Are High Intensity Interval Training Workouts Designed For Fat Loss Or For Lean Muscle Growth?
Unless you have been living under a rock for the last three-to-four years, you have probably already heard about high intensity interval training. However, one of the biggest questions surrounding this training method is quite difficult to find an honest answer to - can you build lean muscle with it or is it reserved for fat loss workouts?
For almost a decade, HIIT has been restricted to those who want to lose fat while the people at your local gym stuck with regular cardio work. []
If you are trying to gain size you can get fooled into believing you only need to work hard on the weights, or that cardio work is dull and boring. However, recent studies show that muscle gains were massively increased thanks to the incorporation of HIIT into weekly resistance workouts in place of dull, regular cardiovascular activity.
If you are one of the many people who finds their cardiovascular activity to be somewhat dull and repetitive, the discovery that HIIT can burn significantly more fat while also retaining lean muscle in a superior way to regular cardio should ring like a church bell. This is the news you have been waiting for, after all. Finally, you don't have to sit on the bike for an hour five times per week!
The next discovery may well shock you to your core if you are a long-term gym user. Cardiovascular activity should be performed before a resistance training, as opposed to afterwards. Not only will this increase your fat loss results, but it will also improve muscle retention as well. Let the magnitude of that fact sink in for a moment, because over 90% of gym members insist upon doing their cardio work after they're finished on the weights.
The study which discovered this information was actually completed back in 2001, but was under-reported in the media at the time. As a result it has gone largely unnoticed by the general population and most fitness instructors, who still follow the old belief that doing cardio work before a weights workout will fatigue the muscles.
One other aspect which has to be taken into consideration here is the increased difficulty of a high intensity interval training session versus a steady state cardio session. This means your body will need additional time to recovery. You shouldn't be performing intervals every single day, because you can get better results by letting your body recover fully. Three-to-four sessions per week is enough for most people.
Furthermore, research shows that high intensity interval training burns of 6 times as much fat as regular cardiovascular activity, making it a sensible choice if you are trying to figure out how to build muscle while maximizing your fat loss in the process.
For almost a decade, HIIT has been restricted to those who want to lose fat while the people at your local gym stuck with regular cardio work. []
If you are trying to gain size you can get fooled into believing you only need to work hard on the weights, or that cardio work is dull and boring. However, recent studies show that muscle gains were massively increased thanks to the incorporation of HIIT into weekly resistance workouts in place of dull, regular cardiovascular activity.
If you are one of the many people who finds their cardiovascular activity to be somewhat dull and repetitive, the discovery that HIIT can burn significantly more fat while also retaining lean muscle in a superior way to regular cardio should ring like a church bell. This is the news you have been waiting for, after all. Finally, you don't have to sit on the bike for an hour five times per week!
The next discovery may well shock you to your core if you are a long-term gym user. Cardiovascular activity should be performed before a resistance training, as opposed to afterwards. Not only will this increase your fat loss results, but it will also improve muscle retention as well. Let the magnitude of that fact sink in for a moment, because over 90% of gym members insist upon doing their cardio work after they're finished on the weights.
The study which discovered this information was actually completed back in 2001, but was under-reported in the media at the time. As a result it has gone largely unnoticed by the general population and most fitness instructors, who still follow the old belief that doing cardio work before a weights workout will fatigue the muscles.
One other aspect which has to be taken into consideration here is the increased difficulty of a high intensity interval training session versus a steady state cardio session. This means your body will need additional time to recovery. You shouldn't be performing intervals every single day, because you can get better results by letting your body recover fully. Three-to-four sessions per week is enough for most people.
Furthermore, research shows that high intensity interval training burns of 6 times as much fat as regular cardiovascular activity, making it a sensible choice if you are trying to figure out how to build muscle while maximizing your fat loss in the process.
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More help - Discover the facts surrounding high intensity interval training as strength coach Russ Howe PTI teaches you how to build muscle using the most research backed methods, all for free via his fitness blog.
