There is so much conflicting advice in the gym that most people find it almost impossible to learn how to build muscle effectively. One of the biggest areas of concern surrounds HIIT.
Today we're going to be looking at this form of cardiovascular exercise and answering the all important question. Is it good for hypertrophy?
If most men were honest, they'd happily admit that they don't do enough cardiovascular exercise. It's often seen as the boring alternative to resistance training and they don't have the same level of drive for it.
Many individuals wrongly presume that cardio exercise is purely for weight loss, or they believe the age old misconception that treadmills are for women and weights are for guys.
Believe it or not, if your main target in the gym is to build more lean muscle then cardiovascular exercise will indeed play a huge role in your accomplishments. There are several effective forms of cardio which improve fitness and hypertrophy, most notably high intensity interval training.
That's right. Even though it's cardio, you will still be able to get bigger. This is largely because of the intensity of the work. Although you might be using a treadmill or an exercise bike, your workout isn't going to be a dull, slow paced, aerobic affair.
Interval training is very simple when you get down to the finer details of it. Basically your aim is to switch from a moderate level to a high level every so often, causing your body to be unable to adapt. This will have similar effects on your muscles to a resistance workout.
First of all, which energy system does your body use when you are training with weights? Your anaerobic energy system. During any high intensity interval workout you'll be tapping into the exact same energy resource.
Things get even better when you look at how your body burns calories during this type of training. During a normal session your body stops burning calories when you stop exercising. However, if you have performed an interval session your body will continue to burn calories at an increased rate for 16 hours afterwards! This is also known as 'the afterburn effect'.
Despite growing in popularity over the last few years, HIIT remains a largely unused form of cardiovascular exercise. Most gym users believe that they need to punish themselves with long, dull sessions on bikes and treadmills to lose fat and it is simply not true. If you are learning how to build muscle more effectively, this form of training will work very nicely alongside your resistance training.
Today we're going to be looking at this form of cardiovascular exercise and answering the all important question. Is it good for hypertrophy?
If most men were honest, they'd happily admit that they don't do enough cardiovascular exercise. It's often seen as the boring alternative to resistance training and they don't have the same level of drive for it.
Many individuals wrongly presume that cardio exercise is purely for weight loss, or they believe the age old misconception that treadmills are for women and weights are for guys.
Believe it or not, if your main target in the gym is to build more lean muscle then cardiovascular exercise will indeed play a huge role in your accomplishments. There are several effective forms of cardio which improve fitness and hypertrophy, most notably high intensity interval training.
That's right. Even though it's cardio, you will still be able to get bigger. This is largely because of the intensity of the work. Although you might be using a treadmill or an exercise bike, your workout isn't going to be a dull, slow paced, aerobic affair.
Interval training is very simple when you get down to the finer details of it. Basically your aim is to switch from a moderate level to a high level every so often, causing your body to be unable to adapt. This will have similar effects on your muscles to a resistance workout.
First of all, which energy system does your body use when you are training with weights? Your anaerobic energy system. During any high intensity interval workout you'll be tapping into the exact same energy resource.
Things get even better when you look at how your body burns calories during this type of training. During a normal session your body stops burning calories when you stop exercising. However, if you have performed an interval session your body will continue to burn calories at an increased rate for 16 hours afterwards! This is also known as 'the afterburn effect'.
Despite growing in popularity over the last few years, HIIT remains a largely unused form of cardiovascular exercise. Most gym users believe that they need to punish themselves with long, dull sessions on bikes and treadmills to lose fat and it is simply not true. If you are learning how to build muscle more effectively, this form of training will work very nicely alongside your resistance training.
About the Author:
About the author: Russ Howe PTI is a successful fitness instructor who teaches people how to build muscle at his gym. The new guide to hiit will help you to increase fat loss quickly.
