The Poliquin Principles
Charles Poliquin
Charles is one of the most accomplished strength coaches in the world. He has designed workouts for Olympic medalists, world-record holders and pro athletes.
Print
Cardio: Low Intensity or High Intensity?
QUESTION: Charles, should I be doing low-intensity cardio to maximize fat loss or high-intensity cardio? Some contest trainers say lower intensity is best for losing fat fast.
ANSWER: With low-intensity cardiovascular work, your body reaches maximal adaptations usually after six to eight weeks – for life. Therefore, it’s better to move on to interval training if you want very rapid results in fat loss.
Although aerobic gurus call for a single cardiovascular training protocol for stimulating maximum weight loss, research suggests otherwise. The notion that low-intensity cardiovascular work is superior to high-intensity work was refuted by a study published in the July 1994 issue of Metabolism in an article titled “Impact of Exercise Intensity on Body Fatness and Skeletal Muscle Metabolism.” As the authors reported,
“The results of the present study show that for a given level of energy expenditure, a high-intensity training program includes a greater loss of subcutaneous fat compared with a training program of moderate intensity.”
Click HERE to sign up for our free newsletter!
Categories: