Have you ever heard that interesting claim that you're better off doing low intensity cardiovascular exercise if your goal is fat loss, as this will put you in the magical 'fat burning zone'? The saying goes that your body uses more fat stores for energy during lower intensity exercise, such as LISS (low intensity steady state) cardio, as opposed to using more glycogen stores in your muscles which occurs during high intensity cardio such as high intensity interval training, or HIIT.
This claim regarding the energy source that your body uses during these different intensities of exercise is actually indeed true, but there's one thing that many people don't realise.
Firstly, imagine how you feel after taking a brisk 40min walk - a classic example of LISS cardio. Maybe a little tired, but you certainly won't be out of breath or unable to continue. Then imagine how you'd feel after sprinting all out, as fast as you can, for 20 seconds, and then resting and slowing to a walk for the 20 seconds, and then repeating this 10 times - a classic example of a HIIT workout. I don't know about you, but I'm not sure that I'd even make it to the 10th round and I'd most certainly be out of breath. Now, without having any scientific knowledge and just by using your intuition, which workout do you think would be more beneficial, in terms of total fat burned and the cardiovascular benefit? If you guessed the HIIT workout, you're spot on.
While LISS may burn a higher rato of fat, HIIT knocks it out of the ballpark when it comes to total fat burn, which makes sense right? You're working much, much harder and your body uses more energy, full stop. 20 mins of HIIT cardio can easily burn the same number of calories as a LISS session twice as long, and also has the added benefit of increasing the number of calories your body burns post workout, due to a little thing that your body does called EPOC, or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. For anyone who's pressed for time or can't stand the boredom of walking on a treadmill for 45mins, HIIT is a clear winner.
This type of high-intensity exercise may not be for everyone, however. The impact on the body from activities like this can be quite extreme, and it therefore may not be the best choice of exercise for anyone with an injury or anyone who is particularly unfit.
If this isn't you, however, I'd highly recommend that you give HIIT a try and see what you think. I can assure you that you certainly won't be bored during your workout, and I promise that the feeling of feeling of stepping off the treadmill after watching an intense episode of 'Keeping Up With The Kardashians' while you walk on an incline for 45 minutes will never come close to matching the accomplishment that you feel after a HIIT workout.
Hi. I’m Designer of Blog Magic. I’m CEO/Founder of ThemeXpose. I’m Creative Art Director, Web Designer, UI/UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Industrial Designer, Web Developer, Business Enthusiast, StartUp Enthusiast, Speaker, Writer and Photographer. Inspired to make things looks better.
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