Interval training and HIIT, has been used by me for over 10 years. HGH, your natural fat burning hormone is greatly sped up, as well as your metabolism, and this lets you get rid of much more fat on the body than simply dieting will. None of this is news to those familiar with interval training. What many people don’t realize is that interval training also increases your ability to do endurance exercise.
The Interval Training Study With Surprising Results
A study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology back in 2005, took 16 subjects and divided them into 2 groups. Eight of the people were a control group that did nothing over two weeks, and the other eight people did sprint intervals for two weeks. Before the two weeks, and after the two weeks, both of the groups were tested for their endurance. In this short period of time, the interval group doubled their endurance capacity.
Endurance Benefits Greater Than Endurance Exercise
Although we now know that High Intensity Interval Training, certainly increases endurance in people better than those that do nothing, what are the benefits for those who do endurance exercise? Researchers have said that their interval study results are like, or better than the previously reported training studies, based on aerobics training of the same time length. The people in the study, increased their endurance capacity better than the endurance study, in which the people did endurance exercise for 2 hours a day for 5 days a week, or a total of 20 hours.
2 Hours of a Normal Cardio Workout vs 15 Minutes of HIIT?
When thinking that endurance exercises themselves, have less benefit to increase endurance than by doing HIIT, it is quite mind boggling. For a whole lot of people, this will be a totally new change for them. The facts of the study hasn’t become widely known, but the information isn’t new at all. Even now, when I go to the gym, I hardly ever see anyone doing interval work. This completely blows my mind! We have known for 15+ years that HIIT is superior to burning fat…and for the past 5 years that interval training may be one of the best ways to increase endurance.
How Can Endurance Athletes Benefit?
For people who are endurance athletes, then it is critical for them to use endurance exercise in their training regimen. To be able to withstand the pain that comes from endurance exercise, the tendons and muscles must be strengthened. What I would recommend is a mix of intervals along with your endurance training. That way you get the best of both worlds.
What About Everyone Else?
By doing steady state cardio after HIIT, you can get more fat burning from the exercises. My body, as well as my joints are also in better condition, so that helps with sports that need me to run for a long time. With an absence of body aches for the next two to three days, I can run for 20- 30 minutes. But, I only do this 1-2 times a week now. If you are just after getting lean there probably isn’t any real need for long periods of steady state cardio.
