It then constructs a series of arguments based on the false premise in #4.

    6. It uses the term "monotonous cardio" at any point.

    7. It includes an anecdote about a woman who does lots of cardio but isn't seeing results.

    If you come across an article that includes any of these, your BS detector should start flashing red and sirens start going off.

    For most people, it's not a question of one or the other. A good, balanced program will include both. Low-intensity and high-intensity workouts can have a synergistic effect. Just because someone is doing poor quality endurance workouts doesn't mean that endurance workouts are inherently poor quality.
  • stefjc
    stefjc Posts: 484 Member
    Ah but HIT has a lot of good science behind it. Not just some weirdly named bloke.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17177251

    Another one of those Horizon programmes looked at it earlier this year. As an exercise physiologist by education I would recommend anyone try it and see if it works for them. A few years ago (before ill health hit) I suspected that, given family medical history and my somatotype, that I would be one of those for whom it would work. I am unlikely to ever get the genetic test but would jump at it if ever offered!

    So, about 6 years ago I gave up running and started kickboxing on a heavy bag. Surprise surprise. I dropped the pounds and changed body fat% very quickly! Sadly a combination of CFS and 14 syllables worth of aneamia dropped me in my tracks and I became unable to exercise at all!

    Now I am able to exercise again I am power walking to make up for the lowered oxygen carrying capacity of my very anaemic blood and kickboxing on a brand new heavy bag in the garden. I start a very slow reintroduction to exercise this week - I'll probably post about it!
  • Hendrix7
    Hendrix7 Posts: 1,903 Member
    High intensity cardio is great and certainly more timeeffective however, it takes longer to recover from than normal cardio which can impact your weightlifting sessions if you are not careful.

    Bodybuilders and fitness models have used low intensity cardio for decades in order to get into the low bodyfat %'s.

    The trend lately seems to be that it's cool to do HIIT and normal cardio is somehow an inferior workout, however in reality They are both just 'tools' to use in reaching your goal.

    One may be better for you than the other depending on many different variables (intensity/frequency of your other activities, calorie intake, how well you recover etc etc). Like most thin gs you have to try and it see what happens, if you don't feel fit enough to do high intensity cardio yet, don't force yourself to do it feeling like you have to.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Ah but HIT has a lot of good science behind it. Not just some weirdly named bloke.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17177251

    Another one of those Horizon programmes looked at it earlier this year. As an exercise physiologist by education I would recommend anyone try it and see if it works for them. A few years ago (before ill health hit) I suspected that, given family medical history and my somatotype, that I would be one of those for whom it would work. I am unlikely to ever get the genetic test but would jump at it if ever offered!

    So, about 6 years ago I gave up running and started kickboxing on a heavy bag. Surprise surprise. I dropped the pounds and changed body fat% very quickly! Sadly a combination of CFS and 14 syllables worth of aneamia dropped me in my tracks and I became unable to exercise at all!

    Now I am able to exercise again I am power walking to make up for the lowered oxygen carrying capacity of my very anaemic blood and kickboxing on a brand new heavy bag in the garden. I start a very slow reintroduction to exercise this week - I'll probably post about it!

    Nothing I said was in any way a criticism or belittling of HIIT. I was belittling the guy on that website because he was full of crap.

    The fact that people change their workout routines and see different results is not prima facie evidence that the old workout routine was bad and the new one good, or that the new one is better than the previous one.

    Sometimes you get results just from doing something different. Sometimes people were working out the wrong way before. A lot of people do mediocre cardio workouts--I see them in the gym every day--at 30%-40% effort levels and never do anything different. It's not that cardio workouts in general are bad--it's the way THEY are doing them than is ineffective.
  • stefjc
    stefjc Posts: 484 Member
    I'm sorry you took my post as a criticism of yours, Azdak.

    It must be the lecturer in me, I can't sound casual in writing!
  • anemoneprose
    anemoneprose Posts: 1,805 Member
    High intensity cardio is great and certainly more timeeffective however, it takes longer to recover from than normal cardio which can impact your weightlifting sessions if you are not careful.

    Bodybuilders and fitness models have used low intensity cardio for decades in order to get into the low bodyfat %'s.

    The trend lately seems to be that it's cool to do HIIT and normal cardio is somehow an inferior workout, however in reality They are both just 'tools' to use in reaching your goal.

    One may be better for you than the other depending on many different variables (intensity/frequency of your other activities, calorie intake, how well you recover etc etc). Like most thin gs you have to try and it see what happens, if you don't feel fit enough to do high intensity cardio yet, don't force yourself to do it feeling like you have to.

    I'm finally appreciating this, having been drawn in by interval (and circuit) training. I have found no way to reliably and painlessly get either of those in, and at the same time meet my goal of including 2 challenging strength sessions in any given week. I don't think I've done my muscles any favours with the 4-day breaks required to recover.

    eta: If you're 'not fit enough' yet to do intense intervals, I don't think you should. It'll probably stress your joints.

    I've also read that there aren't many benefits to very long cardio sessions (more than an hour). So maybe stick to that, and your strength training, and I guess look at your diet and logging again to make sure your calorie count is right. I just joined this site, but have noticed that counts are pretty variable for the same foods.
  • stefjc
    stefjc Posts: 484 Member
    You can do HIT without stressing joints too much. Cycling is one example, it is low impact and the action supports the knees in a safe movement. Rowing, ellipsis machines are also good, I used to use them with clients with osteopenia and they could work hard.

    http://www.livestrong.com/exercises-for-obesity/

    There is a lot of straight forward advice and ideas on livestrong, most of which I would agree with!
  • GorgeouSaur
    GorgeouSaur Posts: 29
    http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/women-running-into-trouble/

    Its about cardio in general not just running
  • stefjc
    stefjc Posts: 484 Member
    I was going to argue with that a little bit - until he got to the cheesecake and taking a spoon to the buffet part.

    Great article, just the right amount of science, vitriole and a nasty sense of humour :happy:
  • GorgeouSaur
    GorgeouSaur Posts: 29
    They have a lot of good articles on that website :)
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    I'm sorry you took my post as a criticism of yours, Azdak.

    It must be the lecturer in me, I can't sound casual in writing!

    I didn't take it as criticsm at all. I just don't think that most people wrongly assume that if they do something different and see results, that is proof that the new exercise is "better", when in fact it is only different.

    It's also ironic that the whole "long, slow distance" training philosophy emerged in the 1970s by guys who had been beaten down & their bodies wrecked by excessive HIIT, which was the predominant training at the time.
  • gxm17
    gxm17 Posts: 374
    I've been doing the Turbo Fire Starter HIITs. They're low impact and there's also a modifier for people who want lower intensity or can't yet touch the floor. If you're interested, just make sure to order the Fire Starter kit, and not the full Turbo Fire program. The Fire Starter kit is less expensive and has two HIITs, one steady-state cardio workout and one 10-minute stretch.

    For me, the low impact HIITs really helped me bust through a plateau. But everyone is different, so HIIT may not be for you.

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