There seems to be a lot of confusion over cardio these days. You might be thinking, “cardio is cardio, right?” While that may be true to some degree, it’s not entirely true. High intensity interval training (HIIT) and steady state cardio are two different ways you can approach cardiovascular exercise. While they are both effective ways to burn fat, lose weight and strengthen your cardiovascular system, they are different.
Steady State Cardio
First, let’s talk about steady state cardio, because this is the type of cardio you’re probably most familiar with. Jogging, for example, is a type of steady state cardio: you lockout at a certain pace (intensity) and you keep that up for a certain amount of time, say 30 to 45 minutes.
HIIT
Next, we have HIIT. HIIT is basically the opposite of steady state cardio: you burst out with maximum intensity for a short period of time, and then you take a quick break and do it again. Sprinting is a form of HIIT, because you can’t sprint for more than a couple minutes before having to rest so you can do it some more.
Fat Burning
You’ll actually burn more calories from fat while you are doing steady state cardio; however, you will burn more calories from fat after you do a HIIT workout. Confused? Okay, after you finish a steady state workout, your metabolism quickly goes back to its normal rate, but after you finish a HIIT workout, your metabolism stays elevated for several hours. So, over time, you will burn more fat from HIIT.
Muscle Building
HIIT places a lot more stress on your muscles than steady state cardio. For example, it takes a lot more force to sprint than it does to jog. So, you will build more muscle doing HIIT than steady state.
Personal Preference
While I will say, in my opinion, HIIT is better than steady state because you burn more fat and build more muscle, which type you choose to do is entirely up to you; it’s your own personal preference. They are both good for your body.
Sources:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/steady-state-and-interval-training-part-1.html
http://leanbodiesconsulting.com/articles/Intervals+Increase+Overall+Calorie+Usage
http://www.exrx.net/FatLoss/HIITvsET.html