If fitness was a boxing match, HIIT and Lifting Weights would be fighting and neither of them would win. One side, the lifting weights side would say you need to lift heavy weights to see results. The HIIT side would say unless you’re gasping for air, you’re not working hard enough. Both are wrong and kinda right all at the same time.
Lets Talk HIIT
HIIT stand for high intensity interval training. It’s fast and chaotic, loud and efficient and gets the job done. The benefits of HIIT are many and they include: short workouts, it’s high on cardio and conditioning and it has variety so it’s not boring. HIIT improves heart and lung capacity and also burns a ton of calories! Having said that, it doesn’t magically melt fat forever or replace strength training. HIIT can also slow down recovery time as it is very taxing on the body. Too much intensity without adequate recovery results in burnout, stalled progress and possible pain in the body.
Lifting Weights
Lifting weights is far slower, quieter and less chaotic! It’s also the most effective thing you can do for yourself and your body, long term. Lifting weights helps you get stronger, improve joint health, change body composition and improve self esteem and self confidence! Muscle is also metabollically active so the more muscle you have the more you burn calories at rest. In fact you can burn 9 times more calories per gram. That’s why lifting plays a huge role in fat loss.
Which Should You Do? HIIT or Lifting Weights?
No one wants to hear this but really you should do both, because both have its own unique benefits. HIIT improves conditioning and lifting weights makes you stronger. Together they make life more manageable. Stairs don’t hurt as much, workouts feel better, and your body adapts way quicker. Your workouts would look like this: 2-4 lifting sessions per week, 1-3 HIIT sessions and a rest day or 2.
So what’s the takeaway? You definitely should do both and you don’t need to destroy yourself to get results. You don’t need to choose between cardio and strength training. Just train smart and efficiently by lifting weights and doing HIIT.
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