HIIT Workouts
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Oh my!
We all agree that increasing heart rate over a short period of time is what gets faster results. Whether it’s circuit training or HIIT.
If you think about what our ancestors did, you will better understand how short bursts over a short period of time would have been better than long cardio. Long cardio would be like running from an animal or enemy for an hour.
I believe they both have their place when it comes to fat loss and muscle building.
9 -
PiscesIntuition wrote: »Oh my!
We all agree that increasing heart rate over a short period of time is what gets faster results. Whether it’s circuit training or HIIT.
If you think about what our ancestors did, you will better understand how short bursts over a short period of time would have been better than long cardio. Long cardio would be like running from an animal or enemy for an hour.
I believe they both have their place when it comes to fat loss and muscle building.
There are so many ideas about humans being stalking animals and what kept humans alive was the ability to stalk prey for hours on end until the animal would be too tired. Our ability to metabolize fat easily (relative) and sustain decent energy output for long periods of time would have been useful for us.
We ain't out sprinting anything, we are pretty slow compared to 95% of other animals.
I think you're off with the ancestor thing. I always try and do the ancestor thing too in my head cause it seems like a logical thing to want to lean on. But our ancestors also died significantly earlier in life than we did lol so sometimes I try and push myself away from that.5 -
PiscesIntuition wrote: »Oh my!
We all agree that increasing heart rate over a short period of time is what gets faster results. Whether it’s circuit training or HIIT.
If you think about what our ancestors did, you will better understand how short bursts over a short period of time would have been better than long cardio. Long cardio would be like running from an animal or enemy for an hour.
I believe they both have their place when it comes to fat loss and muscle building.
I see what you're saying but we're shifting paradigms by that logic.
You mentioned using HIIT to get faster results in regards to building muscle and burning fat but then you also speak about our ancestors and how HIIT training is beneficial to us in the same way it would have been for them.
If I had to actively hunt my food, worry about long periods of starvation, and stay warm in the freezing winters it sounds like being fat would actually be beneficial to my survival.
As you mentioned, HIIT does have its place just like long steady "cardio" but if we're looking at HIIT as the main reason we were able to evade our enemies and hunt our food for hours then I would have to question exactly what HIIT is (again)?
The common acceptance is 1) Get your heart rate up really fast, 2) Spend more time recovering from that hard exertion than you did actually exerting yourself, and 3) Work hard enough to become "breathless".
That sounds contradictory to maintaining motion for hours at a time.
Not only that but traditional HIIT training is no where near as beneficial to long term sustained heart health as long steady state cardio. I wouldn't ask the elderly or those who have suffered cardiological problems to use HIIT but there's not a person in the world who wouldn't benefit from even 30 minutes of walking over HIIT.5 -
PiscesIntuition wrote: »Oh my!
We all agree that increasing heart rate over a short period of time is what gets faster results. Whether it’s circuit training or HIIT.
If you think about what our ancestors did, you will better understand how short bursts over a short period of time would have been better than long cardio. Long cardio would be like running from an animal or enemy for an hour.
I believe they both have their place when it comes to fat loss and muscle building.
I'm not certain we do all agree on any such thing, at least not if we're using the terminology in the same way ("short period of time", "faster results", and - for sure "HIIT"). Increasing heart rate is useful, but how much to increase it, and over what period of time, for which results . . . that's different.
First, let's back up to the "HIIT" term (which I realize the post I'm replying to is trying to set aside as a distraction, but I think it's possibly more useful to try to understand it so we can talk about it sensibly.)
The Wikipedia article on it (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training) isn't terrible, IMO, with respect to the classical definition of "HIIT": A cardiovascular exercise alternating intervals at anerobic-intensity levels with intervals at lower intensity. The exercises used in the relevant research were things like stationary bike (most common), rowing machine, running, stairs/hills. By and large, what was tested were workouts most of us would consider quite short, and part of that shortness comes from the fact that those intensities can only be repeated a limited number of times before the definitionally-necessary level of performance becomes unachievable. (As an aside, those performance limits may change with growing fitness, but the implication is that the fitter person needs to work objectively harder to achieve the anaerobic state that defines the the classic HIIT intensity, so duration is still limited as the subject's capabilities improve.)
While many of the research protocols use some kind of HR% descriptively, I think it's more useful for practitioners to think of those as after-the-fact assessments (not benchmarks the practitioner uses her/himself in real time to decide whether the interval is intense enough (for the reasons @sijomial mentions); and to remember that in the research setting, they're almost certainly relying on tested/verified max heart rates, not age-estimated max heart rates (which latter are inaccurate enough to be seriously misleading for a suprisingly large segment of the population).
"New HIIT" (my term) takes some of the general ideas about pacing from those earlier studies, and applies them to different exercise activities (often forms of circuit training (high-rep resistance work), calisthenics or activities like battle ropes, tire flips, etc.) Are these "good" exercises? Sure. Can it be useful to do them in an intense interval pacing format? Sure. Does doing so have all and exactly the same benefits as the HIIT on which the earlier research was done? Hmmm. For sure, the reasons for elevated heart rate in these "new" exercises (i.e., the stresses to which we're asking the body to adapt) can differ from those of the exercises in which the earlier research was done, among other issues.
So, old HIIT or new HIIT has benefits, no question about that. It's short, and intense. It is "time efficient" for weight loss in the sense that it burns more calories per minute of intense exercise than the same minutes of moderate or low intensity of that same activity.
Does it burn more calories for the whole exercise time period, as compared with moderate intensity? That depends on how intense the intense intervals are, how moderate the recovery intervals are, and the length of each of those.
One is burning higher calories during the intense interval, and lower in the recovery interval, so loosely the calorie burn is the duration-weighted average of the two activities. (Example, unrealistic invented numbers just to make the concept clearer: If my intervals add up to 20 minutes at high intensity that burn 5 calories per minute, and 10 minutes at recovery intensity that burn 2 calories, my total burn is ((20 x 5) + (10 x 2) = 120 calories). If the contrasting moderate-intensity steady state activity burns 3 calories a minute, the HIIT burns more calories; if the moderate-intensity steady state activity burns 4 calories a minute, they're equal. And so forth.))
Does the HIIT burn more calories overall? That depends on duration. HIIT duration is somewhat self-limited by fatigue/exhaustion, as described above. I won't argue that moderate-intensity steady state is unlimited, but by definition "steady state" is something one can continue for quite a long time. So, time one wants to devote is a variable in considering what burns the most calories overall. If I have an hour available that I want to devote to exercise, there's no great reason to do something that's so intense I can only do it for 40 minutes. (Not to mention that, for example, I don't want my on-water rowing to be over lots faster, because why would I shorten fun if I have the time available? So I sometimes do somewhat-intense intervals on the water, but rarely max-intensity intervals (I save those for the more-boring rowing machine ).
Also relevant to those other terms, "short period of time" and "faster results": True high-intensity intervals (old or new HIIT, either one) require a longer recovery period in order to wire in some of the benefits. Obviously, how long varies, but recovery is a factor. If I can do moderate intensity steady state for half an hour every day (and want to), but can only do HIIT for half an hour every other day to get adequate recovery, there's a decent chance I'll burn more calories per week doing entirely moderate intensity exercise, if calories are the objective.
If fitness is the objective, it matters exactly what the fitness objective is. Intensity develops some capabilities most efficiently (such as VO2max), longer steady state develops others (such as endurance). (If well-rounded fitness is the objective, I'd personally argue that a mix of HIIT and steady state are the best bet.) Virtually any safe exercise that elevates heart rate, even elevating it rather modestly, has some benefits: We don't necessarily need a big increase over a short period in order to see a benefit.
What about the EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, a.k.a. afterburn)? Research suggests a higher EPOC in percentage terms for HIIT (research on the classic form) vs. steady-state exercise of the same type. That's cool, but it's important to think through the arithmetic: A common number is 14% EPOC for HIIT, 7% for steady state. Wow, twice as much!
Or maybe not so wow. Let's say we're comparing HIIT and steady state sessions that each burned 500 calories, which most of us would consider a pretty decent session for calorie burn. The EPOC from HIIT is 70 whopping calories (0.14 x 500). The EPOC from steady state is 35 calories (0.07 x 500). Still twice as much from HIIT . . . but jeez, 35 calories. That kind of number is pretty much lost in the daily noise of unavoidable errors in food and exercise estimating while calorie counting. (More on this at https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/steady-state-versus-intervals-and-epoc-practical-application.html/)
So, HIIT (old or new) has advantages. Intensity, in general, has advantages. It also has potential limitations:
Intense exercise is typically more fatiguing per minute, because intensity has that physical effect. If that fatigue is enough to carry over into daily life, such that the person drags through the day doing less physically at work and home, then it's pretty easy to wipe out calorie advantages from the shorter HIIT (or sustained but short high intensity, maybe call it High Intensity Steady State (HISS)) workout. (The fact that it's shorter is still a good thing, for busy people who don't really enjoy exercise, of course.)
HIIT or other rapid pacing, especially in the "new HIIT" modalities (calisthenics, light-weight high-rep circuits, etc.) has greater potential for injury, especially in beginners, because of less opportunity to focus on maintaining proper form, and that risk becomes more acute as the workout continues and fatigue kicks in.
HIIT or extra-intense exercise in general can be discouraging for some beginners, possibly leading to quicker burnout and even giving up on exercise. Some people enjoy intensity, but the research suggests that many do not. For the latter, HIIT reinforces the idea that exercise has to be miserable and fatiguing to be effective - sort of a punishment for getting unfit or fat in the first place. (Ugh.) I'd argue that most exercise beginners are better served by a slow ramp-up of exercise that is (for them) relatively pleasurable, is energizing rather than fatiguing for the rest of their day, and that makes the risk of injury pretty moderate until good form is solidly established in muscle memory.
Lots of different exercise pacing strategies (HIIT, lower-intensity intervals, LISS, MISS, continuous high intensity, etc.) have value, whether for fitness or weight loss, and which is "best" varies. The time we have available matters, how much we enjoy the activity matters, personal enjoyment of things like sweating and panting matter, what our fitness or health goals are matters, and more.
I feel like HIIT gets a bunch of quasi-religious boosterism lately. I also feel like the term just gets broader all the time, as if being called HIIT makes any given activity/pacing way cooler than if we called it something else. But it's all good, in various ways, even under less thrilling names.
Edited: typos10 -
PiscesIntuition wrote: »Oh my!
We all agree that increasing heart rate over a short period of time is what gets faster results. Whether it’s circuit training or HIIT.
If you think about what our ancestors did, you will better understand how short bursts over a short period of time would have been better than long cardio. Long cardio would be like running from an animal or enemy for an hour.
I believe they both have their place when it comes to fat loss and muscle building.
No, we don't all agree on that. It depends on your goals as has been already pointed out by multiple posters. Increasing heart rate over a short period of time will increase your V02 max if that is what you want. Great for endurance athletes or certain sports.
For fat loss, diet is going to be primary and the calorie burns for HIIT or interval training, 500 as stated in your original post are highly unlikely. In the case of true HIIT, they are downright impossible. Steady state is going to can give better overall burns but takes more time. And EPOC is not nearly as high as you seem to imply.
For muscle building HIIT is probably one of the worst strategies. Interval training slightly better but not optimum. Interval training is at best a compromise strategy that gives one a little cardio and a little muscle work all in one. I can see the application for someone with limited time. But it is not optimal for either.
Lastly, as has been pointed out, our ancestors did not do a lot a sprinting. They did some but not a lot. They did do a lot of walking. A lot. It was their primary way of getting from place to place as well as tracking , foraging and stalking prey.
So, different strategies for different goals.
If I want to bike race, run 10Ks or marathons, play soccer or hockey, I'm going to do primarily medium intensity steady state, with some HIIT during competition prep and some off season weight training.
If I want to lose fat, I'm going to control calories, increase my N.E.A.T. and LISS and some resistance training to preserve muscle mass while in deficit.
If I want to build muscle, I'm going to do progressive resistance weight training.
9 -
PiscesIntuition wrote: »Oh my!
We all agree that increasing heart rate over a short period of time is what gets faster results. Whether it’s circuit training or HIIT.
If you think about what our ancestors did, you will better understand how short bursts over a short period of time would have been better than long cardio. Long cardio would be like running from an animal or enemy for an hour.
I believe they both have their place when it comes to fat loss and muscle building.
Our hunter/gatherer ancestors would have done far more long bouts of cardio than anything resembling HIIT...mostly a lot of walking. This is observable with modern hunter/gatherer tribes that still exist.
Personally, I think HIIT has become an over-hyped marketing ploy. Most of what is claimed to be HIIT isn't even really HIIT. I think interval training has it's place...but so does LISS and other training forms. I tend to do interval training when I'm short on time...but nothing is more enjoyable to me than being out on a road ride for a couple of hours.3 -
Most of my ancestors did short activities; stop-and-go “activity”. They were not running for hours for food. “Stalking” animals requires being still.
My ancestors also likely did not deal with freezing temperatures (and needing body fat to handle it).
https://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2018/04/06/short-bursts-exercise-may-prevent-death.aspx
https://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2011/06/09/move-like-a-huntergatherer-live-longer.aspx
https://articles.mercola.com/peak-fitness.aspx
12 -
I would hardly consider Mercola a credible site for anthropology and archeology. Just sayin...
@Nony_Mouse, I'm sure you would have some valuable input here being that you are an actual archeologist.6 -
PiscesIntuition wrote: »Most of my ancestors did short activities; stop-and-go “activity”. They were not running for hours for food. “Stalking” animals requires being still.
My ancestors also likely did not deal with freezing temperatures (and needing body fat to handle it).
https://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2018/04/06/short-bursts-exercise-may-prevent-death.aspx
https://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2011/06/09/move-like-a-huntergatherer-live-longer.aspx
https://articles.mercola.com/peak-fitness.aspx
I didn't say running for hours for food...they would have walked a ton...walking would have been their primary movement. Hunter/gatherers were transient and didn't remain in one place for extended periods of time.5 -
PiscesIntuition wrote: »Oh my!
We all agree that increasing heart rate over a short period of time is what gets faster results. Whether it’s circuit training or HIIT.
If you think about what our ancestors did, you will better understand how short bursts over a short period of time would have been better than long cardio. Long cardio would be like running from an animal or enemy for an hour.
I believe they both have their place when it comes to fat loss and muscle building.
I'm not certain we do all agree on any such thing, at least not if we're using the terminology in the same way ("short period of time", "faster results", and - for sure "HIIT"). Increasing heart rate is useful, but how much to increase it, and over what period of time, for which results . . . that's different.
First, let's back up to the "HIIT" term (which I realize the post I'm replying to is trying to set aside as a distraction, but I think it's possibly more useful to try to understand it so we can talk about it sensibly.)
The Wikipedia article on it (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training) isn't terrible, IMO, with respect to the classical definition of "HIIT": A cardiovascular exercise alternating intervals at anerobic-intensity levels with intervals at lower intensity. The exercises used in the relevant research were things like stationary bike (most common), rowing machine, running, stairs/hills. By and large, what was tested were workouts most of us would consider quite short, and part of that shortness comes from the fact that those intensities can only be repeated a limited number of times before the definitionally-necessary level of performance becomes unachievable. (As an aside, those performance limits may change with growing fitness, but the implication is that the fitter person needs to work objectively harder to achieve the anaerobic state that defines the the classic HIIT intensity, so duration is still limited as the subject's capabilities improve.)
While many of the research protocols use some kind of HR% descriptively, I think it's more useful for practitioners to think of those as after-the-fact assessments (not benchmarks the practitioner uses her/himself in real time to decide whether the interval is intense enough (for the reasons @sijomial mentions); and to remember that in the research setting, they're almost certainly relying on tested/verified max heart rates, not age-estimated max heart rates (which latter are inaccurate enough to be seriously misleading for a suprisingly large segment of the population).
"New HIIT" (my term) takes some of the general ideas about pacing from those earlier studies, and applies them to different exercise activities (often forms of circuit training (high-rep resistance work), calisthenics or activities like battle ropes, tire flips, etc.) Are these "good" exercises? Sure. Can it be useful to do them in an intense interval pacing format? Sure. Does doing so have all and exactly the same benefits as the HIIT on which the earlier research was done? Hmmm. For sure, the reasons for elevated heart rate in these "new" exercises (i.e., the stresses to which we're asking the body to adapt) can differ from those of the exercises in which the earlier research was done, among other issues.
So, old HIIT or new HIIT has benefits, no question about that. It's short, and intense. It is "time efficient" for weight loss in the sense that it burns more calories per minute of intense exercise than the same minutes of moderate or low intensity of that same activity.
Does it burn more calories for the whole exercise time period, as compared with moderate intensity? That depends on how intense the intense intervals are, how moderate the recovery intervals are, and the length of each of those.
One is burning higher calories during the intense interval, and lower in the recovery interval, so loosely the calorie burn is the duration-weighted average of the two activities. (Example, unrealistic invented numbers just to make the concept clearer: If my intervals add up to 20 minutes at high intensity that burn 5 calories per minute, and 10 minutes at recovery intensity that burn 2 calories, my total burn is ((20 x 5) + (10 x 2) = 120 calories). If the contrasting moderate-intensity steady state activity burns 3 calories a minute, the HIIT burns more calories; if the moderate-intensity steady state activity burns 4 calories a minute, they're equal. And so forth.))
Does the HIIT burn more calories overall? That depends on duration. HIIT duration is somewhat self-limited by fatigue/exhaustion, as described above. I won't argue that moderate-intensity steady state is unlimited, but by definition "steady state" is something one can continue for quite a long time. So, time one wants to devote is a variable in considering what burns the most calories overall. If I have an hour available that I want to devote to exercise, there's no great reason to do something that's so intense I can only do it for 40 minutes. (Not to mention that, for example, I don't want my on-water rowing to be over lots faster, because why would I shorten fun if I have the time available? So I sometimes do somewhat-intense intervals on the water, but rarely max-intensity intervals (I save those for the more-boring rowing machine ).
Also relevant to those other terms, "short period of time" and "faster results": True high-intensity intervals (old or new HIIT, either one) require a longer recovery period in order to wire in some of the benefits. Obviously, how long varies, but recovery is a factor. If I can do moderate intensity steady state for half an hour every day (and want to), but can only do HIIT for half an hour every other day to get adequate recovery, there's a decent chance I'll burn more calories per week doing entirely moderate intensity exercise, if calories are the objective.
If fitness is the objective, it matters exactly what the fitness objective is. Intensity develops some capabilities most efficiently (such as VO2max), longer steady state develops others (such as endurance). (If well-rounded fitness is the objective, I'd personally argue that a mix of HIIT and steady state are the best bet.) Virtually any safe exercise that elevates heart rate, even elevating it rather modestly, has some benefits: We don't necessarily need a big increase over a short period in order to see a benefit.
What about the EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, a.k.a. afterburn)? Research suggests a higher EPOC in percentage terms for HIIT (research on the classic form) vs. steady-state exercise of the same type. That's cool, but it's important to think through the arithmetic: A common number is 14% EPOC for HIIT, 7% for steady state. Wow, twice as much!
Or maybe not so wow. Let's say we're comparing HIIT and steady state sessions that each burned 500 calories, which most of us would consider a pretty decent session for calorie burn. The EPOC from HIIT is 70 whopping calories (0.14 x 500). The EPOC from steady state is 35 calories (0.07 x 500). Still twice as much from HIIT . . . but jeez, 35 calories. That kind of number is pretty much lost in the daily noise of unavoidable errors in food and exercise estimating while calorie counting. (More on this at https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/steady-state-versus-intervals-and-epoc-practical-application.html/)
So, HIIT (old or new) has advantages. Intensity, in general, has advantages. It also has potential limitations:
Intense exercise is typically more fatiguing per minute, because intensity has that physical effect. If that fatigue is enough to carry over into daily life, such that the person drags through the day doing less physically at work and home, then it's pretty easy to wipe out calorie advantages from the shorter HIIT (or sustained but short high intensity, maybe call it High Intensity Steady State (HISS)) workout. (The fact that it's shorter is still a good thing, for busy people who don't really enjoy exercise, of course.)
HIIT or other rapid pacing, especially in the "new HIIT" modalities (calisthenics, light-weight high-rep circuits, etc.) has greater potential for injury, especially in beginners, because of less opportunity to focus on maintaining proper form, and that risk becomes more acute as the workout continues and fatigue kicks in.
HIIT or extra-intense exercise in general can be discouraging for some beginners, possibly leading to quicker burnout and even giving up on exercise. Some people enjoy intensity, but the research suggests that many do not. For the latter, HIIT reinforces the idea that exercise has to be miserable and fatiguing to be effective - sort of a punishment for getting unfit or fat in the first place. (Ugh.) I'd argue that most exercise beginners are better served by a slow ramp-up of exercise that is (for them) relatively pleasurable, is energizing rather than fatiguing for the rest of their day, and that makes the risk of injury pretty moderate until good form is solidly established in muscle memory.
Lots of different exercise pacing strategies (HIIT, lower-intensity intervals, LISS, MISS, continuous high intensity, etc.) have value, whether for fitness or weight loss, and which is "best" varies. The time we have available matters, how much we enjoy the activity matters, personal enjoyment of things like sweating and panting matter, what our fitness or health goals are matters, and more.
I feel like HIIT gets a bunch of quasi-religious boosterism lately. I also feel like the term just gets broader all the time, as if being called HIIT makes any given activity/pacing way cooler than if we called it something else. But it's all good, in various ways, even under less thrilling names.
Edited: typos
I love you! Fantastic summary
With regards to running and HIIT: I earned about 366kcal by running 4 miles today. Not too shabby. I kind of doubt that I would have burned more by doing a HIIT session, and wonder if it would have been so much shorter as warm up needs to be included as well of course. And I'd possibly not feel as relaxed as I do now.4 -
my go to HIIT
30 seconds of battle ropes
20 burpees - you can add pull ups or hanging crunches to these
4 rounds
60 seconds of rest between each round1 -
PiscesIntuition wrote: »Oh my!
We all agree that increasing heart rate over a short period of time is what gets faster results. Whether it’s circuit training or HIIT.
If you think about what our ancestors did, you will better understand how short bursts over a short period of time would have been better than long cardio. Long cardio would be like running from an animal or enemy for an hour.
I believe they both have their place when it comes to fat loss and muscle building.
I'm not certain we do all agree on any such thing, at least not if we're using the terminology in the same way ("short period of time", "faster results", and - for sure "HIIT"). Increasing heart rate is useful, but how much to increase it, and over what period of time, for which results . . . that's different.
First, let's back up to the "HIIT" term (which I realize the post I'm replying to is trying to set aside as a distraction, but I think it's possibly more useful to try to understand it so we can talk about it sensibly.)
The Wikipedia article on it (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training) isn't terrible, IMO, with respect to the classical definition of "HIIT": A cardiovascular exercise alternating intervals at anerobic-intensity levels with intervals at lower intensity. The exercises used in the relevant research were things like stationary bike (most common), rowing machine, running, stairs/hills. By and large, what was tested were workouts most of us would consider quite short, and part of that shortness comes from the fact that those intensities can only be repeated a limited number of times before the definitionally-necessary level of performance becomes unachievable. (As an aside, those performance limits may change with growing fitness, but the implication is that the fitter person needs to work objectively harder to achieve the anaerobic state that defines the the classic HIIT intensity, so duration is still limited as the subject's capabilities improve.)
While many of the research protocols use some kind of HR% descriptively, I think it's more useful for practitioners to think of those as after-the-fact assessments (not benchmarks the practitioner uses her/himself in real time to decide whether the interval is intense enough (for the reasons @sijomial mentions); and to remember that in the research setting, they're almost certainly relying on tested/verified max heart rates, not age-estimated max heart rates (which latter are inaccurate enough to be seriously misleading for a suprisingly large segment of the population).
"New HIIT" (my term) takes some of the general ideas about pacing from those earlier studies, and applies them to different exercise activities (often forms of circuit training (high-rep resistance work), calisthenics or activities like battle ropes, tire flips, etc.) Are these "good" exercises? Sure. Can it be useful to do them in an intense interval pacing format? Sure. Does doing so have all and exactly the same benefits as the HIIT on which the earlier research was done? Hmmm. For sure, the reasons for elevated heart rate in these "new" exercises (i.e., the stresses to which we're asking the body to adapt) can differ from those of the exercises in which the earlier research was done, among other issues.
So, old HIIT or new HIIT has benefits, no question about that. It's short, and intense. It is "time efficient" for weight loss in the sense that it burns more calories per minute of intense exercise than the same minutes of moderate or low intensity of that same activity.
Does it burn more calories for the whole exercise time period, as compared with moderate intensity? That depends on how intense the intense intervals are, how moderate the recovery intervals are, and the length of each of those.
One is burning higher calories during the intense interval, and lower in the recovery interval, so loosely the calorie burn is the duration-weighted average of the two activities. (Example, unrealistic invented numbers just to make the concept clearer: If my intervals add up to 20 minutes at high intensity that burn 5 calories per minute, and 10 minutes at recovery intensity that burn 2 calories, my total burn is ((20 x 5) + (10 x 2) = 120 calories). If the contrasting moderate-intensity steady state activity burns 3 calories a minute, the HIIT burns more calories; if the moderate-intensity steady state activity burns 4 calories a minute, they're equal. And so forth.))
Does the HIIT burn more calories overall? That depends on duration. HIIT duration is somewhat self-limited by fatigue/exhaustion, as described above. I won't argue that moderate-intensity steady state is unlimited, but by definition "steady state" is something one can continue for quite a long time. So, time one wants to devote is a variable in considering what burns the most calories overall. If I have an hour available that I want to devote to exercise, there's no great reason to do something that's so intense I can only do it for 40 minutes. (Not to mention that, for example, I don't want my on-water rowing to be over lots faster, because why would I shorten fun if I have the time available? So I sometimes do somewhat-intense intervals on the water, but rarely max-intensity intervals (I save those for the more-boring rowing machine ).
Also relevant to those other terms, "short period of time" and "faster results": True high-intensity intervals (old or new HIIT, either one) require a longer recovery period in order to wire in some of the benefits. Obviously, how long varies, but recovery is a factor. If I can do moderate intensity steady state for half an hour every day (and want to), but can only do HIIT for half an hour every other day to get adequate recovery, there's a decent chance I'll burn more calories per week doing entirely moderate intensity exercise, if calories are the objective.
If fitness is the objective, it matters exactly what the fitness objective is. Intensity develops some capabilities most efficiently (such as VO2max), longer steady state develops others (such as endurance). (If well-rounded fitness is the objective, I'd personally argue that a mix of HIIT and steady state are the best bet.) Virtually any safe exercise that elevates heart rate, even elevating it rather modestly, has some benefits: We don't necessarily need a big increase over a short period in order to see a benefit.
What about the EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, a.k.a. afterburn)? Research suggests a higher EPOC in percentage terms for HIIT (research on the classic form) vs. steady-state exercise of the same type. That's cool, but it's important to think through the arithmetic: A common number is 14% EPOC for HIIT, 7% for steady state. Wow, twice as much!
Or maybe not so wow. Let's say we're comparing HIIT and steady state sessions that each burned 500 calories, which most of us would consider a pretty decent session for calorie burn. The EPOC from HIIT is 70 whopping calories (0.14 x 500). The EPOC from steady state is 35 calories (0.07 x 500). Still twice as much from HIIT . . . but jeez, 35 calories. That kind of number is pretty much lost in the daily noise of unavoidable errors in food and exercise estimating while calorie counting. (More on this at https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/steady-state-versus-intervals-and-epoc-practical-application.html/)
So, HIIT (old or new) has advantages. Intensity, in general, has advantages. It also has potential limitations:
Intense exercise is typically more fatiguing per minute, because intensity has that physical effect. If that fatigue is enough to carry over into daily life, such that the person drags through the day doing less physically at work and home, then it's pretty easy to wipe out calorie advantages from the shorter HIIT (or sustained but short high intensity, maybe call it High Intensity Steady State (HISS)) workout. (The fact that it's shorter is still a good thing, for busy people who don't really enjoy exercise, of course.)
HIIT or other rapid pacing, especially in the "new HIIT" modalities (calisthenics, light-weight high-rep circuits, etc.) has greater potential for injury, especially in beginners, because of less opportunity to focus on maintaining proper form, and that risk becomes more acute as the workout continues and fatigue kicks in.
HIIT or extra-intense exercise in general can be discouraging for some beginners, possibly leading to quicker burnout and even giving up on exercise. Some people enjoy intensity, but the research suggests that many do not. For the latter, HIIT reinforces the idea that exercise has to be miserable and fatiguing to be effective - sort of a punishment for getting unfit or fat in the first place. (Ugh.) I'd argue that most exercise beginners are better served by a slow ramp-up of exercise that is (for them) relatively pleasurable, is energizing rather than fatiguing for the rest of their day, and that makes the risk of injury pretty moderate until good form is solidly established in muscle memory.
Lots of different exercise pacing strategies (HIIT, lower-intensity intervals, LISS, MISS, continuous high intensity, etc.) have value, whether for fitness or weight loss, and which is "best" varies. The time we have available matters, how much we enjoy the activity matters, personal enjoyment of things like sweating and panting matter, what our fitness or health goals are matters, and more.
I feel like HIIT gets a bunch of quasi-religious boosterism lately. I also feel like the term just gets broader all the time, as if being called HIIT makes any given activity/pacing way cooler than if we called it something else. But it's all good, in various ways, even under less thrilling names.
Edited: typos
I love you! Fantastic summary
With regards to running and HIIT: I earned about 366kcal by running 4 miles today. Not too shabby. I kind of doubt that I would have burned more by doing a HIIT session, and wonder if it would have been so much shorter as warm up needs to be included as well of course. And I'd possibly not feel as relaxed as I do now.
It's tough to really say for sure. From my experience doing HIIT I can genuinely feel myself expending more energy to just maintain my body temperature after doing HIIT. I am breathing much heavier than normally for at least 30 minutes afterwards and generally it's pretty difficult to stop sweating even after a shower. Cold shower for a couple minutes at the end usually does the trick but in the summer time its like it never stops.
For me, if I was to do 30 minutes of moderate steady state cardio, and 30 minutes of HIIT (not sure i'd be able to make it this long without like at least 1:3 work to rest) I would say for me, I think I would burn more calories by doing the HIIT.2 -
PiscesIntuition wrote: »Most of my ancestors did short activities; stop-and-go “activity”. They were not running for hours for food. “Stalking” animals requires being still.
My ancestors also likely did not deal with freezing temperatures (and needing body fat to handle it).
https://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2018/04/06/short-bursts-exercise-may-prevent-death.aspx
https://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2011/06/09/move-like-a-huntergatherer-live-longer.aspx
https://articles.mercola.com/peak-fitness.aspx
I'm sorry but I believe you're misinformed.
Regardless of what we call it, HIIT is a method not a principle.
As humans we have 3 energy systems. Two of which are Anaerobic (without oxygen) and one being aerobic (with oxygen). The phosphocreatine system produces the greatest amount of force over time but drops in contribution after about 10 seconds of all out effort (think 50 yard dash). The glycolytic system then takes over for the majority of that bout for about up to 2 minutes but your power output has dropped significantly (think 400m run) and then lastly your aerobic or oxidative system takes the reigns providing most of the energy contribution but power output is very low (think marathon runner). Those systems each operate differently depending on many factors but the contribution of each is measured by intensity over time/duration.
Phosphocreatine
Up to 10 seconds
High intensity
Glycolytic
Up to 2 minutes
Medium intensity
Oxidative
Almost forever
Low intensity
To continue to have repeatability and sustainability it's important that we have a strong aerobic base. Your aerobic system is responsible for the replenishment of resources to the anaerobic system.
So even if we're calling this "High intensity", I still go back to my previous question - What are we using to measure intensity?
Is it heart rate? Power output? Perceived exertion?
Tabata intervals are considered HIIT per this conversation but I know for a fact it's impossible to keep the intensity (if measured by power output) the same for every interval.
Each energy system also has prescribed rest times so that you can then repeat your efforts with little to no drop in power.
Rest times (in ratios)
*General guidelines
Phosphocreatine
1:10-1:15
Glycolytic
1:3-1:5
Oxidative
1:1-1:13
So if we take this information here, even Tabata intervals are largely aerobic (oxidative) in nature.
*Great conversation though. I think these threads could use more civil debate and scientific evidence such as what I'm seeing here.6 -
PiscesIntuition wrote: »Most of my ancestors did short activities; stop-and-go “activity”. They were not running for hours for food. “Stalking” animals requires being still.
My ancestors also likely did not deal with freezing temperatures (and needing body fat to handle it).
https://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2018/04/06/short-bursts-exercise-may-prevent-death.aspx
https://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2011/06/09/move-like-a-huntergatherer-live-longer.aspx
https://articles.mercola.com/peak-fitness.aspx
If you're implying that your ancestors were from Africa, I would like to point out the sheer dominance that East African runners have in the marathon and other long distance running events. Never mind that I highly suspect that one's genetics play a very very small role in their ability to burn calories with very rare exceptions related to genetic disorders.
My ancestors were also not doing much if anything in cold climates. I still am able to burn more calories doing steady state or near steady state on a bike than I am HIIT on a bike.3 -
Strongfitmama100412 wrote: »Its the best way to train in my opinion. Ive been working out since junior high, been lifting since high school, been a certified fitness/spinning instructor for 15 years, now at 44 im in the best shape ive ever been. I owe it all to hiit training and heavy lifting. More specifically tabata style of hiit training protocol.
20 second all out (in this 20 seconds you should go as hard as you can. Breathless). 10 seconds recovery repeat 8 times to equal 4 minutes. I do about 5-6 rounds. (20-24 min). Then I add heavy lifting with it. One hour=500-600 calories.
I have been teaching this way for 7 years now.
Some of my favorite moves:
Burpees
Mountain climbers
High knees
Butt kicks
Manmakers
Jacks
Skaters
Long jumps
Squat jumps
Star jumps
Frog jumps
180 jumps
Lateral jumps
Lateral jumps to a burpee
Battle ropes
Box jumps
I use hiit training with the treadmill too. 30 sec sprint intervals i put into my running to increase my speed. I have never been a runner but i think of all my years of hiit training paid off. I ran my second 5k in 29 minutes.
If you look up tabata on itunes you can download songs. They count down for you etc.
My favorite are
“total body tabata”
“Turbo tabata trainer”
There are also a few podcasts that have tabatas.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tabata-time-coached-tabata-interval-mix/id300391393?i=1000110433488
(This actually tells you what to do)
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/125-bpm-tribal-tabata/id124686671?i=1000359093846
Good luck and enjoy!! Ive been training this way after my first son was born (8.5) years ago. I didn't have hours in the gym anymore. I needed effective and fast way of training. 3 kids later, i weigh less than i did before my wedding. Also from all the research, podcasts, and courses I have to take to keep my certification current this is the way to go. Long drawn out cardio is not longer the way to go.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
7 -
A true Tabata HIIT routine is only 2-3 mins long and will so exhaust you that you can't do anything else for at least 15-30 mins.
Anything else is just "exercise" of varying intensity but it's not truly HIIT.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
1 -
PiscesIntuition wrote: »Most of my ancestors did short activities; stop-and-go “activity”. They were not running for hours for food. “Stalking” animals requires being still.
My ancestors also likely did not deal with freezing temperatures (and needing body fat to handle it).
https://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2018/04/06/short-bursts-exercise-may-prevent-death.aspx
https://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2011/06/09/move-like-a-huntergatherer-live-longer.aspx
https://articles.mercola.com/peak-fitness.aspx
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
6 -
A true Tabata HIIT routine is only 2-3 mins long and will so exhaust you that you can't do anything else for at least 15-30 mins.
Anything else is just "exercise" of varying intensity but it's not truly HIIT.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Love this! We do tabata as part of Les Mills Grit - it's a killer in a great way0 -
PiscesIntuition wrote: »Oh my!
We all agree that increasing heart rate over a short period of time is what gets faster results. Whether it’s circuit training or HIIT.
If you think about what our ancestors did, you will better understand how short bursts over a short period of time would have been better than long cardio. Long cardio would be like running from an animal or enemy for an hour.
I believe they both have their place when it comes to fat loss and muscle building.
A human can run a marathon faster than a horse can. That's a big part of why early humans didn't go extinct, we could run prey down.1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »PiscesIntuition wrote: »Oh my!
We all agree that increasing heart rate over a short period of time is what gets faster results. Whether it’s circuit training or HIIT.
If you think about what our ancestors did, you will better understand how short bursts over a short period of time would have been better than long cardio. Long cardio would be like running from an animal or enemy for an hour.
I believe they both have their place when it comes to fat loss and muscle building.
A human can run a marathon faster than a horse can. That's a big part of why early humans didn't go extinct, we could run prey down.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_versus_Horse_Marathon1
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