Spliff Star
03-26-08, 12:58 PM
I recommend reading http://forums.sohh.com/showthread.php?t=999064 first to fully grasp the concept of this post.
Again, this is to help the uninformed be informed.
High Intensity Interval Training (Cardio)
By Boyd Myers
Right now, I'm training my cardiovascular system for maximum-response to my weight training. I want to recover faster between sets (I admit, it has become a weakness due to the fact that I haven't trained at the MAX % I should).
I think everyone knows the premise, but for me, it's an easy way to get the lungs and heart fired up and avoid getting bored. Remember that doing slow-go cardio (55% range) is good for burning fat as fuel, but it really does nothing for the cardiovascular system. So many people fail to train their hearts as hard as they train the rest of their body, and I don't think anyone would debate that it is the most important muscle. This is a way to integrate both: your heart really pumps and you burn a relatively high number of calories in a short amount of time. It's fast, it's explosive, and it works.
I recommend doing this on a track, but it can be done on a treadmill, bike, stairs, street, eliptical machine or whatever:
Warm-up with a brisk 3-5 minute walk. Stretch, and walk again for 2 minutes before starting.
I recommend it 2-3x per week. It may be strenuous on the CNS, so anymore may not be beneficial.
Week 1
3 intervals
Each interval-30 seconds sprinting (as hard as you can go for 30 seconds for whatever you're doing) /30 seconds walking
Week 2
4 intervals
Week 3
5 intervals
Week 4
6 Intervals
Keep this up for 6-8 weeks, and I guarantee you'll see some fat loss with minimal, if any muscle loss. I believe that it is an excellent type of cardio to complement heavy lifting, because of how brief it is. If you're looking mainly for fat loss, I recommend this for individuals that are already somewhat lean and in decent cardiovascular shape, and are just trying to get rid of stubborn fat or tune up their cardio systems.
Note-I personally start at 5-6 intervals, because my cardio conditioning is pretty decent. I would generally recommend starting at 3-4 intervals, especially if you haven't sprinted in a while.
If you do this on a treadmill, remember that a treadmill takes a few seconds to adjust, so take this into consideration. Also, maybe you'll want to use the incline feature to make it more intense. When I use the treadmill, I look for one with a higher top speed (12mph) and I raise the incline to 4-6%. It's a lot harder than it sounds, ESPECIALLY after 5-6 minutes.
As far as different types of calories burned, although the duration is short, your total calories will be higher. A lot of the calories you burn will be from glycogen, but your fat calories burned will be quite impressive as well... Since the duration isn't too long, muscle should be spared. However, don't do this on an empty stomach (just like you shouldn't be for any cardio). By now, I hope you are aware that you need to have a source of BCAAs to ensure your body isn't tapping into muscle stores for aminos to burn as fuel...
It's really important to remember this - high intensity work (like HIIT and sprints) rely on glucose for fuel, but forces your body to burn fat for fuel for the rest of the day to compensate. Likewise, lower intensity cardio may use more fat for fuel (after stored glycogen is exhausted) but forces the body to burn glucose for the rest of the day for fuel, which is obviously an undesirable event for someone looking to maintain muscle. Think of the difference between Olympic sprinters and tail backs (always muscular and lean) and marathon runners (look like cancer patients).
Again, this is to help the uninformed be informed.
High Intensity Interval Training (Cardio)
By Boyd Myers
Right now, I'm training my cardiovascular system for maximum-response to my weight training. I want to recover faster between sets (I admit, it has become a weakness due to the fact that I haven't trained at the MAX % I should).
I think everyone knows the premise, but for me, it's an easy way to get the lungs and heart fired up and avoid getting bored. Remember that doing slow-go cardio (55% range) is good for burning fat as fuel, but it really does nothing for the cardiovascular system. So many people fail to train their hearts as hard as they train the rest of their body, and I don't think anyone would debate that it is the most important muscle. This is a way to integrate both: your heart really pumps and you burn a relatively high number of calories in a short amount of time. It's fast, it's explosive, and it works.
I recommend doing this on a track, but it can be done on a treadmill, bike, stairs, street, eliptical machine or whatever:
Warm-up with a brisk 3-5 minute walk. Stretch, and walk again for 2 minutes before starting.
I recommend it 2-3x per week. It may be strenuous on the CNS, so anymore may not be beneficial.
Week 1
3 intervals
Each interval-30 seconds sprinting (as hard as you can go for 30 seconds for whatever you're doing) /30 seconds walking
Week 2
4 intervals
Week 3
5 intervals
Week 4
6 Intervals
Keep this up for 6-8 weeks, and I guarantee you'll see some fat loss with minimal, if any muscle loss. I believe that it is an excellent type of cardio to complement heavy lifting, because of how brief it is. If you're looking mainly for fat loss, I recommend this for individuals that are already somewhat lean and in decent cardiovascular shape, and are just trying to get rid of stubborn fat or tune up their cardio systems.
Note-I personally start at 5-6 intervals, because my cardio conditioning is pretty decent. I would generally recommend starting at 3-4 intervals, especially if you haven't sprinted in a while.
If you do this on a treadmill, remember that a treadmill takes a few seconds to adjust, so take this into consideration. Also, maybe you'll want to use the incline feature to make it more intense. When I use the treadmill, I look for one with a higher top speed (12mph) and I raise the incline to 4-6%. It's a lot harder than it sounds, ESPECIALLY after 5-6 minutes.
As far as different types of calories burned, although the duration is short, your total calories will be higher. A lot of the calories you burn will be from glycogen, but your fat calories burned will be quite impressive as well... Since the duration isn't too long, muscle should be spared. However, don't do this on an empty stomach (just like you shouldn't be for any cardio). By now, I hope you are aware that you need to have a source of BCAAs to ensure your body isn't tapping into muscle stores for aminos to burn as fuel...
It's really important to remember this - high intensity work (like HIIT and sprints) rely on glucose for fuel, but forces your body to burn fat for fuel for the rest of the day to compensate. Likewise, lower intensity cardio may use more fat for fuel (after stored glycogen is exhausted) but forces the body to burn glucose for the rest of the day for fuel, which is obviously an undesirable event for someone looking to maintain muscle. Think of the difference between Olympic sprinters and tail backs (always muscular and lean) and marathon runners (look like cancer patients).