Cardio, slow&long or short&fast, hiit?

I've been wondering the same thing, so I'm glad you asked this question. Recently I heard that you should do cardio for longer periods of time at a steady medium rate.

I do both at different times... I'm curious to see what other answers are but this is what I do:

On strength training days, I do "lighter cardio" (I consider light to be lower in calories - so it's usually about 100-150 on strength days) and I do intervals on the treadmill but not hiit 'cause I would wear myself out going as fast as I could...so I just go as fast I can comfortably for a long time and then go back down to walking fast and back and forth.

On just cardio days, I do 30-45 minutes on the elliptical, steadily burning 10 calories per minute or higher so I'm going at a medium rate for a long period of time...

This seems to work for me as I've been losing 1 lb. per week for a few weeks now that I've been on MFP. If there's something else I should be doing that would speed up the process a little, I wouldn't mind hearing about it!!

This may be the subject of my next blog post, but short version:

YES.

My personal feeling is that your primary focus should be on constructing an effective *fitness* program, based on your current fitness level, ability, preferences, goals, etc.

An effective fitness program includes: endurance cardio workouts, tempo cardio workouts, interval cardio workouts, plus different kinds of strength training workouts.

How each of those are defined will depend a great deal on your current fitness level and ability. To tell someone who is overweight and deconditioned to start off doing HIIT is inappropriate. To tell someone to do "fat burning" workouts is nonsense. Plus, depending on your level of body fat, a certain type of workout might have a different result.

The only "general" advice that I would give as a "one size fits all" approach is that a) your program should (must?) include cardio and strength training and b) your workouts should have a focus and a plan. That means that whatever the plan for that day is--easy, medium, hard--you have a plan and you focus your efforts to complete it. It means that you are not just doing the same workout at the same workload every day, but tracking your efforts and challenging yourself when necessary to continue to improve. With strength training it means that, whatever intensity you choose, you focus on good form and you focus yourself on working to the right level of "failure" each set at the desired intensity. With both ardio and strength, it means you progressively increase the workloads as you progress.

There is NO "one size fits all" program. There is no "magic bullet" routine that will automatically work for everyone. Much of the "research" that is done to "prove" the "superiority" of one routine over another is done for short periods of time on small groups of subjects. Very few studies compare the long-term effects of any of these programs or seriously look at long-term comparisons.

Lots of oeople have lost lots of weight without ever doing one second of HIIT. The same in reverse. People have effectively lost weight doing very little cardio. People have lost weight doing almost no strength training. Some people have lost weight without doing any exercise at all.

Consistency and focus--both in your exercise plan and your eating plan--are a hundred times more important than choosing the current "hot trend", and will have FAR greater positive results, no matter what strategy you employ.

Excellent response Adzak. We all need to remember that we need to do what is best for ourselves and plan our activities and eating accordingly. Thank you!

I run about 3 times a week for 30-40 min and then on the days that I am not doing that I have been trying the tabata protocol on the bike. It's pretty crazy how much you feel it for only doing a small amout of work. The week that I started doing that it budge the scale outta a plateau. Try looking it up.

Fo rmy weight loss I have been following the interval cardio training. It is easy to do when working out to the P90 programs because Tony Horton takes your heart rate up and down throughout DVD. However, you have to "work" at it on the eliptical but can be done easily by using the different program on the machine. I use the interval one that gives me the stairstep system of incline and resistance going up each minute and then coming back down. It takes my heart rate up from 120 bpm to 145-150 bpm. By doing this about 45 minutes I'm getting into the "fat burning" and "cardio" zones and utlimately buring a lot of calories.

I change it up. Try to never do the same routines 2x in a row. Some days I do slow and steady on the stationary bike for very long periods. I'm sweating, but not panting, and able to read or watch tv. Other days, I do medium speed/difficulty on the elliptical for 30-45 minutes. I usually have a very red face by the end and struggle to finish. Sometimes, I do hill intervals at max level and push as hard as I possibly can during the easy parts for 15 mins. This one usually has me crawling away from the machine. Then sometimes I do the rowing machine for something different and to get my upper body involved. I alternate my cardio with strength training days.