In the past, most experts and fitness trainers recommended moderate-intensity exercise. The key to a successful workout was staying within the “fat-burning” zone. To do this, fitness buffs spent 45 to 60 minutes jogging on a treadmill, pedaling an exercise bike or working out on an elliptical machine at an intensity between 50 and 60% of their maximal heart rate.
These days, there’s more emphasis on high-intensity workouts where you work out at an intensity of at least 75 to 85% of your maximal heart and sometimes up to 90 or 95% of heart rate max by alternating periods of high-intensity activity with short periods of recovery. This type of workout has a number of advantages over working out in the “fat-burning” zone. Here are five reasons why high-intensity workouts are better.
High-Intensity Workouts Burn More Calories in Less Time
Even though high-intensity workouts are typically shorter in length, you continue to burn a significant number of calories for hours after your workout stops. Your body has to expend more energy to recover from a high-intensity workout. This additional energy is referred to as post-exercise oxygen consumption or EPOC. Some people call this the after-burn. The number of calories your body uses to recover is proportional to the intensity of the exercise you do. As exercise intensity rises the duration and magnitude of the EPOC also increases.
High-intensity workouts can also burn more fat despite their shorter duration. During high-intensity exercise, you activate more metabolically-active fast-twitch muscle fibers. This not only burns more calories but causes your body to pump out more fat-burning hormones like growth hormone and testosterone that mobilize body fat. This hormonal response is key to changing your body composition.
High-Intensity Workouts Are Better for Reducing Belly Fat
Research suggests that high-intensity exercise trumps moderate-intensity exercise when it comes to burning belly fat. It seems to be particularly effective for reducing visceral abdominal fat, the type of fat deep in the pelvic cavity that’s linked with a greater risk for health problems like heart disease and type 2 diabetes. In addition, long periods of moderate-intensity cardio can break down muscle tissue. Therefore, high-intensity exercise is better not only for improving body composition but superior from a health standpoint too.
High-Intensity Exercise is Better from a Cardiovascular Standpoint
High-intensity workouts are more effective for boosting V02 max, or aerobic capacity, than working out at a moderate intensity. This is important because greater aerobic capacity is linked with a lower risk of heart disease and mortality. Most people think they’ll get maximal cardiovascular benefits from doing a long, slow run or jog, but high-intensity exercise can give your heart a better workout.
It’s Better for Reducing Stress
Many people exercise because it’s a stress-reliever. High-intensity exercise has you covered here too. Research carried out at the University of Missouri showed that high-intensity exercise was superior to moderate-intensity workouts for relieving stress and anxiety. Who couldn’t use a little stress relief?
The Boredom Factor
Let’s face it. Jogging or cycling for 60 minutes or more at the same pace is monotonous. With high-intensity interval training, boredom isn’t a factor since you’re focused on maintaining your intensity, and your mind has little time to wander. Most people find the time goes by much more quickly when they’re doing high-intensity training.
The Bottom Line?
High-intensity workouts have a number of benefits you won’t get when you work out at a moderate pace. Kick your workout up a notch and challenge yourself with high-intensity intervals like you will find in my “CrossFire” and “To The Max” exercise videos. The time will go by more quickly, and you’ll enjoy seeing the changes that happen to your body as a result of the extra challenge.
References:
Science Daily “High-Intensity Exercise Best Way to Reduce Anxiety, University Of Missouri Study Finds”
Idea Health and Fitness “Exercise After-Burn: A Research Update”
UVA Today. “U.Va. Study: High-Intensity Exercise Best for Improving Body Composition”
J Strength Cond Res 21 (1): 188-92.
Science Daily. “High-Intensity Exercise Best Way to Reduce Anxiety, University of Missouri Study Finds”
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