Steady State Cardio vs. Interval (HIIT) Cardio – Which Is Best?

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Next up on my list of Versus Series is cardio.
When it comes to cardio, there’s a lot of conflicting information out there.  However, since you’re a reader of my blog, I trust you’ll follow my lead on this one.

One trainer will tell you something, your buddy at the gym will tell you a different something, and some know-it-all on online with a muscle building blog will tell you something else

The problem is that the story is different depending on who’s telling it.

It could be true in one circumstance and false in another.  That’s just the nature of working out.  It’s not easy to give you a “one size fits all” scenario.

I don’t wanna “poo poo” on steady state cardio because it has it’s place – if you’re training for a distance event or it’s your only kind of physical activity.

The biggest thing is that your body adapts to whatever you repeatedly do to it.  It adapts to become stronger, your neural pathways adapt to fire more efficiently, and your metabolism adapts to burn less and less calories.

That being said, you must progressively overload your body to make favorable adaptations, or make changes in your routine.

Steady State Cardio

As I said before, it’s good to do if you’re training for a distance event because your body adapts and becomes more efficient at doing the same thing.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not all that great for burning calories and losing weight.  Why?

Because your body ADAPTS.

For one, you only burn a few hundred calories – 200 to 400.

Second, it doesn’t increase your metabolism a whole lot and your rate of calorie burn is only increased while you’re doing the exercise.

Lastly, by doing the same thing over and over, your body becomes energy efficient so it eventually takes a lot more work to burn the same amount of calories.

I’ve seen plenty of overweight people run marathons, but I’ve never seen an overweight sprinter.

Interval Cardio (HIIT)

Also known as HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training is great for burning more calories and losing weight.

Interval training forces your muscles in to an anaerobic state, meaning they are in an oxygen deficit.  When your muscles do this, they are forced to burn more calories to maintain the same level of activity.

Interval training can be things like short sprints with short rests, or quick body weight exercises.

Very intense “aerobics” can do the trick also.   You can review my post about Interval Training here.

Generally this creates and overall higher calorie burn which results in more fat burned up.

It also increases your metabolism for up to 24 hrs after the workout because of its anaerobic nature, unlike steady state cardio.

So there you have it.  A brief but thorough look at the two main types of cardio and what they’re used for.   Choose wisely.

Get Big. Get Ripped. Get Fit With Mitch.

Related posts:

1. The Best Cardio Exercises To Burn Belly Fat
2. Which Exercises Burn The Most Fat/Calories?
3. Does Running Really Help You Lose Weight?