The intro before the real intro

     Four weeks ago my brother and I signed our death certificates when we decided it was a good idea to challenge all laws of fitness by discovering and testing the workout plan of ultimate power.  (Don’t worry that’s not the name we agreed on.)  This week we continued to test most of our test subjects, focusing them only on HIIT, which is a self explanatory acronym for High Intensity Interval Training.  The results from our test subjects have astounded us in that they are already feeling a difference in their physical abilities.  In this week’s post, I will show you that HIIT is the best cardio based workout… Not like this helps us move forward but it’s step 4 of the project handout.

The real intro

     Did you know that high intensity interval training has been known to speed up salivary production in dogs by 5%?  This is not true but now that I have your attention.  Many fitness junkies all over the United States believe that HIIT is the number one cardio based workout… I would agree that’s why I’m still typing.  Thanks to a lucky band of test subjects and some studies done from Bodybuilding.com, I have researched three reasons why that statement is accurate.  HIIT has been known to improve VO2 max (or maximal oxygen consumption) just as effectively as workouts that last longer periods of time.  HIIT has also been known to burn more fat in less time as well as decrease your rate of fatigue.

VO2 max

     Where it may seem like strenuous activity for a longer period of time would increase VO2 max, however studies show that HIIT increases VO2 max at the same rate. Though HIIT will defiantly make you sore in the morning because the amount of effort required to make HIIT happen, this goes to show that HIIT can defiantly compete with other workouts that last longer as far as this concept concerned.

Fat loss

     Forget everything you knew about taking nice jogs through the park with your dog as a lovely way to lose fat.  HIIT, on the other hand, can allow you and your dog to burn fat and calories at a greater rate in less time…and that is a true fact.  Studies from McMaster University show that 10 minutes of HIIT is equivalent to 50 minutes of steady cardio exercise.  So yeah, that whole time you thought you were murdering fat by running with your friends for an hour before going to work or school was kind of a waste of time.  Sorry I had to be the one to break it to you.  Please keep reading my blog.

Fatigue

     Have you ever felt that burning feeling in arm as you go for that one last dumbbell curl right before you drop that weight on the ground from physical exhaustion?  That feeling in your arm is not just the feeling of success, but it’s also the building up of Hydrogen ions.  This accumulation can lower the pH levels in your body causing muscle contraction to be more difficult and also lead to fatigue.  However, because of the intensity, HIIT provides a better way to train your body to neutralize all of those hydrogen ions that build up throughout your workout.  In the European Journal of Applied Physiology, a study was published that said that six sessions of HIIT that was spread across four weeks increased the skeletal musical buffering capacity of cyclists. It also decreased their rate to fatigue and increased their maximum energy output.

     In my opinion HIIT is the number one cardio based workout.  Incorporating HIIT into our plan is vital to our quest for awesomeness.

Be sure to leave a comment if you have any questions our have any ideas on how to improve Bros and Fitness.  Ok let’s be honest, leave a comment because your facilitator told you. ;)