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Sprint interval training, or SIT, is super trendy right now. Its a great way to improve your running speed and to get in a hard interval workout, and Ill explain exactly how. But I also need to clear up this silly question about whether its better than HIIT (or high-intensity interval training). SIT is, in fact, a type of HIIT.What is SIT?Sprint interval training refers to exercise routines where you run as hard as you possibly can (or nearly as hard) for a short time, typically 30 seconds. A SIT workout usually looks something like this:Warm up with walking and/or easy jogging for 10 to 15 minutes.Run 30 seconds as hard as you can.Recover (walk or rest) for three to five minutes.Repeat the above steps anywhere from four to 10 times.Cool down with more walking or easy joggingfor, say, five to 10 minutes.The benefits of SIT include improved running economy (basically, your body gets more efficient at the running motion) and improved time in running races. SIT has not been found to increase your VO2max any better than steady-state training, or any better than HIIT. For example, this study found no significant difference in VO2max between SIT training and a control group that did steady state training (both improved), but it did find that the SIT group was better at sprinting. Not surprising, when you think about it.Here is some data from a recent SIT workout I did. I wanted to get in five miles for the day, so I warmed up for 15 minutes and cooled down for about the same, and in between I did 10 intervals of 30 seconds each, with three minutes recovery. (I thought about doing four minutes, but I only had about an hour to get that workout in, so I opted to be a bit more efficient.) The sprints were hard, but the recovery gave me plenty of time to feel ready to go again. Credit: Beth Skwarecki What is HIIT?As Ive written (or, to be honest, ranted) before, HIIT started as a catch-all term for hard interval workouts, and has mutated into a marketing buzzword that signifies the general idea of hard work in a short timeframe.HIIT stands for high intensity interval training, and it includes all kinds of different interval schemes. Here are some of the classic HIIT workouts from the scientific literature:Wingate sprints: 30 seconds all-out, followed by 4ish minutes of rest, repeated several times. (These were originally done on a research-grade exercise bike.)Tabatas: Four minutes of 20-second all out sprints, with just 10 seconds between each one. These, too, were originally done on a bike, and you do the whole block once, not multiple times.60/60: One minute hard, one minute easy, then repeatScientific articles that review the results of HIIT tend to have trouble coming up with a definition, since the term has been used so many different ways. This study has a table with examples, including the ones above, plus basketball players shuttle runs and swimmers 50-meter intervals. This one defined HIIT as anything where the work intervals were four minutes duration or less.Did you notice something? Those Wingate intervals? Yep, thats the same type of workout people are now calling SIT. SIT is a type of HIIT.Is SIT or HIIT better for fat loss?Neither is better. SIT is a type of HIIT, anyway. If you want to change your body composition, the exact type of exercise doesnt matter much, as long as you are doing some kind of strength training to preserve or build muscle. The difference between your calorie intake and your calorie burn is what determines how much fat you lose. It doesnt really matter how you burn your calories.The term SIT is being misused on social mediaSIT should be a little easier to understand than HIIT, since its one specific family of workouts. But as I browsed TikTok and other social media, I found people using SIT to refer to non-SIT protocols like 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest, for five rounds. Thats not SIT at all. I also found a SIT workout that involved 20 seconds of kettlebell swings, 20 seconds of thrusters, and 30 seconds of burpees. Thats not even sprinting! Take all these social media workouts with a grain of salt, especially when they make big promises about weight loss or muscle gain. SIT isnt some magic secret to getting a fitness influencer body; its just a nice, intense workout that benefits your running.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.Security cameras with floodlights can be hit or misssometimes the lights arent bright enough; sometimes the camera quality is lacking; and other times, the motion detection is too sensitive. But the Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro (Certified Refurbished), now going for $119.99 on Woot (for seven days or until it sells out), seems to check all the right boxesassuming youre cool with a refurbished unit. Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro (Certified Refurbished) $119.99 at Woot $249.99 Save $130.00 Get Deal Get Deal $119.99 at Woot $249.99 Save $130.00 It comes with a one-year limited warranty, the same as a new model, which is reassuring. And if youre a Prime member, you get free standard shipping (otherwise, its $6), though it does not ship to Alaska, Hawaii, P.O. boxes, or APO addresses.Available in black or white, this floodlight camera packs some serious lighting power, with two adjustable LED lamps throwing out 2,000 lumens each (enough to illuminate a backyard or driveway). Additionally, its 2K HDR camera offers a 140-degree horizontal and 80-degree vertical field of view, meaning it can cover a wide area. You'll also find a 110dB siren, a built-in speaker and microphone for two-way talk, and six infrared LEDs for black-and-white night vision. The camera switches to color night vision (when the floodlights are on), which is nice, but dont expect the colors to be as vibrant as its daytime footage, notes this PCMag review.Its got 3D motion detection, which means you can set motion zones (up to 30 feet) and only get alerts when movement crosses a set threshold. It also powers Birds Eye View, a feature that tracks visitor movement with an aerial map view. Pretty coolif youre willing to pay for a Ring Home subscription (without a plan, youre limited to live viewing). The Basic Plan ($4.99/month) gives you 180 days of storage, person/package alerts, and video previews. The Premium Plan ($19.99/month) adds 24/7 recording, smart video search, and one-tap emergency response. If you want virtual security guards or professional monitoring, thatll cost you extra.Setting up the Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro isnt too complicated, but it does require working with high-voltage wiring (100-240V). If youre comfortable with that, the Ring app makes installation straightforward. The app also gives you control over motion settings, alerts, light brightness, color night vision, siren, and more. It runs on dual-band wifi (2.4GHz and 5.0GHz) and integrates well with Alexa and IFTTT, but no HomeKit or Google Assistant support. If you're considering alternatives, you might want to check out the $129.99 Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera.

Amid stiff competition, Baidu says its making its AI chatbot free to use. Starting on April 1, ERNIE Bot will be available to users at no cost. Baidu says it will also issue refunds to users in some cases. The company cited reduced costs and tech improvements as reasons for making ERNIE Bot free across desktop and mobile.Moreover, Baidu plans to roll out an advanced search function on the same day, per Reuters. This will also be available for free and is said to include upgraded reasoning capability.Baidu started offering premium features in its search engine in late 2023. Those were powered by advanced AI models such as ERNIE 4.0. The company charged around $8 per month (59.9 yuan) for those features.While Baidu was one of the first major Chinese companies to deploy its own AI chatbot amid the rise of ChatGPT, ERNIE is said to have struggled to find widespread adoption. By contrast, Reuters reports that domestic rivals such as the Doubao chatbot from ByteDance and upstart DeepSeek (which offers its AI assistant for free) have seen stronger user adoption, according to a third-party data tracker.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/baidu-is-making-its-ai-assistant-ernie-bot-free-to-use-starting-on-april-1-153320140.html?src=rss

A new investigation from The Markup claims the parent company of Tinder, Hinge, OKCupid and other dating apps turns a blind eye to allegedly abusive users on its platforms. The 18-month investigation found instances in which users who were repeatedly reported for drugging or assaulting their dates remained on the apps.One such case involves a Colorado-based cardiologist named Stephen Matthews. Over several years, multiple women on Match's platforms reported him for drugging or raping them. Despite these reports, his Tinder profile was at one point given Standout status, reserved for popular profiles and often requiring in-app currency to interact with. Matthews wasn't removed from the platform until two months after one survivor went to the police. Match Group subsequently dragged its feet when Hinge received a search warrant, complying after seven months. He was eventually sentenced to 158 years to life in prison.How was something like this allowed to happen? According to internal company documents cited in the investigation, since 2016, Match Group has been aware of which users were reported for assaulting, drugging or raping their dates. In 2019, Match Group's central database, Sentinel, began recording each user reported for either assault or rape on any of its apps. Company insiders reported that, three years later, the system registered hundreds of incidents weekly. But the system was reportedly ineffective and easy to game.Not only could users easily evade bans by signing up with different contact information, but "internal company documents show information on IP addresses, photos, and birthdate were not used to ban a user if they appear on another Match dating app." A Tinder user banned for reports of rape could simply jump ship to Hinge without issue. There are reportedly many tutorials online for methods to evade bans on Match-owned apps requiring little to no technical expertise, and The Markup was able to validate three of them.But it wasn't just a poorly designed technical system that's to blame. In 2020, Match Group stated it would release a transparency report to demonstrate harm conducted in relation to its platforms that report has still not been released. That same year, 11 members of congress requested information about Match Group's process after receiving sexual violence reports. Three years later, two representatives followed up after being promoted by this report's researchers still no data has been provided.In 2021, Match Group made public promises about increasing safety but company insiders told the researchers that it hasn't improved. That same year, the report claims a presentation shown to employees on multiple occasions asked questions such as, "Do we publish only where we are required by law?" and "Do we push back on how much we are required to reveal, or do we try to go beyond what is required?"By 2022 Match group entered a major partnership with background check company Garbo; the very next year that partnership dissolved, with Garbo writing publicly that "Its become clear that most online platforms arent legitimately committed to trust and safety for their users. In 2024, Match Group cut its remaining central trust-and-safety team Match Group employees, outsourcing the positions overseas who the company's former head of safety described as working under strenuous quotas and with little training.The report claims that at least one employee at the time was worried about the potential dangers of focusing too much on metrics. They asked their bosses: "How much would you personally pay to stop just one person being sexually assaulted by a date, one child being trafficked or one vulnerable person being driven to suicide by a predator? I feel that if I asked members of our staff that question individually, they would put a high value of their own money on it But as a group nobody is ready to hear that yet."We recognize our role in fostering safer communities and promoting authentic and respectful connections worldwide, Kayla Whaling, senior director of communications at Match, said in a statement to The Markup. We will always work to invest in and improve our systems, and search for ways to help our users stay safe, both online and when they connect in real life. The company did not dispute the investigation's findings.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/investigation-finds-match-group-failed-to-act-on-reports-of-sexual-assault-151556608.html?src=rss

OnePlus has confirmed in a community post that it won't be releasing the OnePlus Open 2, or indeed any foldable devices, in 2025.

Windows 11 gets new icon in the taskbar for AI camera effects but will anyone use it?

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said that the company experienced some "volatility" in user growth as a result of a Google search algorithm tweak.

Applovin was the most successful tech stock in the U.S. last year, soaring over 700% and outperforming even the biggest names in the AI space.

Japanese automaker Honda reported a 7% decline in profit for the nine months that ended in December on Thursday as it terminated talks on integrating its business with Nissan.Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co. said its motorcycles business was strong, but its auto sales suffered in China and Japan, while demand stayed solid in the U.S.Hondas April-December 2024 profit totaled 805 billion yen ($5 billion), down from 869.6 billion yen the same period in 2023.Nine-month sales gained nearly 9% to 16.3 trillion yen ($106 billion).Honda and Japanese rival Nissan Motor Corp., along with the smaller Mitsubishi Motors Corp., said in December that they were in talks to set up a joint holding company.The automakers said Thursday they were ending the talks, although existing collaborations in electric vehicles and smart cars will continue.Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer