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Originally Posted by thingstodo
Actually, HIIT doesn't help you lose the fat, only the longer, slower low intensity stuff does that. (HIIT helps your heart.) You'll burn calories at a high rate but almost no fat. And if you use up all your sugar stores you'll leach fuel from muscles, which is why it is important to train your body to process fat for fuel.
HIIT is important as part of an overall cardio plan. It's really better to only do HIIT once per week and the low stuff the rest of the week.
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i'm sorry, but i and the acsm will have to disagree. you've got the two completely backwards. low intensity long time cardio will improve your cardiovascular system. HIIT will increase your anaerobic threshold, but will not do nearly as much for a full body cardiovascular improvement. and also, lower intensity cardio doesn't do as much to improve your cardio health. the acsm recommends that you work out somewhere in the 65 - 85% of your HRR in order to get the maximal benefits (my acsm guidelines book is at work, i'll double check it for the exact guidelines and post exactly what they say by the end of the weekend... if i don't forget to).
the slower you work out, the higher a % of the calories burned will come from fat. but with an increase in intensity, the calories burned shift towards more carbs than fat. here's the thing though... you'll burn more calories total working at a higher intensity. and even though those calories are coming from a higher % of carbs, lower % of fat, you'll still burn more calories from fat in the in the high intensity then you will from low intensity. the high intensitiy will also create more of a calorie deficit.
and to nitpick a bit,
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Originally Posted by thingstodo
A heart monitor - if you learn to use one right - will help you train your body to process fat more efficiently as fuel.
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you're body doesn't process fat better... exercise using a heart rate monitor (or working without one) will increase the ability of your body to bring energy molecules (fatty acids and glucose) to the exercising cells and remove waste products from them. exercising also increases the number of mitochondria in your cells and therefore increases the ability of your cells to utalize fatty acids and pyruvate as energy sources. the citric acid energy cycle doesn't become more effcient, it's just got more power plants.
i'll be a bit busy over the rest of the week, but i'll try to get back here by the end of the weekend, post some info for you about HIIT vs. low intensity cardio.