Heart Rate and Oxygen Consumption are Directly Proportional
Jun 21, 2022
Photo Credit: Ketut Subiyanto
The modality you chose for cardio does not make a difference for calorie burn
- Walk up the stair master
- Walk up the stair master sideways
- Ride a bike
- Jump on a trampoline
- Do cartwheels through the library
- Take a jazzersize class
- (Or literally, anything else you can think of)
You are burning the exact same number of calories.
Human Physiology 101
- Your heart does not know or care what activity you are doing.
- HIIT is not an exception to this rule, rather the high spikes in heart rate just accumulate oxygen debt which (like student loans) you have to pay back.
The HIIT workout after burn (called EPOC) is short-lived and not very significant, amounting to roughly 5-15% of the calories burned during the workout (typically about an extra 40 calories burned after the workout).
The exercise you choose for HIIT (burpees, squat jumps, sprints, intense vacuuming, moshpit participation, etc) makes no difference if your heart rate is equal.
Bottom line
Exercise selection is important for muscle development (Muscles only get stronger if you train them) but it does not matter for calorie burn.
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