Cardio: Low Intensity or High Intensity?

QUESTION: Should you be doing low-intensity cardio to maximize fat
loss or high-intensity cardio? Some contest trainers say lower
intensity is best for losing fat fast.

ANSWER: With low-intensity cardiovascular work, your body reaches
maximal adaptations usually after six to eight weeks – for life.
Therefore, it's better to move on to interval training if you want
very rapid results in fat loss.

Although aerobic gurus call for a single cardiovascular training
protocol for stimulating maximum weight loss, research suggests
otherwise. The notion that low-intensity cardiovascular work is
superior to high-intensity work was refuted by a study published in
the July 1994 issue of Metabolism in an article titled "Impact of
Exercise Intensity on Body Fatness and Skeletal Muscle Metabolism." As
the authors reported,

"The results of the present study show that for a given level of
energy expenditure, a high-intensity training program includes a
greater loss of subcutaneous fat compared with a training program of
moderate intensity."

Stick to 15-20 minute High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and
you're done for the day!