Stop the steady state cardio today! Trust me...

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Replies

  • dorianaldyn
    dorianaldyn Posts: 611 Member
    I trained for two half marathons and didn't lose a pound. I joined here and started counting calories and also did the first half of INSANITY and lost 15 lbs. I'm sure diet had something to do with it too, but I know the HIIT helped.

    Having said that, I will begin training for a marathon in the new year, so I have a lot of steady state cardio in my future! But I'll mix in some weight work during that training and once the marathon is over I'll probably go back to HIIT.

    ETA: Oh yeah, and I should mention that this weekend I just did my 3rd half marathon after losing 15 lbs and doing the 1st half of INSANITY and I beat my PR by 10 minutes! Considering my first two half marathons were within 1 minute of each other for time, 10 minutes is a huge difference.
    The weight loss gave you that extra 10 mins, nothing else. Each lbs you lose equals about 40 secs on a half marathon everything else being equal.

    Interesting, thanks for that... I knew that carrying around 15 fewer pounds for 13.1 miles should make it easier physically. And, while I have no idea how much watching my calories vs. HIIT played into that weight loss, I at least know that HIIT was a part of it and for that I'm grateful.
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
    I enjoy running for an hour do it every day at my lunch hour. Sometimes Ill run 16 miles about 2 hours becouse I enjoy it. And while running My HR is at about averages 165 BPM for my runs. When I go up hills ill kick it in a bit to keep it going. My max HR is 176 so I maintain (steady state an anywhere between 80 and 90 percent of my max).

    High five to a fellow runner with high heart rate while running. I'm supposed to have a max heart rate of 193. I've seen plenty of 180+ on my runs. Usually average 175ish and I could pass the talk test. If I make an effort to keep my run "easy" I'll usually be just under 170, and that's supposed to be 88% of my max heart rate! Also, I'm going pretty slow and this is still what I get. I can't get past 160 or 165 max doing most aerobic videos or past 150 on the stationary bike. Guessing the muscle fatigue just won't let me get there. So I guess we are already doing HIIT, for 1-2 hours several days a week...or maybe I am missing some benefit here.

    I say do what you enjoy. I enjoy doing aerobics every now and then, but as stated above I'm going to reach/maintain a higher heart rate (and therefore higher calorie burn) much easier on a run than doing anything else. So I have seen no evidence to believe in the "magic" of HIIT, only to agree with others that if you enjoy stick with it.
  • Martoch
    Martoch Posts: 166
    Also you know absolutely nothing about me so making an assumption as to where I am in my life or what my goals are is rather presumptuous.

    I must admit that you are correct and I sincerely apologize...forgive me?
  • Chipmaniac
    Chipmaniac Posts: 642 Member
    Before I started biking, which has its own natural intervals in most cases, I used to do an hour of HIIT on the treadmill. I lost a lot of weight and fat doing that, but I it's mostly a function of the time I spent and the fact that I consistently pushed the intensity above my aerobic threshold. At least once a day we get some broseph posting saying that whatever exercise you are doing is wrong. Nevermind all of the people have been successful doing the now verboten technique. No, the shirtless buff dudes know all.

    It would be pretty hilarious if nobody was negatively impacted by the "advice". However, if someone who was happy and successful doing steady-state cardio now questions their routine unnecessarily, then that's a bad thing.
  • Psychedelicately
    Psychedelicately Posts: 81 Member
    :)
  • Martoch
    Martoch Posts: 166
    Before I started biking, which has its own natural intervals in most cases, I used to do an hour of HIIT on the treadmill. I lost a lot of weight and fat doing that, but I it's mostly a function of the time I spent and the fact that I consistently pushed the intensity above my aerobic threshold. At least once a day we get some broseph posting saying that whatever exercise you are doing is wrong. Nevermind all of the people have been successful doing the now verboten technique. No, the shirtless buff dudes know all.

    It would be pretty hilarious if nobody was negatively impacted by the "advice". However, if someone who was happy and successful doing steady-state cardio now questions their routine unnecessarily, then that's a bad thing.

    I should have lurked before posting, perhaps...so I would have seen all of the other shirtless brosephs posting similar threads. I can see it from your point of view as well. I apologize for what seems like a negatively impacting thread for those that take it in such a way because I seem like every other shirtless buff dude. I had nothing but good intentions.
  • Thanks for the links - I am definitely going to read them later. I love running, but lately, I feel like I need to try something new while I am at the gym.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    I enjoy running for an hour do it every day at my lunch hour. Sometimes Ill run 16 miles about 2 hours becouse I enjoy it. And while running My HR is at about averages 165 BPM for my runs. When I go up hills ill kick it in a bit to keep it going. My max HR is 176 so I maintain (steady state an anywhere between 80 and 90 percent of my max).

    High five to a fellow runner with high heart rate while running. I'm supposed to have a max heart rate of 193. I've seen plenty of 180+ on my runs. Usually average 175ish and I could pass the talk test. If I make an effort to keep my run "easy" I'll usually be just under 170, and that's supposed to be 88% of my max heart rate! Also, I'm going pretty slow and this is still what I get. I can't get past 160 or 165 max doing most aerobic videos or past 150 on the stationary bike. Guessing the muscle fatigue just won't let me get there. So I guess we are already doing HIIT, for 1-2 hours several days a week...or maybe I am missing some benefit here.

    I say do what you enjoy. I enjoy doing aerobics every now and then, but as stated above I'm going to reach/maintain a higher heart rate (and therefore higher calorie burn) much easier on a run than doing anything else. So I have seen no evidence to believe in the "magic" of HIIT, only to agree with others that if you enjoy stick with it.
    You're not doing HIIT just b/c your HR is high....it just means you have a higher than formula-predicted max HR. The 220-age formula is pretty bogus- it misses the mark for as many people as it works for, it's more a statistical average than something that should be applied to individual cases. If you feel that you are aerobically fit enough to do so, you can do a max HR test to get a better number to use for effective zone training. 88% of a meaningless number is a meaningless percentage.
  • gingerveg
    gingerveg Posts: 748 Member
    Unless you're training to run for distance, why waste so much time doing steady state cardio? I just saw a thread about a woman running for an hour on the treadmill...wow! I'm not judging, so please don't get me wrong. You guys seriously need to look into HIIT! So many benefits!!!
    A few...
    ~ Takes much less time
    ~ Burns MORE calories...yes, more!
    ~ Increased metabolism
    ~ More fat loss vs muscle loss
    Etc...

    Don't take my word for it...here are a few links to get your motivated.
    :wink:

    13 HIIT Articles
    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbinfo.php?page=HIIT

    8 Benefits of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
    http://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/8-benefits-high-intensity-interval-training-hiit


    You're welcome!
    :flowerforyou:

    ~ Mike

    Hey Mike thanks for the link. I tried the beginner workout today. This reminds me of Jillian Michaels videos but I believe she called her workouts interval training. Her videos were harder than the beginning HIIT video that I did today and they also definitely worked for me! So do you or anyone else know the difference between interval and HIIT? I do think I will be following the fitnessblender website and trying some of the harder HIIT routines. Anyway, I do still like to do cardio but I will definitely roll these in too---thanks for the info and links very cool of you!
  • Martoch
    Martoch Posts: 166

    Hey Mike thanks for the link. I tried the beginner workout today. This reminds me of Jillian Michaels videos but I believe she called her workouts interval training. Her videos were harder than the beginning HIIT video that I did today and they also definitely worked for me! So do you or anyone else know the difference between interval and HIIT? I do think I will be following the fitnessblender website and trying some of the harder HIIT routines. Anyway, I do still like to do cardio but I will definitely roll these in too---thanks for the info and links very cool of you!

    You're welcome!
    :smile:

    HIIT = interval. High Intensity Interval Training
    :wink:
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
    http://www.trimmedandtoned.com/a-hiit-workout-routine-to-burn-belly-fat-fast

    How about BOTH!! Re-posting this article, yet again.

    And please bro-seph... stop using the phrase "trust me". Unless you're a used car salesman, that phrase should be struck from your vocabulary. No offense to used car salesmen.

    she is correct. trust me.

    All this....And NO!! I won't, cause I love running as much as I love lifting heavy and doing kettlebell bootcamp (call it HIIT, intervals or just fun that gets my heartrate up and my but firm.....)
    Drop the orders "stop doing whaterver" together with the "trust me"...... Both are equally annoying....
  • bpotts44
    bpotts44 Posts: 1,066 Member
    I trained for two half marathons and didn't lose a pound. I joined here and started counting calories and also did the first half of INSANITY and lost 15 lbs. I'm sure diet had something to do with it too, but I know the HIIT helped.

    Having said that, I will begin training for a marathon in the new year, so I have a lot of steady state cardio in my future! But I'll mix in some weight work during that training and once the marathon is over I'll probably go back to HIIT.

    ETA: Oh yeah, and I should mention that this weekend I just did my 3rd half marathon after losing 15 lbs and doing the 1st half of INSANITY and I beat my PR by 10 minutes! Considering my first two half marathons were within 1 minute of each other for time, 10 minutes is a huge difference.
    The weight loss gave you that extra 10 mins, nothing else. Each lbs you lose equals about 40 secs on a half marathon everything else being equal.

    Also, watching the diet on MFP gave you the loss, not doing Insanity vs running.
  • Martoch
    Martoch Posts: 166

    Drop the orders "stop doing whaterver" together with the "trust me"...... Both are equally annoying....

    Yes...I get it...BAD choice of words...I got it...loud and clear...I think we can move on past this point now.
    :wink:
  • I do both HIIT and steady state cardio through out my week. I love HIIT for getting my heart going and feeling the sweat and I also do enjoy steady state cardio as other people have mentioned for the stress release. I do both in one session, I start off with my HIIT program and if I am feeling like I still have gas in the tank I will continue on with steady state cardio for another half hour or so. I rarely do steady cardio on its own, simply because I am easily distracted and easily bored.
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
    I enjoy running for an hour do it every day at my lunch hour. Sometimes Ill run 16 miles about 2 hours becouse I enjoy it. And while running My HR is at about averages 165 BPM for my runs. When I go up hills ill kick it in a bit to keep it going. My max HR is 176 so I maintain (steady state an anywhere between 80 and 90 percent of my max).

    High five to a fellow runner with high heart rate while running. I'm supposed to have a max heart rate of 193. I've seen plenty of 180+ on my runs. Usually average 175ish and I could pass the talk test. If I make an effort to keep my run "easy" I'll usually be just under 170, and that's supposed to be 88% of my max heart rate! Also, I'm going pretty slow and this is still what I get. I can't get past 160 or 165 max doing most aerobic videos or past 150 on the stationary bike. Guessing the muscle fatigue just won't let me get there. So I guess we are already doing HIIT, for 1-2 hours several days a week...or maybe I am missing some benefit here.

    I say do what you enjoy. I enjoy doing aerobics every now and then, but as stated above I'm going to reach/maintain a higher heart rate (and therefore higher calorie burn) much easier on a run than doing anything else. So I have seen no evidence to believe in the "magic" of HIIT, only to agree with others that if you enjoy stick with it.
    You're not doing HIIT just b/c your HR is high....it just means you have a higher than formula-predicted max HR. The 220-age formula is pretty bogus- it misses the mark for as many people as it works for, it's more a statistical average than something that should be applied to individual cases. If you feel that you are aerobically fit enough to do so, you can do a max HR test to get a better number to use for effective zone training. 88% of a meaningless number is a meaningless percentage.

    I took a medically supervised stress test over the summer. So that's where I'm getting my max heart rate from. That was the max number I saw in the test. Possibly my actually max is 2-5 bpm higher, but that doesn't change the overall range by much...
  • FitandFab33
    FitandFab33 Posts: 718 Member
    Before I started biking, which has its own natural intervals in most cases, I used to do an hour of HIIT on the treadmill. I lost a lot of weight and fat doing that, but I it's mostly a function of the time I spent and the fact that I consistently pushed the intensity above my aerobic threshold. At least once a day we get some broseph posting saying that whatever exercise you are doing is wrong. Nevermind all of the people have been successful doing the now verboten technique. No, the shirtless buff dudes know all.

    It would be pretty hilarious if nobody was negatively impacted by the "advice". However, if someone who was happy and successful doing steady-state cardio now questions their routine unnecessarily, then that's a bad thing.

    I should have lurked before posting, perhaps...so I would have seen all of the other shirtless brosephs posting similar threads. I can see it from your point of view as well. I apologize for what seems like a negatively impacting thread for those that take it in such a way because I seem like every other shirtless buff dude. I had nothing but good intentions.

    Just so you know, I didn't call you a bro-seph because you have a shirtless pic. I in no way shape or form want to discourage any buff shirtless man. :-) I called you bro-seph for the "trust me" title.

    ETA: It made me grin that you used the term. And kudos for the good humor!
  • Martoch
    Martoch Posts: 166

    Just so you know, I didn't call you a bro-seph because you have a shirtless pic. I in no way shape or form want to discourage any buff shirtless man. :-) I called you bro-seph for the "trust me" title.

    ETA: It made me grin that you used the term. And kudos for the good humor!

    Haha...I like your style. I will never, ever use "trust me" in a title again...trust me! :wink:

    I will always be the first to admit when I'm wrong and laugh at my own expense. Glad I could make you grin...it's actually one of my stronger abilities. I love to make people laugh.
    benchpresssmiley9hk.gif
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    See, you basically just pissed off all those who enjoy cardio... those who run, ride, swim... or do them all in the same race. Some also enjoy their workouts as they get progressively harder. I did 8 years of kickboxing training that got progressively harder and harder... and produced great results! But the most important thing here, in my opinion, is simply that people eat for whatever it is they're doing. I will say, though, that despite being a runner (and you can't make me stop), I've started lifting SL5x5 and am seeing awesome results. Now it's a balancing act to try and lift and run at the same time while improving on both. Not sure if that's possible... we'll see.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    See, you basically just pissed off all those who enjoy cardio... those who run, ride, swim... or do them all in the same race. Some also enjoy their workouts as they get progressively harder. I did 8 years of kickboxing training that got progressively harder and harder... and produced great results! But the most important thing here, in my opinion, is simply that people eat for whatever it is they're doing. I will say, though, that despite being a runner (and you can't make me stop), I've started lifting SL5x5 and am seeing awesome results. Now it's a balancing act to try and lift and run at the same time while improving on both. Not sure if that's possible... we'll see.
    It's possible! :bigsmile:
    You'll probably get slower progress lifting than if it was your only focus, but you can definitely progress at both at the same time- maybe 75% instead of 100% if either one was the only goal.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    By observation, I don’t know whether this is a feedback effect (pun) of HIIT training, but I had a feeding frenzy late night a 24 hour window following a 20 minute HIIT sprint run the day before so I don't know if it was my body craving to replace fats released in the sprints – or a poor excuse!

    - 8 slices of (wholemeal) bread heavily spread with margarine (over 1000 cals) and two apples - because I felt guilty about the bread and butter!

    A double egg sandwich with spread (450 cals at the most) would have been lower in calories and would have held off any further snacking, but that was not where my head was at the time.

    I'm back on track now, but I am unsure about doing HIIT running again if it is going to trigger a late night binge - my old habits which got me here in the first place. I don’t think I would have had the feedback effect had I gone for a steady state run of 30 minutes.
  • mareeee1234
    mareeee1234 Posts: 674 Member
    I love steady runs - nothing can replace the feeling I get afterwards, and it is still beneficial to fat loss ect as a good run is still a good calorie burner

    BUT, I also understand the importance of HIIT (and its efficiency in calorie burning), as well as the importance of mixing up your workouts - so I do BOTH :happy: Works for me!
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    What a great intro, bro. :huh:

    As a long time, long distance cyclist with a long past racing period - I understand the interest of HIIT, IT, etc. and getting out of your comfort zone. But in this thread and your "no cardio" advice in another thread leaves me shaking my head. Here you have the gall to criticize those that enjoy themselves with some pseudo social theory about instant gratification but push for HIIT because it gives "faster results". :laugh:

    And yes, I only do what I enjoy overall. I enjoy pushing myself. If we listened to you there would be no long distance swimmers, hikers, climbers, riders.
    HIIT can have a place in a training routine, but it isn't going to replace my core activities - ever.

    It's not about enjoying every moment of it but having a good overall view of the activity, the effort, the pain, the results and rewards.

    ETA: I see that you got it about the thread title. Enjoy your day! :drinker:
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    Unless you're training to run for distance, why waste so much time doing steady state cardio? I just saw a thread about a woman running for an hour on the treadmill...wow! I'm not judging, so please don't get me wrong. You guys seriously need to look into HIIT! So many benefits!!!
    A few...
    ~ Takes much less time
    ~ Burns MORE calories...yes, more!
    ~ Increased metabolism
    ~ More fat loss vs muscle loss
    Etc...

    Don't take my word for it...here are a few links to get your motivated.
    :wink:

    13 HIIT Articles
    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbinfo.php?page=HIIT

    8 Benefits of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
    http://www.shape.com/fitness/workouts/8-benefits-high-intensity-interval-training-hiit


    You're welcome!
    :flowerforyou:

    ~ Mike
    ....
  • snowbike
    snowbike Posts: 153 Member
    Unless you're training to run for distance, why waste so much time doing steady state cardio?

    Correction! If you're training for endurance, HIIT IS what you Should do!!!

    I went from 19st and unable to bike more than 10 miles to 12.5st full blown endurance event addict using a combination of HIIT/weight training and one long ride every other weekend.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    Can anyone recommend a HIIT running routine? - ideally one that can be done in 'the real world' rather than on treadmill or running track (we have lots of hills around here).

    Also, taken from one of the links above
    LOSE 100 MORE CALORIES

    In a study presented at the 2007 annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine by Florida State University (Tallahassee), researchers reported that subjects who performed HIIT burned almost 10 percent more calories during the 24 hours following exercise as compared to those who performed continuous steady-state exercise, despite the fact that the total calories burned during the workouts were the same.

    In addition to the increase in resting metabolism, research confirms that HIIT is effective at enhancing the metabolic machinery in muscle cells that promote fat burning and blunt fat production:
    A 100 calories doesn't sound bad. 10% doesn't sound great, however.
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
    Can anyone recommend a HIIT running routine? - ideally one that can be done in 'the real world' rather than on treadmill or running track (we have lots of hills around here).

    If you have a lot of hills around your area then you can use your natural environment to great effect.

    Find a steep hill which it takes you about 15-30 seconds to run up as fast as you can. Then walk back down slowly. Does this for about 15 minutes with a five minute warm up and cool down either side.
    10% doesn't sound great, however.

    That's because it isn't. The "calorie burn" and "body composition" benefits of HIIT are routinely overblown, overstated or flat out wrong and based on minimal scientific evidence at best. It also routinely overlooks the way that most people do cardio in a real world scenario. Sure of you have matched output (say 20 minutes of HIIT v 20 minutes of steady state) then HIIT will come out tops in the calorie burn stakes. That's pretty obvious really as the greater the intensity the greater the energy cost.

    The thing with true HIIT is that it is really difficult. It's not called "high intensity" for nothing. Therefore you can only do it for a short time. You can do steady state for much longer. Also, if you are like many people who do cardio outdoors which has an undulating terrain meaning varying intensities the calorie burn you get from that will dwarf a shorter HIIT session even factoring in EPOC.

    You know what HIIT is great for? Improving V02 max. Everything else is speculation....
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    So I could forget all the science about HIIT and so on and just run straight up my local Carn Brae rather than around it and I'll be doing the same thing, if not more intense. The answer has been behind my workplace all along.

    Now, where are my off-road running shoes .....
  • is running for 20 sec and walking for 40sec for about 20 minutes considered HIIT?
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
    is running for 20 sec and walking for 40sec for about 20 minutes considered HIIT?

    Yes, if the intensity of the running part is very high and the walking is light. If you are a beginner you might want to stretch the recovery (walking part) a little longer until your fitness improves.

    If the running part is not very high then you are doing standard intervals.
  • Thomasm198
    Thomasm198 Posts: 3,189 Member
    Unless you're training to run for distance, why waste so much time doing steady state cardio?
    I am training to do a marathon. wait.gif