HIIT Workouts vs Cardio Workouts

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  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    ashjongfit wrote: »
    For 15-20 minutes of HIIT (80-90 percent of my max heart rate) I would burn the same amount as doing a 30 minute steady state cardio workout.

    Remember, your 15 to 20 minute HIIT session is 7.5 to 10 minutes of hard exercise and the same of easy recovery. The devil is in the details, but for most people a 30 minute moderate workout will burn more calories than a 7.5 minute intense one.
    ashjongfit wrote: »
    I don't find HIIT has ever helped with my cardio endurance.

    Of course not. Short bursts of exercise won't help you go the distance any more than moving paper weights will prepare you to lift heavy.
  • gwenster89
    gwenster89 Posts: 48 Member
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    Well cardio stands for cardiovascular, as in your heart, as in getting your heart rate up... right?

    I use this app called Runtastic Results and the workouts are 20-minute calisthenic/body weight workouts (so think lunges, squats, push ups and sit ups and lots of variations of the above). I think that's technically strength training but I try not to take breaks, or if I do, I take three big breaths and keep going. My heart is pounding and I pour sweat the whole time. If that's not cardio I don't know what is!
  • RemarkablyUnremarkable
    RemarkablyUnremarkable Posts: 63 Member
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    NorthCascades wrote: »
    wally2wiki wrote: »
    This allows you to continue burning calories after your workout out.

    You burn calories when you sleep. You burn calories when you sit and watch a movie. You burn calories after a HIIT workout. You burn calories after you fart.

    This is why a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. You can say something that's true, but not really important, and taken out of context, it can sound like a big deal.

    When you actually do the math, you see that HIIT really isn't a weight loss tool at all. It's useful to prepare for some racing conditions, and it's massively over-hyped for weight loss. For anyone who isn't an athlete, HIIT is a waste of time.


    ROFL at the fart comment... My husband would be skin and bones bwahaha! :D
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    gwenster89 wrote: »
    Well cardio stands for cardiovascular, as in your heart, as in getting your heart rate up... right?

    I use this app called Runtastic Results and the workouts are 20-minute calisthenic/body weight workouts (so think lunges, squats, push ups and sit ups and lots of variations of the above). I think that's technically strength training but I try not to take breaks, or if I do, I take three big breaths and keep going. My heart is pounding and I pour sweat the whole time. If that's not cardio I don't know what is!

    It may be cardio, but then it's not exactly strength. If the resistance of your body weight calisthenics is low enough (e.g. 40% of 1 RM), to increase the cardio effect, then the strength gains will be modest.

    If you increase the resistance to 75%-80% of 1 RM, then the HR/VO2 relationship is dissociated and you aren't doing as much cardio as you think.

  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
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    I'm a fan of cardio intervals. Any kind. Walk at a normal pace for a period of time and then walk as fast as you can for a short period, and repeat. Or use varying inclines. Or walk/jog or jog/sprint. Whatever you can manage. I don't know how they compare the two, but I've read that interval training burns more calories than steady state cardio. I use it to improve my resting heart rate. Personally I think my joints/tendons have an easier time with cardio interval training than steady state cardio because there is less repetitive motion.
  • KimiAR
    KimiAR Posts: 117 Member
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    I personally find them more effective than steady state. I WILL work harder if I know i have to do it for less time (intensity is relative to fitness level and I would just like to add that what might be considered a "cardio interval" for one MAY in fact be HIIT for somebody else). Fitness isn't a blanket statement. I'm a homeschooling stay at home mom w four littles 7 and under- 20 minutes of HIIT (or intervals for the fitness bouncer) IS gonna happen- 30 minutes plus of anything else at this point: Isn't. Plus I have to lift. Make sure "intense" is part of your perception of said work out and you're at the very least on the right track.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    KimiAR wrote: »
    I personally find them more effective than steady state. I WILL work harder if I know i have to do it for less time (intensity is relative to fitness level and I would just like to add that what might be considered a "cardio interval" for one MAY in fact be HIIT for somebody else). Fitness isn't a blanket statement. I'm a homeschooling stay at home mom w four littles 7 and under- 20 minutes of HIIT (or intervals for the fitness bouncer) IS gonna happen- 30 minutes plus of anything else at this point: Isn't. Plus I have to lift. Make sure "intense" is part of your perception of said work out and you're at the very least on the right track.

    HIIT has a relatively fixed definition--the ACSM defines it as 80%-95% of HR max. The actual workload that it takes to reach that level will vary according to one's fitness level, but the intensity level is the same for everyone.

    One is either doing HIIT or they aren't.

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