Sprint vs HIIT, & Why Most People’s Cardio Isn’t Working

Cori Lefkowith, of “Strong at Every Age”, explains:

Let’s HIIT it!

Cardio needs both ends of the effort spectrum—mixing full-on sprints with walking (or equivalent gentle movement for other exercises) improves how efficiently our body burns fuel, builds endurance, and recovers.

However, not all interval training is equal: different movements and work-to-rest ratios completely alter outcomes, affecting strength work, fat loss, and recovery differently.

For example:

• Spring Interval Training (SIT) uses short, explosive, 100%-effort intervals that improve our speed, power, recovery, and body composition while keeping our metabolism responsive.
• High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) in general, however, is usually a little less than 100%, because working around 80% intensity can support fat-loss phases, longer circuits, and general conditioning when muscle building isn’t the main priority.
• Steady State Cardio (SSC), otherwise often simply called endurance training, also has its role, but long, continuous endurance work can become catabolic if overused, and as such, can break down muscle unless balanced with strength and sprint work.

How to identify a true sprint: per Lefkowitz’s definition, if you can hold the intensity for more than 30 seconds, it’s no longer a sprint; these sessions should stay short and high-quality.

Remember also that rest is important too, as without enough rest, you train fatigue instead of explosiveness, slowing the benefits.

It matters even more as we get older, because explosive training helps preserve lean muscle, balance hormones, improve reaction times, and counter menopausal shifts that encourage belly-fat storage specifically.

As for when you do want to take it a little easier, that too has its place, since walking lowers stress hormones, improves recovery, regulates blood sugar, and supports fat-burning without adding more stress.

In short, a mix of the above is needed, since high-intensity work is a positive stressor, but still stress; without walking and recovery, you’d soon hit diminishing returns.

For more on all of this plus some admittedly superfluous visual demonstrations (but hey, it’s a video) enjoy:

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Take care!