HIIT VS. long distance steady state for weight loss

[edinborogh]

hey all.
i wonder if you could share your opinions about which is better, and why - HIIT training ( high intensity intervals for short period of time workout such as speed pyramids, 8*500 etc ) or slow, steady state over a long distance? and where does "long distance" even starts? is it from X tie onwards, or X KM onwards.. ?

im putting aside diet, combination of both SS and HIIT and cross training. between one or the other - which is best for weight loss?

[Ombrax]

The one that will burn more calories. I'm guessing that would be the long-distance steady state.

[edinborogh]

The one that will burn more calories. I'm guessing that would be the long-distance steady state.

but there are calories and there are calories... the idea is to lose fat...

[Allan Olesen]

It is not only about burning calories/fat. It is also about burning it in a way where the body doesn't discover it and doesn't demand refueling.

The latter part is the difficult part for many of us. If you train at so high intensity, that you use your body's sugar depots for fuel, the body will want those sugar depots refilled when the training is over. So you will feel hungry, and if you don't give in to the hunger, you will feel tired.

What has worked for me is very low intensity training which leaves the sugar depots more or less untouched and mostly uses fat for fuel. I can do this for hours without getting hungry afterwards.

With this approach, I have lost 20 kg since Christmas. That is a bit more than 1 kg/week.

It should be said, however, that the low intensity training was not my only change. I also cut away all "fast" carbohydrates in my food. No sugar, flour, potatoes, rice, pasta, etc. I only eat "slow" carbohydrates from vegetables. This has probably also helped me from getting hungry, because when derived of the fast carbohydrates, it discovers that there are other sources for energy - for example my body fat.

I have no idea how the low intensity training would have worked alone. And I have no idea how the diet change would have worked alone. But in combination they have worked very well.

[Dangerscouse]

I always used to HIIT years ago and I never lost weight. After training for my 12hr challenge I lost circa 20kg. This was primarily due to long steady state sessions but some HIIT and hard session were done weekly too.

In my opinion do both but the HR limited sessions are the most important in my experience

[jamesg]

Exercise can make us heavier too; muscle weighs more than fat.

To lose weight, I use the same method used to get fat: alter the amount eaten.

[edinborogh]

awesome feedback, thank you all.

i worked real hard during 2017 and was able to lose significant weight first time ever in my life.
i hate training, physical activities, weight lifting, diet, sweating - im a couch potato...
but i rowed and lost lots of weight from 83Kg to 68Kg.
i got injured during a ski vacation in December and i wasnt able to row for four months. i gained weight back ( im now at 74Kg ) and i really got depressed.

getting back was also hard but thats another story.
i have been doing around 10Km steady state for the past 10 days or so. but i cant wait to see the scale drop down. i thought of doing HIIT but i dont think my knee will take the abuse..

[swingshiftworker]

Losing weight is all about calories in vs calories out (CICO). If you burn more cals than you ingest, you will lose weight. Simple as that.

I lost 40# just 6 months by monitoring my food intake just lifting and w/o doing any cardio. I have also maintained my weight loss over the following 18 months by continuing to log and control how much I eat but currently row 10k meters/day at a moderate rate (12-12.5min at 25-28spm w/a drag factor of 120) which burns about 550 cals/day, all of which I eat back for a net zero effect on my calorie intake but a significant increase in protein and other nutrients, which I feel are important to my health and nutrition.

Tabata style HIIT (8 intervals of 20 sec rows w/ 10 sec rest in between) lasts only 8 mins and burns very few cals (only about 45 cals for me). The routine will have you panting for breath at max output but that's NOT the way to go if you want to burn cals. Rowing for longer durations at a moderate rate would be a much better way to achieve that.

[edinborogh]

Losing weight is all about calories in vs calories out (CICO). If you burn more cals than you ingest, you will lose weight. Simple as that.

I lost 40# just 6 months by monitoring my food intake just lifting and w/o doing any cardio. I have also maintained my weight loss over the following 18 months by continuing to log and control how much I eat but currently row 10k meters/day at a moderate rate (12-12.5min at 25-28spm w/a drag factor of 120) which burns about 550 cals/day, all of which I eat back for a net zero effect on my calorie intake but a significant increase in protein and other nutrients, which I feel are important to my health and nutrition.

Tabata style HIIT (8 intervals of 20 sec rows w/ 10 sec rest in between) lasts only 8 mins and burns very few cals (only about 45 cals for me). The routine will have you panting for breath at max output but that's NOT the way to go if you want to burn cals. Rowing for longer durations at a moderate rate would be a much better way to achieve that.

i love my junk food... im not a very mentally strong person to monitor calories intake. i guess though that there is no way around it.

[blues_]

Tabata style HIIT (8 intervals of 20 sec rows w/ 10 sec rest in between) lasts only 8 mins...

Actually, it lasts only 4 minutes. 2:40 balls to the wall...1:20 rest.

(Personally, I "enjoy", (so to speak), HIIT and interval work. Though I do not row for weight loss...but for conditioning to supplement weight training.)

[jackarabit]

Reread Oleson’s post above. Adapt to burning fat. Burning carbs is a ticket for the eat to exercise, exercise to eat merry go round. LIT not HIT.

[mdpfirrman]

It honestly won't make much difference in my opinion. Weight loss happens with food, not the gym. I think that working out is incredibly important for maintenance but if you eat at a deficit, you will lose weight.

I got up to 245 lbs/250 lbs at my heaviest. I'm around 188 lbs now and have kept the weight off for around four/five years. I also was around 45% body fat, now I'm roughly around 18% body fat. Find a calorie counting app (like MyFitnessPal) and stick to it. Don't worry about changing your behaviors for the first month, just track what you eat accurately -- even if it takes a food scale. You'd be surprised at some of the things you eat and what calorie bombs they are. For me, it just became about replacing those calorie bombs with healthier alternatives and moving more. Because you get to "eat back calories" burned, I started working out more and more, because I like to eat.

That (and wanting to walk my dogs again after a bad knee injury) drove me to get in shape. I was a couch potato too and now I'm a workout fanatic. Took a long time to change habits. Habits can be hard to change too. I read something last year that I found to be very true. If you can change one thing, just one thing at a time, it's much more likely you'll stick to it. Trying to change multiple things and it's been proven that your success rate goes from very high (with one thing it's like 80% chance of success) to very low -- less than 40% chance. I've tried applying some of these principles with great success. Don't try to change too many things at once. Work on one thing, after a month or two, move on to the next habit you want to change.

[edinborogh]

It honestly won't make much difference in my opinion. Weight loss happens with food, not the gym. I think that working out is incredibly important for maintenance but if you eat at a deficit, you will lose weight.

I got up to 245 lbs/250 lbs at my heaviest. I'm around 188 lbs now and have kept the weight off for around four/five years. I also was around 45% body fat, now I'm roughly around 18% body fat. Find a calorie counting app (like MyFitnessPal) and stick to it. Don't worry about changing your behaviors for the first month, just track what you eat accurately -- even if it takes a food scale. You'd be surprised at some of the things you eat and what calorie bombs they are. For me, it just became about replacing those calorie bombs with healthier alternatives and moving more. Because you get to "eat back calories" burned, I started working out more and more, because I like to eat.

That (and wanting to walk my dogs again after a bad knee injury) drove me to get in shape. I was a couch potato too and now I'm a workout fanatic. Took a long time to change habits. Habits can be hard to change too. I read something last year that I found to be very true. If you can change one thing, just one thing at a time, it's much more likely you'll stick to it. Trying to change multiple things and it's been proven that your success rate goes from very high (with one thing it's like 80% chance of success) to very low -- less than 40% chance. I've tried applying some of these principles with great success. Don't try to change too many things at once. Work on one thing, after a month or two, move on to the next habit you want to change.

Awesome comment, thanks!