Here is a fascinating overview of several recent studies that reveal the superior effects of high-intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE). These studies are not of weightlifting but of 8 to 30 second bursts of running or cycling and they tend to show HIIE is more effective at reducing subcutaneous and abdominal body fat than other types of exercise.
What was very interesting to me was that improvements in aerobic function were made without performing aerobic exercise.
Among the other facts revealed:
- HIIE significantly lowers insulin resistance
- causes skeletal muscle adaptations
- enhances skeletal muscle fat oxidation
- improves glucose tolerance
The report is loaded with data and because it is distributed with a Creative Commons license I can make it available to all of you. Just click on the link below and you can download the pdf file. Click here to download the study.
This is more evidence that the future of productive exercise lies in brief, very high-intensity workouts that trigger profound changes in the body. Although this report does not talk about resistance training, those of you wanting to incorporate these same principles of high-intensity and brief training into your strength workouts would do well to take a look at Train Smart and the Power Factor Workout.
The combination of high efficiency aerobic, anaerobic and strength training seems to offer superior benefits, particularly for the time invested. [Note: You do NOT need a Kindle device to read these. These e-books display on any computer, iPad or smartphone.)
