Despite growing in popularity over the last ten years or so, HIIT remains an area of health and fitness still shrouded in mystery. If you are attempting to determine how to build muscle effectively this is one area you definitely need to look into.
Today we're going to be looking at this form of cardiovascular exercise and answering the all important question. Is it good for hypertrophy?
When it comes to cardio exercise, the fact is most guys don't do enough of it. They're happy to throw around the weights three times per week but if you offer them the opportunity to jump onto a treadmill or exercise bike they'll not be anywhere near as keen.
Naturally, this behavior stems from a largely untrue stereotype that cardio is for women and weights are for men. This age old belief is something which has held countless gym members back for years and it's built upon lies.
In fact, everybody needs to do some form of cardio if they want to get fitter and stronger. No matter whether your are a man or a woman, if you wish to get leaner you should be performing some form of cardiovascular exercise alongside your resistance routine. One of the best methods is high intensity interval training.
That's right. Even though it's cardio, you will still be able to get bigger. This is largely because of the intensity of the work. Although you might be using a treadmill or an exercise bike, your workout isn't going to be a dull, slow paced, aerobic affair.
By constantly changing the resistance and intensity level of your gym session you will be able to challenge your body in ways it has never been pushed before. In fact, many of the benefits to this type of training have more in common with weights than they do with cardiovascular exercise.
First of all, which energy system does your body use when you are training with weights? Your anaerobic energy system. During any high intensity interval workout you'll be tapping into the exact same energy resource.
Secondly, one of the best things about resistance training is that the calories continue to be burnt by your body for up to sixteen hours after your session ends. This phenomenon is known as Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption and the exact same phenomenon occurs after a high intensity cardio workout. While you stop burning off calories the moment your regular cardiovascular workout finishes, interval training helps you to carry on even after you have left the gym.
As you can see, learning how to build muscle isn't necessarily all about hitting the weights. HIIT is a great way to increase lean tissue, with the added benefit of stripping away unwanted body fat at an increased rate.
Today we're going to be looking at this form of cardiovascular exercise and answering the all important question. Is it good for hypertrophy?
When it comes to cardio exercise, the fact is most guys don't do enough of it. They're happy to throw around the weights three times per week but if you offer them the opportunity to jump onto a treadmill or exercise bike they'll not be anywhere near as keen.
Naturally, this behavior stems from a largely untrue stereotype that cardio is for women and weights are for men. This age old belief is something which has held countless gym members back for years and it's built upon lies.
In fact, everybody needs to do some form of cardio if they want to get fitter and stronger. No matter whether your are a man or a woman, if you wish to get leaner you should be performing some form of cardiovascular exercise alongside your resistance routine. One of the best methods is high intensity interval training.
That's right. Even though it's cardio, you will still be able to get bigger. This is largely because of the intensity of the work. Although you might be using a treadmill or an exercise bike, your workout isn't going to be a dull, slow paced, aerobic affair.
By constantly changing the resistance and intensity level of your gym session you will be able to challenge your body in ways it has never been pushed before. In fact, many of the benefits to this type of training have more in common with weights than they do with cardiovascular exercise.
First of all, which energy system does your body use when you are training with weights? Your anaerobic energy system. During any high intensity interval workout you'll be tapping into the exact same energy resource.
Secondly, one of the best things about resistance training is that the calories continue to be burnt by your body for up to sixteen hours after your session ends. This phenomenon is known as Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption and the exact same phenomenon occurs after a high intensity cardio workout. While you stop burning off calories the moment your regular cardiovascular workout finishes, interval training helps you to carry on even after you have left the gym.
As you can see, learning how to build muscle isn't necessarily all about hitting the weights. HIIT is a great way to increase lean tissue, with the added benefit of stripping away unwanted body fat at an increased rate.
About the Author:
About the author: Russ Howe PTI coaches classes in the gym each day. If you'd like to know how to build muscle or need help with performing a good hiit routine, his tips will help you improve results.
