Fun Stuff > CHATTER
The 'I Feel Like Being Healthier' Thread!
Aimless:
--- Quote from: Spluff on 22 Dec 2008, 02:56 ---You may not reduce your fat reserves during the excercise, but because of the high intensity of the excercise you undertook, you will end up using those reserves later on during the day due to EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption), which means, due to the large metabolic increase, you can burn up to eight or nine times as much fat as if you had done a moderate-intensity set of exercise for twice as long as you did HIIT.
--- End quote ---
Esp. in fitness circles, it's often hard to get info on the applicability--not to mention the validity!--of the research being referenced. So, small, short, limited, poorly controlled and unverified studies end up getting the same amount of attention and credibility as more thorough research.
I sometimes have a tendency to talk out of my ass, so this time I went ahead and looked at the literature before replying. The number you cite is interesting, because studies looking at EPOC after different kinds of exercise at different intensities have yielded very inconsistent results wrt magnitude and duration. Few studies have directly compared different regimens, and none have been long-term.
If you're really interested in the current literature, I can send you this article:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17101527?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=4&log$=relatedreviews&logdbfrom=pubmed
--- Quote ---[...]Notwithstanding the aforementioned, the earlier research optimism regarding an important role for the EPOC in weight loss is generally unfounded. This is further reinforced by acknowledging that the exercise stimuli required to promote a prolonged EPOC are unlikely to be tolerated by non-athletic individuals. The role of exercise in the maintenance of body mass is therefore predominantly mediated via the cumulative effect of the energy expenditure during the actual exercise.
--- End quote ---
It's good reading if you're interested in sports science :)
I didn't realise HIIT has a large aerobic component, however. And I'll concede that it may have an advantage in that the short duration may make it easier to adhere to.
--- Quote ---Whilst this is true, that muscle protein is being utilized at any point in the time, the amount is significantly increased during long term aerobic excercise - because of the long duration of the excercise, the body can run out of it's standard energy reserves and enter a catabolic state where it is actively breaking down muscle tissue for fuel.
--- End quote ---
Your muscles preferentially burn fat, and during aerobic exercise they burn more fat. Can you think of a normal scenario where a normally trained individual, during normal aerobic exercise, depletes both his fat reserves and his glycogen reserves--to the point where the body can't keep up the blood-sugar without breaking down muscle fibres?
The protein the body breaks down under normal circumstances to get glucose doesn't come from the cannibalisation of muscle fibres. It's better to think of it as "excess" protein, that continually flows between muscles and the liver.
If you're talking about a skinny person who goes for a long run after a long overnight fast then I'm with you.
--- Quote ---I agree that it is "not really that much of an issue in most people, unless you are attempting to gain strength or size", as I posted earlier. I would, however, argue that it is still relevant to the average person. HIIT is a very effective way of burning fat and increasing overall cardiovascular fitness in a short period of time (not everybody has enough time to go out and run for an hour or more a day).
--- End quote ---
They should start skipping instead :D that IS fun.
Thanks for bringing up EPOC btw. The sports physiology dept. at my uni is prolly the best in Sweden, and I'm thinking it might be fun to do a project with them on this very matter :)
cheers
RedLion:
Today is the day I start going to the gym again!
Katherine:
Way to go, RedLion!
Alex C:
I hate skipping and definitely don't think it's fun, but hey, whatever, I think pretty much all exercise sucks. That's why I used to go heavy on the brutally effective but short options, since pretty much all exercise fits under the "Time I'd rather be doing something else with" category.
Che_Lab:
I always say I'm going to start eating healthier, although I don't know why. Then people tell me I'm not fat and I need to stop being so insecure about myself. *goes back to looking in the mirror and /wrists*
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