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Can High Intensity Interval Training Be Used To Build Lean Muscle?

By Russ Hollywood


Learning how to build muscle is often a game of chance and opinion, with what works for one guy often not quite working for another. However, there are a few benchmark pieces of advice which have been proven by modern science when it comes to building mass and losing fat, one of which is high intensity interval training.

The old approach, of course, is to do a resistance session and then jump on a bike for some light cardiovascular work to get yourself into the so-called 'fat burning zone'. []

This has now been proven incorrect, as the benefits of modern science have become very important to many professionals within the fitness industry. Thanks to these benefits, we can now see that HIIT is indeed one of the best approaches when it comes to both fat loss and lean gains.

That's right, performing a high intensity cardio workout is actually superior not only for burning fat but also for building lean tissue! While this is probably music to the ears of all those gym enthusiasts who find cardiovascular activity to be somewhat dull, it does come with a few warnings.

It would be foolish to jump straight in, of course, without taking a few minutes to learn some of the basic principles which HIIT operates around. People often buy into opinions in the fitness world, rather than stone cold facts. They follow the advice of their friend purely because he's in shape, despite the fact that the advice offered little or zero scientific support. This is why so many people don't get results in the gym. For instance, most people do their cardio work after they hit the weights. Based on recent studies, not only should you be doing HIIT you should also be doing it before you hit the weights.

A Canadian study found that cardio exercise followed by weight training was vastly superior to doing it afterwards, both for fat loss and lean muscle retention. This study dates back to 2001, but was vastly under-reported and so it went under the radar of many trainers.

One other aspect which has to be taken into consideration here is the increased difficulty of a high intensity interval training session versus a steady state cardio session. This means your body will need additional time to recovery. You shouldn't be performing intervals every single day, because you can get better results by letting your body recover fully. Three-to-four sessions per week is enough for most people.

If you have been trying to learn how to build muscle in the gym but were perhaps unsure of high intensity interval training due to the fat loss stigma which is attached to it, you need not worry. HIIT has been proven to retain lean muscle mass in a far superior way to regular cardiovascular activity, allowing you to slot it into your program and get the best of both worlds.




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