There’s so much information out there about this topic and both of these methods have been in fashion at different times. High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT has been a big trend in recent years because it allows people to do a 10-20-minute workout and you can do it at home. It’s pretty attractive for those who feel they have no time. But then again, long bouts of cardio have always worked too. So what’s the answer? What one should I do? This week we’ll discuss why it actually doesn’t matter.
But first, probably the biggest life updates I’ve given on the blog to date. Last August I interviewed for an internship in strength and conditioning with the University of Denver and their sports performance staff. I was offered a place on their programme and last Wednesday I was approved a visa for the States. This coming Friday I’m packing up my life for 6 months and flying out to Denver to take the next step in my professional development. While I’m immensely excited for the opportunity it’s pretty scary too. I’ll miss everyone that I have to leave behind here but my loved ones have shown me incredible support, I’m hoping to do them proud. This is a big opportunity for me, stepping into one of the best colligate strength programmes in the entire USA, I’m ready and excited.
Okay, so here’s why it actually doesn’t matter what form of cardio you do, HIIT or steady state, for fat loss. They’re actually completely different, when programmed right they work different energy systems all together and have different overall impacts on the body. Guess what, to lose fat you need to be in a calorie deficit. So unless your nutrition is in check the question is redundant.
However, there are benefits to doing one or the other and to doing both. I’ve changed my mind on this over the years as I learn more, I used to be in the camp of steady state is awful, old fashioned thinking and bad while HIIT was the future of conditioning. Like I remember in 2013 when that Insanity DVD got big in Ireland and everyone was doing it, GAA county teams included. It was nuts.
The true sign of a fad when people make knee jerk reactions and completely change their whole methods. As always, the most important thing is to ask yourself what goals and physiological adaptations are you trying to achieve.
Most people reading this blog will probably be in the realm of general fitness, just wanting to be healthy and keep the extra inches off the waist. That’s cool. Check the diet first. Realistically, you can train all you want but over eating is what’s making you fat.
Steady state activities like jogging are aerobic in nature and are great for developing larger lung capacity, giving you the ability to last longer at exercise. It improves your body’s ability to utilize oxygen over a given time period and has so many benefits for the heart and blood circulation. In the past I’ve not really been a fan of steady state because honestly, I didn’t know any better. I thought slow training made you slow and it had no place in sport. But the more I learnt the more I realized I was wrong, with a little help from some smarter people. It doesn’t make you slow at all, especially if you’re training speed (and you should be if you play sport) and it actually has a massive part to play in sport. The goal is making your engine as efficient as possible.
HIIT is another great option for getting some exercise in, and it is great for those who lead a busy lifestyle to stay active. Remember, anything is better than nothing. As far as sport’s performance goes I wouldn’t be including specific HIIT sessions in my programming because it doesn’t exactly fit in with the demands of game play or give the adaptations I’d be trying to elicit. That’s not to say it’s crap though. HIIT aims to increase your ability to perform repeated bouts. Most commonly prescribed as 20:10 or 15:30 the idea is that the body has a short rest period to replenish energy to go again. Over time as you manipulate the work:rest ratio and overall amount the body gets better and your base line moves up… in theory. The system that it’s aiming to develop, however, needs longer time to replenish it’s energy stores. Again, in terms of sport’s performance this is important. If you’re not training for high level competition, it’s not as important.
Let’s go back to the idea of you trying to choose what method to use to drop fat and lean out. We’ve discussed the fact you need nutrition in check, we’ve spoken about what both options do. The final piece to the puzzle is muscle. Cardio doesn’t build muscle. Yes, you might bring some sort of adaptation through what exercises you programme in your HIIT but to achieve the look most people want you also need to strength train. I think it’s important to state this, however silly it might sound to people who know, fat does not turn into muscle and muscle does not turn into fat. They are completely different things. Losing one doesn’t mean you get the other. Besides, I still don’t understand why you wouldn’t strength train, we’ve talked about the benefits of it so many times on this blog.
At the moment, and for the last 4-5 months I’ve been using all 3 methods in my training. The way I do it is I usually strength train 3 times a week and do a cardio based finisher at the end of my session which follows a HIIT protocol of some sort. Then I get out at least once a week for a run usually 5km minimum, this has actually been the greatest addition to my training from 2018. I’m not training for anything special, I just want to stay healthy, strong and comfortable with the way I look and feel. If I can manage all that I’m happy. Certain times of the year I might challenge myself to hit different targets or I might tighten up my nutrition to drop some fat but for the most part I enjoy my food, I train hard and don’t stress too much about it.
HIIT vs steady state… don’t panic. Look broader at your lifestyle and overall training habits. My advice for the general population is to aim to get a bit of both in if possible.
That’s that, my final blog on Irish soil for a while, unless the embassy decides to revoke me in the next 4 days! I’m going to keep the blog going and hopefully I’ll be able to discuss how training and general fitness differs between the Irish and American lifestyle while giving everyone insight into what I’m doing. As always, for the most up to date views on what I’m up to my Instagram is where you’ll get. Follow the link at the bottom of the page for that. Thanks to everyone for reading and supporting me over the months, I’m feeling excited about the coming future.
Rory.