[rojeee]

I'm not an exercise physiologist but I have an interest in it. The article states that more energy is used when the body is gearing up for an activity and I'm guessing this is because if you exercise for only up to a few minutes at a time with sufficient rest in between intervals then you'll end up mostly using the phosphocreatine and anaerobic glycolosis systems which are less efficient than aerobic glycolosis or aerobic lipoylsis. It's why when you start running without a sufficient warm up, you're always a bit out of breath even when running at sub maximal efforts and later on in the same run, even when running faster, your breathing can be super relaxed. The aerobic system takes a while to "spin up". In other words, you start with poor running economy... using more calories to run the same speed but as your aerobic system spins up, your running economy increases and you use less calories to run the same speed.

It's my understanding that by doing the type of exercise mentioned in the article - short bursts - you'll get positive physiological adaptations to your anearobic capacity but it won't have much impact on your aerobic capcity, which I would argue is the more important system to train for everyday operations of the human body!

[jawilson2]

This must be related to why HIIT is so effective at quickly dropping fat, even in short (<15 minute sessions). 10 Tabata sets of 40 sec sprints and 20 sec jogs has always been my go-to to lose some weight quickly, while continuing to run longer distances and lift weights.

[maeil]

Doesn't this hold for practically any kind of engine, whether biological or mechanical?