Sprint Interval Training Can Help Clients Burn Fat Faster

As a personal trainer, we are constantly competing with delivering results with the ever decreasing amount of time our clients have available. Whether this is HIIT, Sprint Interval Training, or something else, personal trainers are always trying new techniques to help deliver results. This is what got the Training Director at RunRepeat, Nick Rizzo, wanting to find the answer to two specific questions:

1. What is the most effective form of cardio for reducing body fat?
2. Which of these forms of cardio is the most time-efficient? 

To find the answer, he pitted the tried and true of HIIT against the newcomer, Sprint Interval Training. After analyzing 70+ studies for this meta-analysis, the findings were quite surprising.

The data shows that sprint interval training outperformed HIIT and MICT significantly. Specifically, SIT led to a 39.95% greater reduction in body fat percentage than HIIT. 

And what about when it came to the amount of time invested? 

SIT outshined HIIT again as the volunteers spent an overall 60% less time exercising throughout the studies. They also had 10% fewer workouts per week and the workouts themselves were almost 45% shorter on average. 

What can we as personal trainers conclude and takeaway from this study?

1. Sprint interval training is an extremely effective mode of reducing body fat.
2. It is the perfect form of cardio for the clients you have that are lacking on time.
3. SIT is great for athletes. Studies have shown that on top of reducing body fat, it is a great option for improving VO2max, speed, endurance, lean body mass, strength, and much more.
4. HIIT is still a very effective form of cardio for a wide variety of desired outcomes. It is highly recommended that your clients are capable of confidently performing HIIT sessions before diving into the 100% intensity sessions of sprint interval training.
5. Although the benefit of SIT is that it takes very little time, we should still be motivating clients to clock in more cardiovascular exercise daily. Whether that be finding more ways to just naturally move more throughout the day or using continuous training.

Have you used sprint interval training yourself or with your clients? We would love to hear about your results, experiences, and tips in the comments! 

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