Who's the Winner; Resistance Training or HIIT?

Resistance Training incorporates exercising with some type of resistance such as dumbells, kettlebells, bars, tubes, bands, balls and so on-basically anything piece of equipment that has mass to it.
Benefits include increased muscle mass, bone density, blood flow, serotonin levels and expenditure of calories.

High Intensity Interval Training

HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training which is a type of training program that incorporates period of active exercise followed by a period of rest (which could be active with less intensity) repeatedly.  One type of HIIT that I use frequently with my clients is called "Tabata" which is based on time.  Tabata usually contains 8 rounds of 20 seconds of active exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest for a total of 4 minutes.
Benefits include increased muscle mass, bone density, blood flow, serotonin levels and expenditure of calories at a quicker pace.

I decided to test two controls; caloric expenditure and target heart rate, as they pertain to resistance training and HIIT exercise program.  I asked a client to wear a heart rate monitor that monitored caloric expenditure and heart rate.  The results were profound.  I believe I was most excited to see how long she stayed at and exceeded her target heart rate during both types of exercise programs.

Resistance training allowed her to stay within her target heart rate zone of 70% throughout the workout and she burned approximately 9.8 calories/minute.

During her HIIT regime, she stayed in her target heart rate zone or exceeded that zone 77% of the time she trained and burned approximately 11.8 calories/minute.

My programs are set up in such a way that I incorporate both resistance training and HIIT programs to  allow my clients to receive the maximum benefit an exercise routine can provide.

So...which one is the winner?  The Winner is BOTH Resistance and HIIT programs!

The one that is right for you should be determined by a personal trainer.