Evidence shows that intermittent exercise can help people reduce body fat and weight more than continuous exercise, which may be because intermittent training increases resting energy consumption and fat burning after exercise, thus offsetting the downward regulation of metabolism.
"Different types of exercise can promote different metabolic reactions," said the study's author, Dr. Paulo Gentil, a professor at the Federal University of goias, Brazil. "High-intensity exercise may be particularly meaningful for losing weight, not because of the calories you burn during exercise, but because it will make your body burn more fat after exercise."
Gentil's team analyzed 36 clinical trials, and compared the two most common interval training, HIIT and SIT, with moderate-intensity continuous weight-loss training. This study evaluated the change of total fat percentage and/or total absolute fat mass. They include 10 12 children who have passed the old age and have crossed a series of baseline physical activities, from underweight to obesity.
All exercise methods significantly reduced the percentage of total fat and total absolute fat. No method is superior to other methods in reducing the percentage of total fat. But interval training is more effective in reducing the total absolute fat. On average, the SIT and HIIT programs reduced the total absolute fat by 6.2% and 6% respectively, while the continuous training with moderate intensity decreased by 3.4%. Interval training is also shorter. In the study of evaluating total absolute fat content, SIT, HIIT and moderate intensity program lasted for 23 minutes, 25 minutes and 465,438 0 minutes respectively.
When interval training is supervised, the maximum reduction of total absolute fat mass occurs, which may increase compliance. Research designs vary greatly, and many of them do not guide participants to adhere to a normal diet, both of which may make the research results unreliable.
The words "high intensity" and "sprint" are relative. Keeping this in mind can encourage exercise and help avoid injury. "Almost everyone can do interval training;" "We just need to know how to get used to it," Gentil told JAMA. If you have knee problems and can't run, you can ride a bike or even swim. If you have a heart attack, you can control the intensity. For a healthy young man, sprinting may require high-speed exercise, while for a weak old man, walking slowly may be enough. "
Gentil's bottom line: "Interval training seems to be a time-saving way to lose weight."
References: /Journals/JAMA/ Full text /2734679