I realize I've gotten into this discussion a little late but I will attempt to address some of the concerns listed in this thread.
mattjf said:
I've been reading on various weight lifting forums that high intensity interval training, such as 30 seconds hard interval followed by 30 seconds of recovery for 4 minutes (running, on a bike, whatever), for even only 4 minutes, tends to illicet greater fat burning than steady state aerobics? The claim is that while during exercise, very litttle fat is consumed for fuel, but you develop an "after burn" that tends to consume more fat throughout the rest of the day.
Is there any truth to this? This summer I'm going for fat loss more than performance. I'm riding a training plan of 5 days a week, 1 long day, etc. For the time being though, would it be worth it to just swtich to these short workouts?
Yes, there is
some truth to this. A good while back there was a poster named Biker_Linz who is now an associate of RST (Ric Stern Training). He stated that the science supported that the intervals were a better method for fat loss than steady state training because of metabolic factors rather than direct calorie burning during exercise. Here are a couple of the links he posted ...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...ve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=11319629
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=8028502
I don't doubt the soundness of the studies or their findings. However, as a 46 year old recreational cyclist, I
know that there is no way I could do HIIT on a daily basis. I would be suffereing from chronic fatigue in no time. So for guys like me (the hopelessly unfit
) there is a place in one's exercise regimen for steady state, LSD & active recovery.
MattJF, since you read what you stated on some weightlifting forums, they may or may not have any "athletic" goals in mind other than just leaning out for cosmetic purposes. As such, much of the training they may recommend may not have much of any athetic carryover to a particular athletic event, unless you consider sled pulling an athletic event.
To my knowledge there isn't a cycling coach worth their salt that will recommend the Tabata protocol. If one wants atheltic carryover to their event there are better methods than 30 seconds on and 30 off for 4 minutes. That certainly won't get one far in the cycling community.
mattjf said:
I have pretty strong opinions on low-carb diets and the huge amount of protein that many weight lifters tend to take in.
Yeah, me too. I'm not in favor of them. In fact I think it's nuts. 1.2 to 1.8 grams of protein per kilo of bodyweight is more than enough for an "active" person. TdF athletes can consume up to 2.0 grams as what they are doing is beyond superhuman. So if one is moderately active 1.2 grams should be the goal. If one is hard core then 1.8 will suffice.
That being said, there is one big advantage to a high protein diet and that is that protein is being consumed rather than carbs. Understand that I am in no way endorsing an Atkins styled diet, but most Americans (something like 70%) don't tolerate carbs to well. Even with a slight calorie deficit it's hard to lose weight when one's insulin levels are jacked all the time. So all calories are not created equal when counting and going into deficit.
Felt_Rider said:
I don't think I could achieve HIIT with weights though I know some people that say that they can.
I have managed it but man is it difficult. Not something I would want to do all the time to be sure. Not only was it too taxing, but there is a greater risk of injury while trying to do the types of compound movements necessary to get the heart rate up.
I'd have to dig through my journal to find the workout but it was basically fast supersets with little rest. I did 5 sets of bent over rows supersetted with cleans from the thighs and push presses using only 115 lbs! By the end of that 5 sets my HR was at 90% of my known cycling maximum. I had to slow it down after that as I was just too winded. The next superset was 5 sets of BB shrugs supersetted with bent over laterals. The final superset was EZ-Bar curls supersetted with DB French presses. That was the easy one. My average HR for the brief but deliciously difficult workout was 80% of max.
Once cycling season is over and the weather gets too cold I'm going to be doing some more experiments of this type. Should be fun.
Wilmar13 said:
Careful, you are likely to get flamed using logic with something as nonsensical as most people's idea of how to lose weight.
What? You mean I can't just go on the Special-K diet, or some other chick diet?!
I have to work too?
DCWD said:
For me, it's a question of habbits (ie, I like beer a lot)
Yeah, I like it too. The problem with alcohol is that it tends to metabolize differently than regular carbs and leads to greater stores of visceral fat. This is why some otherwise skinny beer drinkers can have a gut. Visceral fat is also the type of fat that can lead to cardiovascular disease. I still enjoy a cold one or two every now and then though.
mikesbytes said:
Weight lifters will recommend weights, cyclists will recommend cycling, runners will recommend running, etc etc.
This is quite true. There are many ways to accomplish one's fat loss goals.
The cycling and running methods are to burn the fat away and stay light and lean. The bodybuilding way is to build muscle while letting the extra lean body mass burn the calories. Each has value, but I don't think many cyclists will want to carry around a lot of upper body weight as it won't help them at all (unless they fall off the bike).