Comments on: Stead State vs. Intervals: A Conclusion

By: jest

jest — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 01:55:33 +0000

Fantastic series.

I’ve wasted so much time following all the fads (low carb, intervals), when the old-fashioned tried & true techniques (basic calorie restriction, cardio) are far more effective.

I’ve read so many people saying how much they love intervals, but few saying they’ve actually lost dramatic amounts of fat from it.

Not only that, they say they do HIIT for 20+ minutes, which I doubt is possible for even an intermediate athlete to do. Which means the few people who saw results from this so-called “HIIT” really saw results from doing 20+ minutes of intense cardio.

By: sports » Blog Archive » The HIIT - centric and Anti Aerobic Crowd FALSELY PROMOTES HIIT

Sun, 25 May 2008 00:51:46 +0000

[...] http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/blo…-a-conclusion/ [...]

By: sports » Blog Archive » Have You Looked Into LYLE MCDONALS’S Articles On HIIT MYTHS

Sat, 24 May 2008 23:36:44 +0000

[...] http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/blo…-a-conclusion/ [...]

By: Steady State vs Intervals Cardio Conclusion | Fitness Spotlight

Steady State vs Intervals Cardio Conclusion | Fitness Spotlight — Tue, 20 May 2008 12:02:47 +0000

[...] Source: Lyle McDonald – “Over the past month of blogging, I’ve been talking about the current fascination with interval training (for either fat loss or performance) with the main focus being on what I see as a myopic ‘intervals are always superior’ mentality (usually based on poor arguments” > Read the Full Article Here [...]

By: Web 2.0 Announcer

Web 2.0 Announcer — Tue, 06 May 2008 09:33:51 +0000

Lyle McDonald – Steady State vs. Interval Training: Finally, the end. | Lyle McDonald Speaks…

[...][...]…

By: Jacob Gudiol

Jacob Gudiol — Tue, 06 May 2008 09:20:31 +0000

Cyclegirl-> The more you are influenced by gravity the more your heart has to work to pump your blood around your body. You heartrate will be even lower when swimming.

By: cyclegirl

cyclegirl — Sat, 03 May 2008 20:25:49 +0000

I LOVE this blog.

Question that I’ve been asking around and can’t find a good, solid answer: I recently did a metabolic test at my gym to determine my anaerobic threshold and my VO2 max. The trainer who conducted the test told me, as they tell everyone who takes the test, that my AT would be 10 bpm lower on a bike or in a cycle class than it was on the treadmill when I took the test. Why might that be true??

Thanks.

By: Leland

Leland — Sat, 03 May 2008 08:36:35 +0000

Hey Lyle,
Thanks for answering my maintenance calorie question on the blog – it was very helpful. I too have been reading and reviewing many of the fat loss protocols touted by the gurus in cyberspace and was wondering what you think about their weight lifting guidelines that proceed the intervals. Fat loss clients (mainly beginners of course) are told to complete barbell and dumbbell complexes and shown combination lifts that I don’t even think Reggie Bush has the coordination to perform properly. On the other side, there are some that prescribe supersets (or tri-sets or circuits) to beginners with 90 sec off between each exercise and 2-3 mins off between supersets and the like. Does a beginner fat-loss client need 2-3 mins off after completing one set of 12 reps of 8-pound bent-over rows supersetted with 8-pound shoulder presses. And then this client is suppose to be prepared to do treadmill intervals? Huh? In my observations a beginner exerciser (fat loss client or not) when working with lighter weight and learning the movement patterns could just shorten the rest time between sets or supersets and that can act as a “beginner interval” and then just do steady-state cardio at the session. I agree with Roland’s previous comment in that the average joe in the gym in not working out very hard at all with the weights, so why would some gurus suggest such long rest periods and yet other gurus suggest such difficult complexs and combo lifts?

By: admin

admin — Sat, 03 May 2008 04:02:41 +0000

There is perhaps some truth to that for sure. Most people, even doing intervals are going to be pussies about it and not train very hard.

I addressed this in part 1 of the article on the main site I linked out to and this is the big con of interval training: if you’re not willing to suffer, you might as well not bother.

But since the entire point of intervals is the intensity, what exactly is the point of doing them tired or half-assed in the first place (note that I addresed the half-assed part in the article I linked to on the main site)? I’d say there is none.

A half-assed interval session is not only inferior to a true interval session but probably also to a properly done steady state session.

Because not only is the duration way down now (hooray, you half-assed it for 15 whole minutes), the intensity isn’t enough to be worth a shit.

So you get none of the claimed benefits of the short-duration, high intesity and none of the benefits you’d get from a longer steady state session.

Lyle

By: Roland

Roland — Sat, 03 May 2008 01:00:09 +0000

“If the typical high level athlete typically only performs, on average, two very high-intensity days of training per week, what makes the general trainee (seeking fat loss or whatever) think that they can or should do more?”

The general trainee only thinks they’re hitting the weights and/or intervals with any intensity. They’re not. So, the intervals are not that bad.

“More importantly, what makes the gurus, with all of their supposed years in the trenches training people, think it’s a good idea or something that that they should recommend in the first place?”

Most of them tell people to do the intervals after the weights, so what kind of energy to they have left to do any hard intervals? Not much. But, if they said to do 30 minutes of cardio, how slow would they pedal? Pretty damn slow.

I’m torn between thinking that they (the trainers) are outright wrong, and thinking that they know you’re right, and just choose to allow the trainee to believe that this is the best way because it drives them to work harder.

I don’t think the average fat loss client works out all that hard with the weights, anyway. They are often newbies to weights and simply don’t know what they are capable of, so they go low. They do steady state cardio at a pretty low intensity, too. Intervals might be the only thing they do with any intensity. They KNOW intervals should be “brutal,” but since they only last 20-30 seconds each, they do them.