First of all, forget the elyptical even exists. I loathe the elyptical, I hold anyone without a warrantable injury that uses it in contempt. It is the most inefficient, potentially damaging piece of cardio equipment you can use. You dont employ your quads, hams, or adductors, thus your total mechanical work is less, thus your oxygen consumption is less, thus your caloric expenditure is less in relation to your heart beat. On top of this, there is no impact and thus no loading on the joints, so blood flow to cartelidge is far less, thus less hyelin (sp?) fluid is released, and no stimulation for cartelidge to adapt.
Phew. End rant.
That said, as I stated earlier, the physiological changes resulting from the exercise is far more important that the calories burned during.
Training using High intensity interval training results in up to a 9 times greater EPOC (excess post exercise oxygen consumption, where your metabolic rate is raised). It also results in a high secrection of growth hormone, and we all know growth hormones effects on fat metabolism. In fact, research shows one 30 second sprint to failure results in an elevation of gh secretion that lasts up to an hour.
Let me quote one very popular study:
Quote:
Impact of exercise intensity on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism.
Tremblay A, Simoneau JA, Bouchard C.
Metabolism. 1994 Jul;43(7):814-8.
The impact of two different modes of training on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism was investigated in young adults who were subjected to either a 20-week endurance-training (ET) program (eight men and nine women) or a 15-week high-intensity intermittent-training (HIIT) program (five men and five women). The mean estimated total energy cost of the ET program was 120.4 MJ, whereas the corresponding value for the HIIT program was 57.9 MJ. Despite its lower energy cost, the HIIT program induced a more pronounced reduction in subcutaneous adiposity compared with the ET program. When corrected for the energy cost of training, the decrease in the sum of six subcutaneous skinfolds induced by the HIIT program was ninefold greater than by the ET program. Muscle biopsies obtained in the vastus lateralis before and after training showed that both training programs increased similarly the level of the citric acid cycle enzymatic marker. On the other hand, the activity of muscle glycolytic enzymes was increased by the HIIT program, whereas a decrease was observed following the ET program. The enhancing effect of training on muscle 3-hydroxyacyl coenzyme A dehydrogenase (HADH) enzyme activity, a marker of the activity of beta-oxidation, was significantly greater after the HIIT program. In conclusion, these results reinforce the notion that for a given level of energy expenditure, vigorous exercise favors negative energy and lipid balance to a greater extent than exercise of low to moderate intensity. Moreover, the metabolic adaptations taking place in the skeletal muscle in response to the HIIT program appear to favor the process of lipid oxidation. |
Br
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ZiR RED has not been evaluated by the FDA.
ZiR RED is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
This is a warning: I am not a Medical Doctor.
This means you can not turn your brain off when taking advice from me, and can not sue me.
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