Cardio or Cardi-no?

High intensity interval training (HIIT) has been a popular form of exercise for those looking to lose weight or increase their fitness level for many years and has semi-recently been hailed as the best and only way to do cardio. Low intensity steady state (LISS) cardio has been demonized as a sure-fire way to lose all your hard-earned gains in the gym. This has led to a subset of people who already have stressful everyday lives or intense resistance training regimens supplementing or replacing their workouts with HIIT. This is a great idea for those who train a few days per week, have generally sedentary jobs, and generally aren’t too stressed out in their day-to-day lives. However, for those who are the opposite (ie. train hard upwards of 5 times per week, have a physically demanding job, are under a lot of stress), adding HIIT could actually be a disadvantageous choice.

The increased mechanical stress on the body whether that be on the feet and legs from running sprints or the arms, chest, etc. from adding in a 45 minute boxing class is one way it may not be as good for this type of person. Another reason is the stress hormone, cortisol, is elevated during high intensity exercise whereas it is down-regulated during low intensity exercise. This is not to say that people should never work out at high intensity but rather that each individual should have a general understanding of their stress levels on any given week and sprinkle in the right type of cardio for their lifestyle. LISS may take longer to do in order to reach the same number of total calories burned during a HIIT session but the hormonal and longterm physiological benefits may be worth it. So the answer is yes! Do cardio, just be mindful of the type.

-Lyns