Fasted cardio v High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

[|D_J^B_J|]

FASTED (low-medium intensity) CARDIO:
Pros:
- Burns more BF than HIIT
- Less stressful on the body
- Maintains an increased heart rate for longer (hence, better for cardiovascular health)

Cons:
- Involves rolling out of bed to hitting the cardio machine almost immediately (may be difficult for some)
- Takes longer to burn as many cals as HIIT
- High risk of catabolism and loss of lean body mass
- Both boredom AND hunger can set in very quickly!


HIIT:
Pros:
- Time efficiency (less time is needed to burn as many calories as fasted cardio)
- Increases metabolism throughout the day
- Increases speed/explosive power
- Less chance of catabolism since training time is shorter and muscles are constantly being rested.
- Increases muscle pumps.

Cons:
- Burns less BF than fasted cardio
- Not as good for cardiovascular heath due to the shorter time and heart rate not being elevated for as long
- More painful!
- Only limited to certain people / people with certain athletic abilities (i.e. it is not ideal for someone who has a high BF% and is unfit)


Your thoughts?

I personally prefer HIIT, I've never been much of an early riser.

 

[pintoca]

I do NON-FASTED regular cardio: 45 min @ 75 ~ 85% MHR. Works wonders for me... I do this in the evenings, AFTER my weight training.

I have tried the fasted thing ocassionally on weekends and think is not my cup of tea... hell, I wake up everyday at 6am to go work... leave my Sundays in peace

Nedless to say, I have no real point of reference or comparison as this is the only cardio form I have ever done, so HIIT might be better (but I doubt it).

Notice I don't do some lame-ass newspaper reading cardio at 55 ~ 65% MHR... Keeping that heart at close to 80% is a LOT of work!!! I believe that is close to my anabolic threshold, since the few times I venture into the 85+% I start loosing it...

my 2 cents.-

 

[anthrax]

Keeping that heart at close to 80% is a LOT of work!!! I believe that is close to my anabolic threshold, since the few times I venture into the 85+% I start loosing it...

The AT is usually around 70-75% max HR

 

[|D_J^B_J|]

I do NON-FASTED regular cardio: 45 min @ 75 ~ 85% MHR. Works wonders for me... I do this in the evenings, AFTER my weight training.

After weight training, your glycogen stores are depleted like they are when you wake up... So cardio after weights would be the closest thing to fasted cardio, notwithstanding the fact that your muscles will suffer due to fact that they really need fast absorbing protein and simple sugars (PWO shake) at this time.

 

[pintoca]

I hear you. However, I understand you are sensitive for the next three hours, so a balance needed to be found for me... I would love to be able to drink my PWO right after weights to protect every last gram of muscle I could, but then I would be burning a whole lot of sugar with my cardio...

I guess I'd rather burn some large chunk of fat than save couple grams of muscle.