HIIT Cardio Versus Fartlek Workout

HIIT Cardio Versus Fartlek Workout

HIIT Cardio is the new craze hitting gyms across Europe and North America - here's why...it's fast, efficient and works!

High-intensity interval training has long been known, especially to athletes and runners. Fartlek training translated from Swedish is “Speedplay”. This has long been a popular method of fitness training for runners and one that has been proven to burn more fat than constant running. Fartlek training combines slow running with fast running intervals. An example that most people who have ever played soccer are familiar with is jogging the length of the field, sprinting the width, jogging the length, and sprinting the width again.

Although fartlek training is still a great method for physical training, HIIT's Tabatha Protocol illuminated the possibility of dramatically shortening a workout without compromising the benefits. The problem with the Tabatha protocol of high-intensity interval training is that it sounds wrong; No one ever really believes that a 4-minute workout can lose fat, and even though the 8 circuits that affect the Tabatha method are extremely difficult, athletes often feel like they've cheated themselves if they leave the gym after 4 minutes. The way bodybuilders wanted to incorporate the Tabatha Protocol of HIIT Cardio into their sessions was by performing a 4-minute session on either side of the normal bodybuilding routine. This tends to be a very popular way to use HIIT without feeling like you've cheated yourself.

The Tabatha Protocol works for anyone who uses it. What we all need to remember is that the time spent in the gym is not directly related to the results achieved in the gym. Always remember the famous saying: “You can train hard or you can train long, you can’t do both.” A good example of this is the direct comparison of the traditional one hour treadmill session for burning fat at a slow, steady pace with the very popular and newly found 30 sets in 20 minute kettlebell workouts. Studies show that not only are more calories burned in the actual workout session of the shorter period of activity, but participants also have better muscle definition, less body fat, and far higher fitness levels. This is just one way that training harder for shorter periods of time proves more beneficial.

You often hear about boxers overtraining for a fight and not feeling fresh when the big night comes, which can have devastating effects. Think of Amir Khan in his last game against Danny Garcia. He had originally been prepared for a fight several months earlier before Lamont Peterson was banned for taking illegal substances. After being stopped in four rounds just a few months after the climax of a fight that never happened, many experts and trainers around the world attributed it to excessive training. There are others like the never-spoken Chris Eubank Sr. who claims training is a myth and a state of mind, and it's more about getting stale with training that is the biggest concern. While this may be the case for boxers, in bodybuilding there is plenty of scientific evidence about how overtraining can halt results overall. For example, studies have consistently shown that biceps progress is halted by excessive training. Once the biceps is overworked, the muscle shuts down and no growth or repair occurs. Additionally, the best way to overcome a training plateau (a stage at which progress has stopped). The best way to overcome this is to spend a week in the gym to allow all muscles and joints to recover. Afterwards, most people find that they can immediately lift more weight than they could a week before, when they were stuck lifting a certain amount of weight.

HIIT training appears to answer most, if not all, problems associated with physical training. It keeps you fresh in body and mind. It combats injuries and overtraining problems and is a tremendous fat burner and a great way to improve your physical fitness.

Inspired by Emily Robert Rowlands