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Debating High VS Low Intensity Cardio for Fast Weight Loss
High or Low Intensity Cardio for Weight Loss?
I am often asked which is better for fast weight loss, high or low intensity cardio. I have written many posts about it so I thought I would put together a table that shows you the advantages and disadvantages of both nice and neatly next to each other. This way you will be able to make up your own mind.
High Vs Low Intensity Cardio
These questions asked are in regards to which one is better for fast weight loss.
| High Intensity | Low Intensity | |
| Risk of injury | Greater | Less |
| Time needed | 10-20 minutes | 30-60 minutes |
| Warm up required | Lots | Not much |
| Calories burned | Lots | Not many |
| Speed metabolism up | Yes | Not much |
| How often need to perform | 2-3 per sessions p/week | 5-7 sessions p/week |
| Best exercises | Running Stair climbing Exercise bike Rowing Pump classes Boxing Skipping Circuits |
Walking Exercise bike Swimming |
| Boring | No | Sometimes |
| Risk of overtraining | Yes | Yes |
| Muscle soreness | High | Low |
The winner?
Overall it is my opinion that high intensity cardio is the winner for fast weight loss and fitness. However, low intensity exercise such as walking and jogging has a very important role in our fitness program. It can be a very relaxing time in our week that we need to hang on to. Or, we could be recoving from an injury or be too unfit to jump into the hard stuff.
Both forms of exercise have advantages and both have their place in our health and fitness goals. It is a good idea to use both of them.
Comments on this article:
| Billie said: | Great post. I'm a fan of mixing the two together. |
| Jane said: | Defo! Keep the high intensity as well as the low intensity. They are both needed. |
| hiya said: | love this site! keep up the good work. i'm not ready for the hard intensity stuff yet but soon i will be. |
| RT said: | Thanks for the comments everyone! Yeah, I always make sure I am doing both but if I had to pick one it would be high intensity without a doubt. The fat loss, fitness and muscle building advantages are too good! |
| saundra said: | I have a question for you, if I'm running on a treadmill and the speed is at 7 (which is a 8:34 minute mile) and the part where you raise or lower it is at 3 level is that considered high or low intesity? I usually run for 5 miles at that speed. |
| RT said: | Hi Saundra! Good to see you again. The thing about high intensity is that you should be pushing yourself each time. I am hard on myself but with my training I don't consider it high intensity if I haven't upped the tempo from last time. With your workout I would suggest changing into a sprint every now and then and then bringing it back to the regular run for your rest time. This will blast the fat off. |
| Lachlan said: | Will this burn fat...(i have lost 13kg but now im trying to get my fat % down) i go for a 40min walk then 25mins on exercise bike, 5mins warmup 15mins HIIT then 5mins cooldown. I do this everyday in the morning. I add walking so i mix up low and high intensity. Is this workout too long, do i need to cut down how long i walk for or anything? Thanks. |
