HIIT is best, No STEADY STATE is best !!
Lets start the debate in earnest,,
HIIT training is highly effective, time saving way of increasing our conditioning, aerobic capacity and anaerobic power and work capacity.
It is usually short bursts (10sec – 1 min) of very high intensity exercise followed by a period of recovery of 2/4 times the work duration. This is usually repeated for anywhere from 4 minutes – 30 minutes of total duration.
Obviously the more intense the work the shorter the workout and lower intensities can be sustained for longer workouts.
The main benefits are the calorie burn off based on the time spent and the rapid increases in aerobic and anaerobic capacity.
Lots have been made about the epoc or afterburn effects of hiit training and although true it may not be higher over 24 hr period than other forms of training.
STEADY STATE or LISS training is more traditional heart rate based cardio training usually working at 60-75% of max HR for periods of 30 – 120 minutes.
It has always been used for increasing cardiovascular health and increasing aerobic performance .
It does need extended times for it to be successful and results can plateau quite quickly without careful programming.
It has numerous health benefits and is a proven great stress reducer and produces the notorious ” runners high” endorphin release.
The truth is , both burn lots of calories which can lead to the calorie deficit required to lose weight & fat.
Its purely down to the individual preference as to which form they enjoy, have time to do and fits in with overall training plan.
So try both, and maybe use both for variety and most important do the one you will stick to as adherence is king !!
Enjoy your cardio