which is better for building muscle "and" losing fat HIIT or

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smpaselk
smpaselk Posts: 31 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Im just curious to see what comes back and the pros and cons of both. I have always done weight lifting with cardio. Loved the lifting weights my whole life. I was on the power lifting team in high school. I have some weight to get off and not always a lot of time in the gym to spend lifiting weights. it usually would take me about 45 to an hour then some cardio. I was wondering if HIIT will give me similar results and if so what are the pros and cons of both.

Thanks for your input!

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  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    Im just curious to see what comes back and the pros and cons of both. I have always done weight lifting with cardio. Loved the lifting weights my whole life. I was on the power lifting team in high school. I have some weight to get off and not always a lot of time in the gym to spend lifiting weights. it usually would take me about 45 to an hour then some cardio. I was wondering if HIIT will give me similar results and if so what are the pros and cons of both.

    Thanks for your input!
    Since you were a power lifter you should know that HIIT is a anaerobic exercise. With that background you should know that recovery is very important.

    This is what I would do:
    1. Continue to focus on lifting weight.
    2. Monitor your nutrition plan. Focus on creating a HEALTHY deficit.
    3. You can do some walking for further conditioning.

    Cardio is not needed at all.

    AFAA Certified Trainer
    Lost over 115lbs and have KEPT it off.
    Intermittent Faster. Are you?
  • almonds1
    almonds1 Posts: 642 Member
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    HIIT training is great for buring cals but not really for building muscle... you ned some for of resistance training and need to target each muscle group.

    I dont do any cardio...
  • SRH7
    SRH7 Posts: 2,037 Member
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    Bump - really intersting stuff!
  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
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    hiit is excellent..you can make it more cardio or anaerobic depending on your intensity level. but either way its supposed to improve both endurance aerobically and anaerobically. and burn more fat..so they say..

    either way, they burn more or the same calories in less time than traditional steady state cardio.
    so there you have more time to lift.

    i dont like hiit myself..i'm just lazy. i mainly lift..usually about an hour, then i hit the treadmill for about 30 mins..sometimes i run, sometimes i walk..depending on how i feel. i hate running and cardio..ha
  • smpaselk
    smpaselk Posts: 31 Member
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    What about incoorperating bodyweight? heard of Mark Lauren "Your are Your Own Gym"? I know you have to continue to overload the muscle, but from what im reading in his book it is a progressively puting weight by varying angles such as the standard push up being done against a wall, then on a lower platform such as a chair, then a foot rest then decline with feet on a hair palms on th ground. each progressively requires muscle to work harder? And for the other comment on what i should no, they did not focus on the why of weight lifting and muscle building, we did not have a good coach unfortunatley.
  • smpaselk
    smpaselk Posts: 31 Member
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    loved running, but i jacked my knee up, love lifting, hate walking on the treadmill or eliptical, boring. I have done some HIIT and it keeps me going.
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    What about incoorperating bodyweight? heard of Mark Lauren "Your are Your Own Gym"? I know you have to continue to overload the muscle, but from what im reading in his book it is a progressively puting weight by varying angles such as the standard push up being done against a wall, then on a lower platform such as a chair, then a foot rest then decline with feet on a hair palms on th ground. each progressively requires muscle to work harder? And for the other comment on what i should no, they did not focus on the why of weight lifting and muscle building, we did not have a good coach unfortunatley.
    I see no issues with body weight exercises.
  • ronellevan
    ronellevan Posts: 44
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    In my opinion both are important.
    Weights/resistance/strength for building muscle, toning your body and getting lean.
    HIIT for that cardio fat burn and boosting the hell out of your metabolism.

    Best effect: one day weights, one day HIIT.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Given your medical concerns, and the fact that you have not been exercising, I would say that HIIT would not be your best focus right now.

    The body needs time to adapt to a new routine, and you can achieve excellent results at first without beating yourself up.

    You can always break up your cardio into smaller chunks if you find it boring. Or even do some type of circuit training.

    There is nothing wrong with body weight exercises--it's can just be more challenging to find ways to increase the resistance in manageable increments.

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