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Is HIIT Or Cardio Better For Weight Loss?


Fat to fit transformation is an arduous task; hard to accomplish unless you have an in-depth understanding of everything involved. A healthy nut has to be vigilant about what to eat, when, and how much to eat. The same holds for exercise. Fitness enthusiasts find themselves baffled about which workout to adopt; cardio or HIIT.

Both offer numerous health benefits. For choosing the befitting workout, first, consider your personal needs, stamina, and health condition, and fitness goals. Here is a brief demonstration to help you figure out a better method for weight loss.


1. Hit It Up With HIIT


It is high-intensity interval training that intersperses small phases of intense training and rest. It incorporates both resistance training and anaerobic activity. The activity at its climax spikes up your heart rate by 80% for a short span of 1-5 minutes. Next is the rest period that requires you to drop your heart rate by 20%. Fitness watches help you to track your heart rate. Gym rats are familiar with Tabata. It is a workout with a cycle of 20-second intense activity followed by a 10-minute rest. So a 4-minute exercise includes eight cycles with 14 calories exhausted per minute. The rate of calories consumed is equivalent to that of an hour of moderate cardio activity.


HIIT improves the cardiovascular and metabolic functions of your body. It upgrades your tolerance and workout results so that you can rock with your weight loss.


HIIT workouts are highly effective for big tummies. You can do a targeted HIIT exercise like burpees, jumping rope, jump squat, or plank jacks to melt your visceral abdominal fat in a shorter time. You are eligible for HIIT if you are

● An experienced athlete and desire to improve endurance

● Want to lose weight quickly

● Want to save your workout time

● Can handle different levels and intervals of activities


Are You A HIIT Person?


Despite its numerous weight-loss and health benefits, HIIT is not everyone’s cinch. High-intensity workouts have certain drawbacks too.

● Not for beginners! The newbies should first master aerobics before diving into HIIT.

● HIIT can hit you. High-intensity activity carries a high injury risk.

● There is also a high possibility of burnout syndrome in case you overdo it.


2. Cardio, Everyone Can Do It


Cardiovascular exercises are activities with low to high intensity that require oxygen to yield maximum energy. These activities increase the heart rate by about 60 to 80% than at rest. You can include multiple sports choices like running, swimming, jogging swimming, cycling, skiing, and kayaking. Cardio also offers multiple health benefits for maintaining heart health, blood pressure, and optimal cholesterol levels. Cardio is a tool for losing weight.

Unlike HIIT requiring considerable healing time for muscles, cardio results in quick muscle recovery. So if you are a beginner or are unwilling to experiment with your workouts, cardio is perfect for you.


Are You A Cardio Person?


Despite its innumerable benefits for weight loss, cardio sometimes would not be the best pick due to the following reasons.

● It is time-consuming.

● Repeated movements of the same kind could cause injury.

● Doing the same activity could become uninteresting or unexciting after a while.

● There is lesser muscle strengthening in cardio as compared to HIIT.


Conclusion

Which is better for weight loss, HIIT or cardio? The answer depends on your body conditions, routine, and your weight-loss target. Both cardio and HIIT are highly effective for weight loss. Beginners should start with cardio; after building up enough stamina, they can gradually switch to HIIT. Whatever method you choose, the occasional intermingling of both techniques would spice up your boring workout.


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