With high intensity interval training becoming one of the hot trends of the last few years in the fitness industry there is one burning question which most gym enthusiasts want to ask - can you build muscle and maintain it with HIIT?
For years, it was believed that performing high intensity cardiovascular activity was a sure-fire way to waste all of your efforts when it came to lifting weights. []
If you are trying to gain size you can get fooled into believing you only need to work hard on the weights, or that cardio work is dull and boring. However, recent studies show that muscle gains were massively increased thanks to the incorporation of HIIT into weekly resistance workouts in place of dull, regular cardiovascular activity.
That's right, performing a high intensity cardio workout is actually superior not only for burning fat but also for building lean tissue! While this is probably music to the ears of all those gym enthusiasts who find cardiovascular activity to be somewhat dull, it does come with a few warnings.
It would be foolish to jump straight in, of course, without taking a few minutes to learn some of the basic principles which HIIT operates around. People often buy into opinions in the fitness world, rather than stone cold facts. They follow the advice of their friend purely because he's in shape, despite the fact that the advice offered little or zero scientific support. This is why so many people don't get results in the gym. For instance, most people do their cardio work after they hit the weights. Based on recent studies, not only should you be doing HIIT you should also be doing it before you hit the weights.
A Canadian study found that cardio exercise followed by weight training was vastly superior to doing it afterwards, both for fat loss and lean muscle retention. This study dates back to 2001, but was vastly under-reported and so it went under the radar of many trainers.
One other aspect which has to be taken into consideration here is the increased difficulty of a high intensity interval training session versus a steady state cardio session. This means your body will need additional time to recovery. You shouldn't be performing intervals every single day, because you can get better results by letting your body recover fully. Three-to-four sessions per week is enough for most people.
If you have been trying to learn how to build muscle in the gym but were perhaps unsure of high intensity interval training due to the fat loss stigma which is attached to it, you need not worry. HIIT has been proven to retain lean muscle mass in a far superior way to regular cardiovascular activity, allowing you to slot it into your program and get the best of both worlds.
For years, it was believed that performing high intensity cardiovascular activity was a sure-fire way to waste all of your efforts when it came to lifting weights. [
If you don't know how to build muscle today's interview will assist you a lot.
If you are trying to gain size you can get fooled into believing you only need to work hard on the weights, or that cardio work is dull and boring. However, recent studies show that muscle gains were massively increased thanks to the incorporation of HIIT into weekly resistance workouts in place of dull, regular cardiovascular activity.
That's right, performing a high intensity cardio workout is actually superior not only for burning fat but also for building lean tissue! While this is probably music to the ears of all those gym enthusiasts who find cardiovascular activity to be somewhat dull, it does come with a few warnings.
It would be foolish to jump straight in, of course, without taking a few minutes to learn some of the basic principles which HIIT operates around. People often buy into opinions in the fitness world, rather than stone cold facts. They follow the advice of their friend purely because he's in shape, despite the fact that the advice offered little or zero scientific support. This is why so many people don't get results in the gym. For instance, most people do their cardio work after they hit the weights. Based on recent studies, not only should you be doing HIIT you should also be doing it before you hit the weights.
A Canadian study found that cardio exercise followed by weight training was vastly superior to doing it afterwards, both for fat loss and lean muscle retention. This study dates back to 2001, but was vastly under-reported and so it went under the radar of many trainers.
One other aspect which has to be taken into consideration here is the increased difficulty of a high intensity interval training session versus a steady state cardio session. This means your body will need additional time to recovery. You shouldn't be performing intervals every single day, because you can get better results by letting your body recover fully. Three-to-four sessions per week is enough for most people.
If you have been trying to learn how to build muscle in the gym but were perhaps unsure of high intensity interval training due to the fat loss stigma which is attached to it, you need not worry. HIIT has been proven to retain lean muscle mass in a far superior way to regular cardiovascular activity, allowing you to slot it into your program and get the best of both worlds.
About the Author:
Your writer - Discover the facts behind high intensity interval training as strength coach Russ Howe PTI teaches you how to build muscle using the most scientifically backed methods, all for free via his fitness blog.