Hiit/ compared to regular cardio

I

Ivy

Cathlete
I know that Hiit is supposed to burn more calories after your finished, or atleast you continue to burn calories when your finished, but I could swear that I tend to take off more weight when I do longer cardio workouts, could be my imagination, but I think so. If that is the case, should I ony do two hitt workouts a week and supplement the rest of the cardio with longer cardio workouts in order to drop the weight? Let me know what some of your experiences have been.

Thanks,
 
HiiT vs Steady State

Some things to remember when comparing HiiT workouts to longer steady state workouts are:

1. Though HiiT workouts are believed to cause Calories to be burned long after the workout is completed, it's hard to accurately determine how many extra calories are really burned.

2. HiiT routines are more intense and burn more calories per minute than do steady state workouts, but they're also shorter and burn less total calories than a one hour steady state program does during the actual workout. Even with the after burn effect, it is doubtful that a 20 minute HiiT workout will burn as many total calories as say a 1 hour steady state workout.

3. You will not get the after burn effect if your effort in the hiiT workout does not reach a high enough level.

Bottom Line: Just because a hiiT workout burns more calories per minute than does a Steady State workout, it does not mean that a hiit workout will burn more calories in the long run - even after factoring in the after burn effect. The intensity and duration of both workouts will also factor into which workout is the best calorie burn.

Both hiiT and Steady State workouts have their advantages and disadvantages and we feel the best workout program uses both methods. This way your body will never get used to doing the same thing and you we will be less likely to develop and overuse injury.
 
Ivy, I've read quite a bit about running/walking training that says that longer cardio (LSD: long, slow, distance walks/runs, that would be the equivalent to longer steady-state cardio) teach the body to burn more fat for fuel, which may be one reason why you have better results with longer, SSC sessions.
 
Thank you SNM for the in-depth information about Hiit workouts and steady state cardio, it would explain why my weight loss is greater with the longer cardio workouts, although I do understand mixing up my routines to avoid overuse injuries. Thank you too Katherine for you information, I will definitely keep the longer, steady state aerobics in my arsenal.
 
I would keep longer, steady-state workouts in your routine. My normal HIIT workouts are group mountainbike rides when it gets crazy because I'm riding with guys and that is a pride thing of not being dropped, so my heart rate on my monitor is usually in zone 4 and peaks to zone 5 several times. I drop 2 to 3 pounds after group rides and part of it is the amount of fluids lost through sweating. When I ride alone for long burners, like 2-3 hours, my weight doesn't change on the scale immediately, but I feel the change up in a day or two. Its a great way to balance your cardio.

I wanted to add this. My idea of great Cathe HIIT is Core Cardio Circuit and then immediately do one of the Shock Cardio HIIT shorter workouts right after it. Those two will get my heart rate up usually to zone 4.
 
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I do better with the long steady state cardio in terms of my weight. The way I incorporate HIIT is to start with 30 minutes of steady state cardio, then do the HIIT workout after that for a 1 hour workout. The Intensity DVD is also great for that.
For some reason, I do the HIIT workout better after 30 min of cardio than I do after just the HIIT DVD warmup. I guess I've got the fat burners going and so my body can utilize both fat and carbs more easily and effectively. It works for me. I only do one HIIT a week because I don't think my joints can take the pounding more than that. I also really don't like HIIT all that much-I was always the one coming in last on the 50 yard dash. I'm more of an endurance type than a sprinter. But I see some benefits to do doing the jumping in terms of balance and quick reaction time-good anti-aging exercise.
Beth
 
Thanks again for all the information ladies. The idea of adding on a short Hiit at the end of a regular cardio sounds like a good idea. I might try that one tomorrow, I will keep those steady state cardio dvd's in my routine :)
 
Thanks for this thread. Great info! I am also going to try adding on Hiit at the end of a steady state workout. I've either done one or the other, never combining them. Can't wait to try it!
 
I agree that Intensity is a wonderful cardio/hiit workout combined for about 1hr. I am not a fan of doing many hiit sessions per week (maybe 1) as I find they are pretty hard on my knees with all the jumping. I also love Cardio Core Circuit! To me it feels more like little blasts of Hiit incorporated with cardio that keeps your heart rate elevated nicely. AND no equipment, no step and simple choreography! :D
 
I usually do a steady state cardio workout before I do HIIT. No reason in particular, I just like doing that. My favorite combo is to do the Intervals 1-5 premix of IMAX 2 (or IMAX 3), then do HIIT 30/30. I like to do a 30 min kickbox workout, like Fire 30 from Turbofire, before doing HIIT Pyramid. I usually do a HIIT workout once/week. It doesn't bother knees or anything, but your body needs more recovery time from a HIIT workout than a steady state. Once I started doing HIIT workouts, I noticed that my fitness level began to improve drastically and quickly. My other cardio workouts seemed much easier after I started doing HIIT workouts on a regular basis which is why I make sure I do HIIT every week.
 
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