There's a consistent saying you regularly hear: figure out what works for you!
Whether it's HIIT, interval or circuit training....in the end motion & exercise = calories burned. Many dieters neglect to realize the vast difference in their eating & exercise habits from when they were in the reckless stage to their new lifestyle. OMG, today I get bent if I eat a snack-sized Snickers bar...yet back in the day I'd think nothing of eating a full-sized Snickers bar, 5 pieces of pizza, 2 beers and then growing roots for a few hours in front of the tv.
Let's see: eat 6,000 calories, exercise very little....as contrasted to eat 2,200calories and exercise about 12 hours per week. Yeah: HUGE difference.
My trainer/nutritionist/dietician says he's never seen anyone work so hard to lose weight then me...so I can tell ya, it's really this simple:
1 pound of fat = 3,500 calories. In the end, it's calories in vs. calories out. Eat less, move more and you will lose weight. Some lose it faster & easier, some work longer & harder...but in the end, the inevitable results still happen.
HIIT is explained to have the advantage of the extended prolonged oxidative effect such that your metabolism is stimulated and increased for a longer duration (2-3 days) spanning beyond only the period in which the exercise occurs. Essentially burst of high-output followed by lower intensity periods, this technique is great to mix it up in your routine. My only concern is that such intensity is hard on the body. Every year people die running marathons: should 60+ year old people REALLY be going balls-to-the-wall for repeated periods chasing after what they think is the only way to break a plateau or make some progress? :azzangel:
I'm not going to suggest that it's wrong...but I will offer an alternative that works for me. I get on my bike and go for rides that often run over 3+ hours. After 20+ minutes the blood-sugar starts to drop and the body starts burning fat, I've read that After an hour the fat-burning goes up 7x...so after an hour I imagine I'm in the "golden zone"....
Is this true? My "guy" (nutrionist/trainer/dietician...published writer, lecturer, etc) says there's a LOT of propaganda and bunk research and theories out there...so who konws, it's just a matter of what you read, what info you've been exposed to and what you select to believe.
Common theory suggest that intense exertion can not be fueled by fat...fat burns too slow and can only be metabolized at a certain rate. When the body is putting-out it's mostly burning glycogen in an aerobic state. Heavy-duty intense exertion involves ATP/Creatine-Phosphate and is anarobic, which is why lactic acid builds/accumulates. While many people imagine a "fuel-select" switch...it's just not accurate: your body burns a mixture of all fuels...but the fat IS the long-term reserve that many of us have trouble tapping into. Indeed, I imagined much of my exercise was just depleting my glycogen and then replenishing it again when I ate: why won't this fat get off my body????
For me, the long-haul extended rides REALLY made the difference. I think the low-impact nature of biking is good...but who am I kidding: I dial in some HIIT every time I come towards the top of the hill and churn-out a burst of energy till I reach the top. LOL, I'm so wiped-out when I reach the top of the hill that a 6 year-old could knock me off my bike and steal it and I'd just be sitting there limp & panting
Well...to actually conclude...we can theorize different approaches and discuss the many merits of each...but in the end my experience has strongly dictated:
1) Watch the diet more then anything, you'd be shocked how many more calories you eat then you imagine. I've found it's diet more then anything...and remember: the body isn't stupid, it knows you just blew 2,000 calories on that long ride and it WILL hormonally command, inspire and demand of you to replenish what you lost. It doesn't know you're trying to lose weight...your gonna get the hungry signal until the blood-sugar is up.
2) Exercise is exercise...just move more and don't obsess with all the different techniques and approaches. That's not to say there's no merit or advantage of one over the other...but in the end, it's ALL good.
And one other thing: don't go nuts over that scale!!!!
Over the course of some 4 weeks I rode my bike, swam miles, played racquetball and ate very little, I did my own hardcore/extreme World's Biggest Loswer....I expected a big drop big-time on the scale...instead (to my utter dismay) I had gained 2.5 pounds. I was devasted and psychologically crippled....UNTIL the body-fat calipers were applied. I mean, I know I felt leaner and looked leaner...but the scale went up...so wtf? To our astonishment, I had dropped 2.4% in body-fat. Muscle does weigh more then fat and that's not like the bogust excuse tubby woman use with their thyroid & "water retention"....it's real.
Watching your body lose fat is like trying to watch your hair grow: you just can't see it. I lost over 40 pounds and still look in the mirror wondering when it's finally going to come off....then I saw some pics of myself and it came clear. If you're doing it right, the scale may not drop much and you may not see/feel the progress.....it's a slow process, but if you stay the course and do the right thing....progress is inevitable.
Sorry for the long post, I perspire to inspire!
