Steady state cardio exercises have lately been replaced in favor of high intensity interval training as the best way to lose both belly and body fat. Is steady state cardio really outdated? Have all those who used lower intensity cardio been wrong all these years? Steady state cardiovascular exercise has worked for many people who have lost a lot of weight by walking five miles a day. HIIT is good, but it is not the only way to effective fat loss.
A very heavy person is probably overweight because of a small energy imbalance – they eat more every day than they burn. Excess calories build up over time. If a person is very overweight and increases their exercise level in any way but does not also increase how much they eat, they will reverse their weight gain. HIIT works better for those with little time to exercise because will yield the same results as regular cardio in less time. HIIT also builds more muscle because it uses muscle fibers that are not used during regular cardio. During your high intensity level of training, you are working your “fast twitch” muscles – those muscle fibers that are meant to use anaerobic energy. Energy stored in the body – not energy from oxygen in the blood – is used by your fast twitch muscles when you walk, run, ride your bike or do any exercise at maximum speed.
Fast twitch muscles work more effectively when you need them if you work them consistently with High Intensity Interval Training – they help you run after your cat that just escaped the house or catch the bus pulling away from the bus stop.
Regular cardio uses those muscles that are meant to work aerobically. These muscles use the oxygen you breathe in while you work out. Building these muscles will increase your endurance, making it easier for you to walk to work instead of taking that bus.You can go farther at a steady pace because oxygen is used more efficiently by your muscles.
Because HIIT utilizes both slow and fast twitch muscle fibers, it uses a lot of calories in a short time. High Intensity Interval Training also creates more muscle than regular cardio because it uses the fast twitch muscle fibers that regular cardio does not use. For an explanation of how HIIT is performed, read The Best Way to Burn Fat.
A lot of fat loss and body building programs recommend High Intensity Interval Training. The secret to sculpted muscles is reduced body fat – try using High Intensity Interval Training in your workout to get that fat off your body fast. For more information on how to effectively use high intensity interval training in a complete program, see a good workout here.
