In this article I want to compare traditional long, slow cardio with interval training for fat loss. From a fat loss standpoint, the more calories you burn, the better. Let’s see how good long, slow cardio and interval training are at burning calories.
Long, slow cardio burns more calories during training, but interval training burns more calories overall (during and after training), because it makes you burn calories between training sessions since your body must recover from the intense bout. It’s “hard” on your body. Winner: interval training.
Long and slow cardio won’t help you build muscle. On the other hand, interval training helps you build muscle, because to sprint or bike rapidly you need to push your body really hard. This builds muscle (think of a sprinter). The more muscle you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate will be, and thus interval training makes you burn more calories all day, every day. Winner: interval training.
Another benefit interval training is that it takes much less time (about 30 minutes per session). Winner: interval training.
Interval training isn’t perfect, though: it’s too hard for beginners. If you’re a beginner, you should probably start with some slow jogging first for two weeks, and then experiment with increasing your speed for 5 minutes and then walking for the next 5 minutes. Once that becomes easier, shorten the work interval and increase the speed. Winner: long, slow cardio.
Overall, if you’re physically able to do it, interval training is best. But since it’s very hard on the body, no one (not even elite athletes) does it more than twice per week. So, to burn fat quickly, the best approach is a combination of interval training (1-2 times per week) and long, slow cardio (2-3 times per week). Plus it brings variety to your training, keeps it from getting dull. Winner: both.
In conclusion, if you want to burn the maximum amount of fat, you should do interval training alone on the days you do it, but add some weight lifting to the long, slow cardio on the other days you train.
This being said, the specifics of interval training can get tricky. Hopefully I can share with you the method I prefer later. Athletes and smart trainers use interval training: you also should.
Carl Juneau teaches men how to get defined abs using a special combination of carefully sequenced abs exercises. Check out his web site to discover little-known abs exercises that help to get washboard abs.