Burn Fat and Gain Muscle: 3 Strategies That Will Guarantee Your Success

The question arises quite frequently whether you can burn fat and gain muscle at the same time. It can be very difficult. However, it is possible. In fact, you burn fat because you gain muscle. Since muscle burns fat, if you increase the amount of muscle you have the more overall fat you will burn. I am going to reveal to you 3 strategies you can implement today to successfully burn fat and gain muscle.

1. Total Body / Multi-joint Exercises. Using exercises that require the movement of more than one joint at a time makes your body work a lot harder than single joint exercises that isolate muscles. Think of training a movement rather than training a muscle. Very few movements, if any, utilize only one muscle. There are other muscles that stabilize, assist, or contract to help out while the primary movement is being performed. Training movements is a more realistic approach if you want to be strong functionally.

Complex movements will work more muscles and encourage more muscle strength and increased muscle coordination than isolation exercises. They are also more time efficient than isolation.

There’s more…Total body movements will get your heart working to supply blood to the working muscles even better than single joint exercises. Combine 3-4 of these total body exercises and do 30 seconds of each without a break. Take a 1 minute break in between circuits and repeat 2-5 times depending on your fitness level. You will not only increase your muscle mass but will do your heart good.

2. Good Nutrition. Any successful weight loss program must include the right eating habits. Stuffing your body full of packaged, canned, and refined foods is not the most effective way to get your body the nutrients it needs to stay healthy. Fresh, whole fruits and vegetables, whole grains, good quality lean proteins, and healthy fats are all necessary for good health. Not to mention, you won’t want to eat as much when you limit your foods to the healthy varieties.

Why is that? Well, fresh fruits and vegetables are loaded with vitamins and minerals as well as fiber. Fiber fills you up and helps to maintain a consistent blood sugar level. When eating refined sugars your insulin levels fluctuate so much that your body goes from high to low and really isn’t sure what to do. Additionally, healthy fats and proteins help you feel satisfied and delay the desire to eat more.

And finally, my favorite strategy…

3. Interval Training. Short bursts of high intensity exercise have been shown to be very effective at burning fat and gaining muscle. When you exercise at a high intensity you challenge your muscles more than with long slow cardio training. During interval training type programs carbohydrates are utilized to feed your muscles. You might say that in order to burn fat and gain muscle you have to burn sugar.

How does that work? High intensity exercise requires a fast turn over of energy. Fat stores cannot usually be converted quickly enough to a usable form of energy during the high intensity exercise bout. A short recovery will allow for some energy to be replaced but not likely all that was used. Once you have completed 6-10 sets of an interval training circuit, you have significantly depleted the stored energy reserves in your muscles known as glycogen.

Now, according to some research studies, you may spend the next 24 hours burning more fat than normal to replace the glycogen stores that were used during your exercise routine. You don’t get the same effect with traditional cardio exercises.

So what’s the next step? To burn fat and gain muscle effectively is possible given the right training program. You must gain muscle to burn fat! A combination of strength training with complex, multi-joint exercises, the right nutrition and interval training for cardio will give you the results you are looking for.

Take action now to ensure your best chances to burn fat and gain muscle by subscribing to the Interval Training Secrets mini course. In it you will discover more strategies to boost your fat burning potential.

Getting Rid of Fat – 3 Secrets of Successful Fat Burning

Who else wants to discover the most effective strategies for getting rid of fat and keeping it off?

A recent search engine query that I made on getting rid of fat brought up some very interesting and yet disturbing results. Eight of the top ten results suggested outdated and ineffective abdominal exercises claiming to spot reduce your torso. Others involved surgery for getting rid of fat.

There is no doubt that the accumulation of fat, in the abdominal area especially, is very dangerous. Studies suggest that excess visceral fat leads to many serious health concerns such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. The solution does not simply involve abdominal exercises to “flatten the abs.” In fact, the last thing you need for getting rid of fat is to focus on exercises targeted specifically at getting rid of fat on the abdominals. There is no such exercise. It is not possible to reduce fat in a certain part of your body by exercising that part.

There are at least 3 things you need to do if you are serious about getting rid of fat and keeping it off.

1. Make the decision that you are in it for the long haul. Getting rid of fat is a long fight.

I can’t help but sympathize for people I talk to that jump on the band wagon of quick fix diet solutions hoping that the newest diet fad is going to be “the one” that works. They work really hard at that 30 day diet plan consisting of foods that they will never eat again and in quantities that can be downright dangerous. Diets that encourage lengthy fasting or ridiculously low calories can create problems that will exist long after the diet period is over.

Sure they may lose some weight, a significant amount of weight, but it turns out to only be a temporary fix. The weight comes back even stronger once they are off of the diet. Then they begin the downward spiral of frustration because they feel they have waste time and resources only to show no long term results at getting rid of fat. They beat themselves up because they failed.

The truth is that it isn’t really their fault. They just fell victim to marketing and so called experts telling them to do the wrong things for getting rid of fat.

My advice to you… decide now that getting rid of fat is going to be difficult, it is going to take some time, and that you are going to keep battling until you are able to permanently get rid of the fat that you’ve been storing.

2. Feed your body what it needs and not things that make it go into starvation mode.

What does that mean? It is no big secret that eating nutritious foods will give your body the necessary ingredients for getting rid of fat, fighting against disease, repairing damaged tissue, and building new tissue. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains with minimal processing, and high quality lean protein sources provide these necessary ingredients.

Foods high in processed sugar, enriched grain products and canned foods can actually create an environment in your body that promotes illness and fatigue. This results in inflammation which then increases risks of heart related problems, obesity, diabetes, etc. It is not always easy to eat the right things. When in doubt, refer to secret number 1 and keep on going.

3. Use interval training strategies for getting rid of fat. More and more evidence in current studies suggest that high intensity interval training strategies are the most effective and productive ways of getting rid of fat in the least amount of time. The end goal of any method of exercise is to place a demand on the body such that it is stimulated to make the necessary improvements to adapt to the stress. While traditional cardio exercises involving 60 minutes of moderate intensity exercise are effective in the long run, the higher intensity nature of interval training forces the body to make greater improvements in less time. This makes your body more successful at getting rid of fat.

Getting rid of fat with a successful interval training program can be performed in as little as 4 minutes 5 times per week. A famous study performed by Tabata concluded that 8 sets of interval training circuits increased endurance capacity by 14% in just 6 weeks. That was compared to subjects that performed 60 minutes of moderate intensity exercise for the same duration of time. The moderate exercise group improved endurance by 9.5%. The real kicker was that the high intensity group improved in their ability to fight of fatigue longer whereas there were no improvements in the moderate intensity group.

This study illustrates that you don’t have to spend 60 minutes on the treadmill to get superior results at getting rid of fat. Interval training techniques reduce the amount of time needed to complete an exercise routine that is effective at getting rid of fat.

Now, don’t forget to enter your name and email address in the box to the right. You will gain instant access to the Interval Training Secrets Mini Course. In the mini course you will discover the strategies and techniques to getting rid of 3x the fat in 1/3 the time. Get instant access now!

Best Abs Exercise

If you walk in to your local fitness club and ask one of their personal trainers what the best abs exercise is they will probably tell you crunches. Though the trend is finally changing to more efficient ab exercises I am still amazed at how little some professionals know. Realistically, how often do you find yourself lying on your back, mustering all of the strength that you can gather, in order to get off of the floor and to a standing position? My guess is that you answered, rarely. Then why do so many personal trainers and magazine experts seem to think that you need to spend your time doing millions of crunches to uncover your cleverly disguised six pack abs? Personally, I think it is ridiculous and a waste of time. So, I am going to give you 4 basic litmus tests you can apply to any exercise to determine whether it is the best abs exercise.

First, in order to understand what the best abs exercise is, we must first understand how the abdominals really work and what they were designed to do. When you look closely at the structure of the abdominals you notice that they are oriented much like a corset. We have muscles that run up and down, diagonal and side to side.

The rectus abdominis runs up and down and is responsible for the six pack look and for preventing excessive hyperextension of the trunk. They are also responsible for flexing the trunk or bending forward. However, this is not that difficult when you are standing upright because gravity helps. The two groups of oblique muscles run diagonally and help with stabilization of the spine and with rotation of the trunk. And finally, the transverse abdominis acts like a belt to stabilize the spine and aid with rotation of the trunk.

So basically, the abdominals stabilize the spine, rotate or prevent rotation of the trunk, flex the spine and prevent hyperextension of the spine.

I am now going to uncover for you 4 ways to determine whether the best abs exercise you like to do is, in fact, the best abs exercise.

1. The best abs exercise works the entire body. Therefore, abdominal exercise should be a total body movement. To ensure that your abs exercise is the most effective you should make sure that you are standing or that your feet are at least on the ground. There are still some quality abdominal exercises where you are not standing straight up, like a push up or mountain climbers. These are effective because your feet and hands are on the floor and you have to stabilize your trunk in order to perform the movement. Most movements that we do with our arms and legs require that we stabilize our trunk with abdominals first. The bottom line is to stick with exercises that put your feet on the floor.

2. The best abs exercise will stabilize the trunk while allowing movements with either the lower body or the upper body. The degree to which the abdominals are worked depends on the intensity of the activity and how many of the roles that the abdominals perform are used. For example, an upper extremity movement that requires stabilization of the trunk is going to be less demanding than an upper extremity movement that requires stabilization and rotation of the trunk.

3. All of the muscles of the abdominals will need to be recruited to work properly – NO isolation (crunches). In order to achieve maximum stabilization and efficiency the abdominal muscles will fire together. Our bodies rarely ever work in isolation, so why would we train in isolation if what we want is a fully functioning body that is ready to take on the stress and challenge of everyday life? The only exception that I see is if you are training in bodybuilding, but realistically that is a very small population.

4. The best abs exercise will require multiple planes of movement. Do you want to know how to increase the intensity of any abdominal exercise? Add another direction of movement to it. That means that it challenges our forward to backward motion (sagittal plane), side to side motion (frontal plane), and rotational motion (transverse plane) all at the same time. I call this 3 dimensional abdominal training.

Now compare your best abs exercise to the 4 qualifications that I just gave you and see how it compares. Just because an exercise doesn’t meet all 4 requirements doesn’t mean that it is a bad exercise, it just means that it can be improved or that there are more effective ones. An exercise that does meet all 4 requirements is going to work you harder. That means better results in less time.

Here are 4 of my best abs exercises:

1. Sprints: I know you are probably thinking that isn’t even an abdominal exercise. I would agree that it typically isn’t thought of as an abdominal exercise. However, how many sprinters do you know that don’t have ripped abs? This is also a great interval training exercise to reduce the amount of fat that is disguising your six pack abs.

2. Push Up Variations: From the most basic to the most advanced version of push ups, this is one of the best for training abdominal stabilization. Add intensity to a push up by introducing a new plane of motion.

3. Mountain Climber (a push up with a twist): This is a variation of a push up that can be a really intense exercise. Not only does this involve a traditional push up but you are adding a transverse movement with your legs while minimizing the width of your base at your feet. Try this one with your feet on a stability ball and tell me you don’t get a good workout. Another variation is called the Spiderman.

4. Kettlebell Swing: This one involves swinging a kettlebell, dumbbell, or weight plate up and down in front of you as if you were going to launch it straight up in the air. Add a diagonal movement to it and you have a woodchopper.

Now for the ultimate abdominal workout – Interval Training Style!

Pick your favorite 4 best abs exercises.

Choose an appropriate work to rest ratio and time.

Rotate from one exercise to the next during your work session.

It’s essential that you give a maximal effort during the work period.

Here’s an example using the above exercises.

Interval training workout protocol

20 second work

40 second rest

8 cycles / reps

Sprint for 20 seconds then active rest for 40 seconds

Push ups for 20 seconds then active rest for 40 seconds

Mountain climber for 20 seconds then active rest for 40 seconds

Kettlebell swing for 20 seconds then active rest for 40 seconds

Repeat this cycle 2x for a total of 8 minutes. I guarantee that if you are working hard you will get an amazing workout. Try changing the work to rest ratio or time and see what results you get.

The fun thing about using interval training as your workout protocol is that you can add enough variety that it seems like you are never doing the same workout.

HIIT Cardio on the Elliptical to Burn Fat

What if I were to tell you that you could throw out your 60 minute cardio training workout and get even better results in just 4 minutes using HIIT (high intensity interval training)? Could you get excited about it?

What if I told you those 4 minute HIIT cardio workouts were even more effective at burning fat for a longer period time than low to moderate intensity cardio training?

The good news is you can stop wasting so much time on the elliptical trainer and get a more efficient workout using interval training. In this article, I am going to explain why high intensity interval training is more effective and give you 2 ways you can modify your elliptical training workouts to be more efficient.

One important reason interval training is more effective – Excess Post Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). When training at low to moderate intensity your body utilizes fat as its primary fuel source, thereby leaving its reserve of emergency fuel known as glycogen virtually untouched. Glycogen is simply a form of carbohydrate that is stored in the liver and in muscle.

The body utilizes incredible amounts of its stored carbohydrate when you exercise at high intensities. When your glycogen stores run low or completely out while exercising at very high intensity, you “hit the wall” and slow down in a hurry.

The body has to replenish the glycogen that was used during your interval training workout as quickly as possible. So, it has to work overtime long after your workout is complete.

How does it replenish its glycogen stores? It converts fat to glycogen. So really, you burn fat a lot longer after your hiit cardio exercise routine has ended than you would with a low to moderate intensity workout.

The effect of this post workout utilization can be measured by determining the amount of excess oxygen you are consuming after exercise. Your body is working hard to convert your stored fat into glycogen so that you can be ready to perform at a high intensity again. Who knows when you might have to run away from that bear?

So how do you modify your cardio workout on the elliptical to make it a super charged fat burning hiit cardio workout?

1. Crank Up the Incline: Raise the incline of the elliptical trainer so that you are working at your maximum. Do this for 20 seconds and then return to a normal level for 10 seconds. Repeat this cycle 8 times and you have yourself one butt kicker of a workout known as a Tabata interval training protocol.

2. Increase the Resistance: By increasing the resistance you are making your muscles work as hard as possible. Just like with the incline, maintain the resistance for 20 seconds and then reduce it to a lower level for 10 seconds. Repeat the cycle 8 times and your 4 minute Tabata workout is complete.

Hiit cardio on the elliptical is more effective for burning fat fast than lower to moderate intensity exercise and requires much less time. The glycogen that you use up during your interval training session will need to be replaced fast. So, long after your workout, your body will be working overtime burning fat in order to restore what was used. Some research suggests that you continue to burn fat at an elevated rate for up to 24 hours after your interval training workout ended.

Stop Wasting Your Time with Worthless Treadmill and Elliptical Machine Workouts!

by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author: The Truth About Six Pack Abs

Now that I pissed off all of the treadmill and elliptical machine worshipers… let me say that if you truly enjoy mindlessly pumping away on a treadmill or elliptical (or exercise bike for that matter too), then by all means, keep doing what you enjoy, because enjoying your exercise is one of the most important aspects to sticking with any exercise program…

However, don’t say that I didn’t warn you that you were wasting your time with all that mindless cardio machine boredom.

If I haven’t mentioned it before, I don’t believe in cardio machines, and to be quite honest, I don’t think I’ve personally used a treadmill, elliptical, or exercise bike for at least the last 7-8 years or so.

As a matter of fact, I don’t even use cardio machines anymore for warmups before a workout (did before occasionally)… Nowadays, I prefer to do dumbbell or kettlebell snatches and swings mixed with bodyweight exercises as the perfect full body warmup at the beginning of my workouts.

So why do I have such hatred for cardio machines? Well, here goes:

1) Treadmills, ellipticals, and exercise bikes are mind-blowingly BOOOORING!

2) Mindless steady state exercise while watching tv or reading creates a mind / body disconnect resulting in poor results from your exercise routine

3) I’ve seen studies that indicated that treadmill running may be less effective than outdoor running for various reasons such as stride abnormalities on treadmills vs natural running, slightly less caloric burn compared to outdoor running, etc.

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(although I never recommend just “jogging” anyway… variable intensity walks / runs or sprints are so much more effective, training your heart rate in a much wider range instead of just the same pace during the entire workout).

4) Treadmills and ellipticals are ridiculously expensive and a waste of money for people that workout at home… there’s so many better options for home workouts you could have spent your money on rather than wasting it on a treadmill, bike, or elliptical.

The perfect home gym setup is MUCH cheaper… there’s no reason you need anything other than a jump rope, bodyweight exercises, a few dumbbells, stability ball, maybe a few kettlebells (if you want to get fancy), and perhaps high tension bands for some more variety.

By the way, here are some great adjustable dumbbells such which can save you big time cash if you’re setting up a home gym.

5) Treadmills and elliptical machines are just a very ineffective way to workout compared to other options. Why should you do treadmill or elliptical workouts when you can get better results by doing more interesting forms of training that actually stimulate a fat-burning hormonal response and stimulate your metabolism to a greater extent.

So what are the alternatives to treadmills and ellipticals? Here are some of my favorites:

* jumping rope – great mind / body connection (try speed jumping, crosses, double jumps once you get skilled at it)
* bodyweight training – bodyweight squats, pushups, lunges, jumps, bear crawls, mountain climbers and jumpers, planks, and the list goes on and on
* kettlebell training – nothing will get your heart pounding like high repetition KB swings and snatches or clean & presses (can be done with dumbbells too, but I prefer KBs)
* outdoor wind sprinting (the ultimate for a rock hard ripped body… just look at the chiseled powerful bodies of world class sprinters, and compare that to the weakling withered physique of a typical marathoner… nuff said!)
* hill sprinting (yet another classic for a rock hard powerful body)
* rowing machine (ok, I don’t really lump this in as a “cardio” machine like treadmills and ellipticals… I think the rowing machine is actually a great full body workout that actually uses resistance)
* sprint style swimming workouts (a more muscular workout than steady state distance swimming… I actually love the upper body pump I get from sprint style swimming) – this is the same concept as sprinting vs jogging but in a pool instead
* heavy bag punching / kicking workout, speed bag, rebound bag… all great forms of training and much more interesting than boring cardio machines (requires an intense mind / body connection)
* shadow boxing… awesome workout, but if you’re shy, this is best done at home since you’ll get some crazy stares doing this at a typical gym from people who think they’re “too cool” for stuff like that.

Well, I hope that helps give you ideas on how you can get away from all of these mindless and ineffective treadmill and elliptical (and exercise bike) workouts that are just wasting your time and energy that could be better spent on more effective workouts.

best full body and ab workoutsIf you don’t already have a copy of my Truth about Six Pack Abs program, you can see some of the incredible reviews and results people are getting with Truth about Abs here

You can check out the common questions and answers about this super-effective fat loss program here

Have a great one, and get out there and actually ENJOY your workouts!

Don’t be lazy, be lean.

interval training

Interval Training: How Does it Burn Fat?

Interval Training: How Does it Burn Fat? (The Answer Totally Makes Sense)

Traditionally, we have been told by many so called experts that if we wanted to burn fat then we need to train in the “fat burning zone.” According to these experts, training in the fat burning zone is the only way to burn fat when you exercise. Well, they are right. If you want to burn fat during your workout, do some long boring cardio in the fat burning zone. But, if you want to triple the amount of fat that you burn, do interval training workouts. Some basic physiology tells us how interval training burns fat long after you finish your workout.

High intensity interval training exhausts your supply of immediate carbohydrates that are stored in the muscles. This supply is known as glycogen. The phosphocreatine system and the glycolytic system are dependent upon glycogen stored in the muscles and the liver.

Interval training demands energy so quickly that fat stores are not able to provide energy rapidly enough to keep up with demand. Interval training requires carbohydrate stores, glycogen to be specific, to supply the fast energy that is needed. During your recovery period and the hours after your workout when there is plenty of oxygen present and the demand for energy quickly has slowed down, your body utilizes your fat stores to convert that fat into glycogen for the next time you workout with a high intensity. This process of replacing the fast energy stores that you used up during your interval training workout may take hours to completely restore the glycogen stores.

So, the secret to burning fat is to not burn fat during your workout. Burn for hours afterwards by exhausting your glycogen stores.

interval training

High Intensity Interval Training: Why is it So Effective?

High Intensity Interval Training: Why is it So Effective?
by Aaron Ivey ATC, CSCS

The comparisons between high intensity short duration exercise (HIT) and low to moderate intensity long duration exercise (LSD) continue to spark conversation and controversy. While there is no doubt that research suggests long, slow endurance type training does have some benefits, can high intensity training be more effective for the average person?

This article is meant to outline why high intensity interval training workouts are the effective alternative to long, slow exercise. I will outline 6 reasons why interval training is so effective for fat loss, increased cardiovascular conditioning and general health.

1.    Muscle changes: As the intensity of a particular activity increases, more muscle fibers are needed to perform the activity. The highly intense nature of HIT elicits rapid changes in muscle chemistry to be able to tolerate such an increase in recruitment.
2.    Increase fat utilization: HIT contractions stimulate nerve pathways that increase the amount of energy producing structures (mitochondria) in muscle fibers. These are the structures responsible for burning fat.
3.    Time efficient: Some studies have used training protocols as short as 4 minutes of total workout time and produced similar, if not better, results than LSD training. The average HIT workout usually lasts about 20 minutes. That is 40 minutes less than the recommended time to complete an LSD workout. I do not about you but I would rather be finished in 1/3 of the time and get even better results.
4.    After burners: HIT has been shown to increase metabolism for hours after the workout ended. LSD effects usually stop after you are done with your workout. Though it is difficult to get an exact number, some research suggests that even more calories are burned in the hours after a workout than were burned during the workout.
5.    Range of populations: HIT can be performed by a range of populations from the elite athlete to someone recovering from coronary artery disease. Research is now showing effective results for cardiac rehabilitation by using HIT. Granted the intensity is not going to be the same for the cardiac patient and the elite athlete, but the principle remains. Even the out of shape, obese person is more likely to tolerate 30 seconds of high intensity than 60 minutes of running on a treadmill.
6.    Long-term adherence: Because HIT workouts can be done quickly and show results within as little as 2 weeks, those that use HIT are more likely to continue a training program than those who start an LSD training program. Not to mention, there are more exercise possibilities to reduce boredom with HIT program.

HIT has been shown consistently to effectively reduce fat, get in shape, and make necessary changes within the muscles to allow for greater well being. HIT can be used by nearly everyone in one form or another and provides enough variety to prevent boredom and increase the likelihood of long term adherence.

interval training

Do You Really Need “Cardio” Workouts?

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author: The Truth About Six Pack Abs

In this article, I have an intriguing discussion about cardio workouts, which will hopefully get you thinking differently, and trying new things.

You may know I’ve been called the anti-cardio guy before, but this week I’m back posing the question to you… Do you really need cardio training to get lean and in great shape? By the way, you’ll see in a minute that I’m not really “anti-cardio”, just “anti traditional cardio”.

Most fitness buffs, weekend warriors, or anyone trying to get in shape or lose body fat, consider it a fact that they need “cardio” exercise to accomplish these goals. They would never even question it. However, I’m not only questioning it, I’m going to refute it! In fact, you may be surprised to know that some of the leanest and meanest people I know (men and women), NEVER do any type of normal or traditional cardio. And I’ve spent over 15 years working out in various gyms, and hanging out with athletes of all sorts, so I’ve seen it all.

I will say that there can be a place for low-moderate level cardio for really overweight or deconditioned people, but even in those cases, there can be more effective methods.

But what exactly is “cardio”? Most people would consider cardio to be pumping away mindlessly on a treadmill, riding a stationary bike, or coasting on an elliptical machine, while watching the TV screen at their state of the art gym. This is what I call “traditional cardio”. Hmmm, no wonder the majority of people get bored with their workouts and give up after a couple months without seeing results.

But if you look closer, “cardio” exercise can be considered any type of exercise or activity that strengthens the cardiovascular system. I’m not going to get into anything technical like increasing your VO2 max or anything like that. To keep it simple, if it gets your heart pumpin, and gets you huffin and puffin, it’s cardio. I don’t care if you’re holding dumbbells or a barbell and everyone calls it a weight training exercise…it’s still conditioning your heart.

Let’s take a look at a couple examples. Take a barbell (or dumbbell, or kettlebell) clean & press for example, which involves lifting a barbell from the floor up to shoulders, then push pressing overhead. And listen up ladies, because even though this is usually seen as a manly exercise, it doesn’t matter if you’re not lifting 250 lbs; if 45 lbs is challenging to you, then you will still benefit just as much.

At first glance, most people think of the barbell C&P only as a weight training exercise or strength exercise. However, I challenge you to do a hard set of around 10-15 reps on the C&P. If you used a challenging enough weight, what you’ll find is that your heart rate is probably up to about 80-90% of your recommended max, and you are huffing and puffing like you just ran a 100-meter sprint (which by the way, sprinting kicks the crap out of jogging any day if you want the easiest way to lose the flab).

Try the same thing for a set of 20 reps of one-arm snatches or swings with each arm with a kettlebell or dumbbell, and tell me your legs aren’t burning, heart racing, and you’re gasping for breath. How about trying 5 minutes straight of bodyweight squats, lunges, and pushups with very little rest. Again, notice your heart pounding, sweat pouring off of you, and chest heaving for breaths!

Try and tell me you’re not conditioning your heart with this style of training! Conventional thinking says that these are weight training or strength training exercises. However, they are fullfilling your cardio workout needs as well.

Not only do you save time, but you strengthen and condition almost every muscle in your entire body with these full body exercises if you do them with enough intensity…something that can’t be said for that boring stationary bike ride or treadmill jaunt while reading or watching TV. Seriously, if you can read or watch TV while doing any exercise, you’re not concentrating enough on what you’re doing, plus you’re probably not working out hard enough to see any real results.

I challenge you to give the “traditional cardio” a rest for a month or two, and start training the way I explain in my internationally-selling Truth about Six pack Abs Program, and see how you start getting leaner, more defined, and your six pack starting to show through what used to be stubborn stomach fat deposits.

interval training

Interval Training More Effective Than Cardio?

Interval Training Workouts Prove to be More Effective Than Long Slow Cardio

by Aaron Ivey

When it comes to measuring athletic performance and endurance performance, the maximal rate of oxygen absorption into the muscles (VO2max) is the most recognized test. Greater VO2max usually means you are in greater cardiovascular condition. This can become an advantage in sports as well as in everyday life. You may not be competing against another team or opponent, you may be competing with your own body. So what is the best way to increase your VO2max? Researchers in Norway may have the answer.

They examined 4 different types of exercise protocols ranging from aerobic training to high intensity interval training. Each group trained for 8 weeks 3 times per week.

Group 1 trained for 45 minutes of running on the treadmill at 70% of their maximal heart rate.

Group 2 trained at lactate threshold (~85% of maximum heart rate) for 24.25 minutes.

Group 3 trained using intervals at 15 seconds of high intensity (90-95%) of heart rate maximum for 47 repetitions. The total time of the training for this group was the same as for group 2.

Group 4 trained using 4 sets of intervals for 4 minutes at 90-95% of heart rate maximum. This group rested for 3 minutes at 70% of heart rate maximum in between each repetition.

The Results:

The VO2max in groups 3 and 4 increased by 5.5% and 7.2% respectively. Groups 1 and 2 showed no significant improvement in VO2max. Another interesting finding was that the volume of blood that the heart pumped with each beat increased with groups 3 and 4.

So, there you have it! Research, again, suggests that interval training is more effective for improving aerobic endurance than traditional long slow steady cardio training.

Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 39 no4 Ap 2007 pp 665-671

If you are looking to achieve this level of success, get your instant download of Turbulence Training by following this link to the official Turbulence Training website.

interval training

Train the Movement Not the Muscle

Train the Movement Not the Muscle – Isolation vs. Complex Exercise in Strength Training

by Aaron Ivey – Certified Athletic Trainer, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

As a strength training specialist, I get questions from friends and clients all of the time about the best way to train. I find that most of the questions, though genuine in their motivation, miss the most important benefits of strength training – function. One of the most popular questions goes something like this:

“Aaron, what is the best exercise to isolate my ___________ (any variety of body parts – biceps, triceps, abs, adductors, etc)?”

No matter what body part they insert into the question my response is usually – “Why is it you want to isolate? Do you want to be a bodybuilder?” Most of the time the answer is no.

So the first thing that they need to understand is that our body wants to work with the greatest number of muscles possible. It is more efficient and effective. The complex movements that our muscles create are achieved through the contraction of multiple muscles at one time. Some are more dominant than others with certain movements while others serve as joint stabilizers or accessory muscles. This article is meant to show how utilizing complex (multi-joint) movements is more effective and functional for sports demands as well as every day life and activities.

Isolation exercises are meant to train the body to use only one specific muscle group. In the long run this creates a body that works in a very non-functional way. In other words, in a way that is not natural. This can lead to injury and overuse type injuries because the muscles are not working together to create a movement. Instead, you have a bunch of individual muscles that, instead of a powerful, functional movement, create a jerky motion that doesn’t work well.

I have seen many people over the years suffer an injury that was created because of an isolation exercise. A significantly fewer number of injuries, if any, are caused by doing complex movements. Complex movements also create a more lean, muscular, and functional body that is better able to generate power and strength by working together to produce force.

If you look at any sport that requires strength, speed, power and agility you will notice that it requires complex movement patterns. Take a football or soccer player for example. They don’t train with isolation exercises. They are performing too many complex movements to waste their time doing bicep curls or leg extensions – neither of which will effectively make them more prepared for their sport.

Some examples of my least favorite isolation, non-functional exercises include:
•    crunches,
•    leg extensions,
•    hamstring curls,
•    bicep curls,
•    tricep extensions, and
•    the worst of all the abduction / adduction machine.
None of these exercises truly prepare the body for daily movements or much less athletic demands.

Some complex exercises that I like include:
•    Squats and their variations
•    Lunges (multidirectional)
•    Deadlifts
•    Step-Ups
•    Push Ups
•    Woodchoppers
A variety of different exercise routines can be created around these basic exercises. Upper extremity movements can be added to create a total body workout. Just 3-5 of these exercises in a circuit routine can be a real butt kicker. Basically any exercise that trains more than one muscle group at a time is a great complex exercise. Complex movements like these also train your abdominal muscles the way they were meant to be trained.

When you are considering what exercises are going to be best for you, remember to train movements with complex, multi-joint exercises and leave the isolation to the bodybuilders. You will create a more functional and healthy body. For more ideas about how to create a functional body that not only works well but looks even better, I suggest you check out the book The Truth About Six Pack Abs by Mike Geary. He does a great job at outlining the best way to make your exercise routine effective and fun.

interval training

The Hidden Dangers of Your Excess Abdominal Fat – It’s More Serious Than a Vanity Issue!

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

Truth About Six Pack Abs

Did you know that the vast majority of people in this day and age have excess abdominal fat? The first thing that most people think of is that their extra abdominal fat is simply ugly, is covering up their abs from being visible, and makes them self conscious about showing off their body.

However, what most people don’t realize is that excess abdominal fat in particular, is not only ugly, but is also a dangerous risk factor to your health. Scientific research has clearly demonstrated that although it is unhealthy in general to have excess body fat throughout your body, it is also particularly dangerous to have excess abdominal fat.

There are two types of fat that you have in your abdominal area. The first type that covers up your abs from being visible is called subcutaneous fat and lies directly beneath the skin and on top of the abdominal muscles.

Truth About Six Pack Abs

The second type of fat that you have in your abdominal area is called visceral fat, and that lies deeper in the abdomen beneath your muscle and surrounding your organs. Visceral fat also plays a role in giving certain men that “beer belly” appearance where their abdomen protrudes excessively but at the same time, also feels sort of hard if you push on it.

Both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat in the abdominal area are serious health risk factors, but science has shown that having excessive visceral fat is even more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. Both of them greatly increase the risk your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep apnea, various forms of cancer, and other degenerative diseases.

Part of the reason visceral fat is particularly dangerous is that it apparently releases more inflammatory molecules into your body on a consistent basis.

If you care about the quality of your life and your loved ones, reducing your abdominal fat should be one of your TOP priorities! There’s just no way around it. Besides, a side-effect of finally getting rid of all of that excessive ugly abdominal fat is that your stomach will flatten out, and if you lose enough stomach fat, you will be able to visibly see those sexy six pack abs that everyone wants.

So what gets rid of extra abdominal fat? Is there actually a REAL solution beyond all of the gimmicks and hype that you see in ads and on commercials for “miracle” fat loss products?

The first thing you must understand is that there is absolutely NO quick fix solution. There are no pills or supplements of any sort that will help you lose your abdominal fat faster. Also, none of the gimmicky ab rockers, rollers, or ab belts will help get rid of abdominal fat either. You can’t spot reduce your stomach fat by using any of these worthless contraptions. It simply doesn’t work that way.

The ONLY solution to consistently lose your abdominal fat and keep it off for good is to combine a sound nutritious diet full of unprocessed natural foods with a properly designed strategic exercise program that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body. Both your food intake as well as your training program are important if you are to get this right.

I’ve actually even seen a particular study that divided thousands of participants into a diet-only group and an exercise/diet group. While both groups in this study made good progress, the diet-only group lost significantly LESS abdominal fat than the diet & exercise combined group.

Now the important thing to realize is that just any old exercise program will not necessarily do the trick. The majority of people that attempt getting into a good exercise routine are NOT working out effectively enough to really stimulate the loss of stubborn abdominal fat. I see this everyday at the gym.

Most people will do your typical boring ineffective cardio routines, throw in a little outdated body-part style weight training, and pump away with some crunches and side bends, and think that they are doing something useful for reducing their abdominal fat. Then they become frustrated after weeks or months of no results and wonder where they went wrong.

Well, the good news is that I’ve spent over a decade researching this topic, analyzing the science, and applying it “in the trenches” with myself as well as thousands of my clients from all over the world to see what works to really stimulate abdominal fat loss.

The entire solution… all of the nutritional strategies, as well as training sequences, exercise combinations, and more have all been compiled in my Truth About Six Pack Abs Program.
Keep in mind that the point of this whole program is NOT abdominal exercises (that is only a very small portion of it). The main point of this program is showing you the absolute most effective strategies for losing your stubborn abdominal fat, so you can get rid of that dangerous health risk, as well as get a flatter more defined midsection.

If you follow the guidelines, you WILL lose your belly fat that has been plaguing you for years. This is not guesswork… it is a proven system that works time and time again for all of my clients on every corner of the globe that actually apply the information I teach. If you apply it, the results will come. It’s really that simple.

The only reason most people fail in their fitness goals is that they have good intentions at first to adopt a new lifestyle, yet after a few weeks or months, they abandon their good intentions and slip right back into their old bad habits that gave them the excess body fat in the first place.

I want to help you succeed in finally getting rid of that extra abdominal fat that is not only UGLY, but also DANGEROUS.

Don’t waste another day allowing that nasty abdominal fat to kill your confidence as well as contribute to your risk for MAJOR diseases.

Get the solution to rid yourself for life of this problem at…

Truth About Six Pack Abs Program

Train hard, eat right, and enjoy life!

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Author – The Truth about Six Pack Abs

Is Your Exercise Routine Keeping You Fat & Unhealthy?

by Rob Poulos, founder of Fat-Burning-Furnace.

The majority of fitness enthusiasts and exercisers today still rely on long duration moderate paced aerobic exercise as their primary routine to attempt to burn fat fast. But recent studies have shown that this is a big, I mean big mistake.

In fact, you could say that the whole aerobics explosion of a few decades past was one of the biggest mistakes in the health and fitness industry. Why?

There are several reasons, but I’ll focus on the two main issues here. When you exercise at a moderate pace for extended periods of time (as in the typically recommended percent of your target heart rate), your body is burning fat during the exercise.

While this may sound good, it’s actually bad news. This sends a signal to your body to keep a certain amount of stored fat available for your next workout. You’re essentially telling it that it needs fat available to burn, ‘because you’ll be doing this exercise again.

So while we may be burning some calories during this exercise, after the exercise is over, our body begins storing up some fat for the next workout. Obviously not what we’re looking for in terms of maximum ability to burn fat fast.

The other big concern with moderately paced aerobic exercise performed several times per week is that it trains your body (heart, lungs, muscles, etc.) to become efficient. Again, this may sound good, but what is actually happening is bad for long term health.

You are working only within your existing aerobic limits, without improving your aerobic capacity. This is important because your aerobic capacity is what determines how your body responds in times of physical, emotional, and mental stress.

If you reduce your capacity for work, as you do in this type of exercise, you’re reducing your long term health, no to mention a poor chance of burning fat.

The good news is, you can reverse these effects by instead focusing your workouts on high intensity resistance training, with workouts that last 15-20 minutes on average, and can only be performed 2-3 times per week. These workouts will burn carbohydrates instead of fat during the workout, and will cause your body to use its fat stores to replenish the burned carbs over the next 24 hours, after the workout is done!

This type of work will also increase your reserve capacity and thus your ability to handle all types of stress, leading to lasting health and fitness…and 24/7 fat burning. Nice!

But the exercise must be performed correctly to be effective, and that means using sufficient intensity, and keeping your rest periods between exercises and sets down to 60 seconds or less.

The students of my Fat Burning Furnace method know this, and are reaping the benefits. When you think about how little time you have to spend compared to the typically recommended methods to get these fat burning and health creating results, it’s almost magical.

Thanks Rob for that article. That about it for today. Hope you’re having a great one!

Stay lean,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder – TruthAboutAbs.com

Circuit Training Workouts

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Long, slow, boring aerobic exercise may get all the glory in the media,
but you can get a lot more bang for your fitness buck with circuit training.

In fact, it’s one of the best ways to burn fat and build muscle at the same
time, while getting your workouts done in very little time. So forget about
doing an hour of cardio and then an hour of weights. Instead, do shorter
circuit training or superset workouts followed by interval training.

Research proves circuit training works. Brazilian researchers assigned
subjects to a 12-week program of either cardio or total-body circuit
training. Both groups exercised for 35 minutes three times per week.

At the end of the study, both groups had increased their aerobic fitness by
four percent. In addition, both groups had increased their leg strength by
six percent. However, only the circuit-training group experienced benefits
such as increased their upper-body strength too.

Even if you’re a beginner, your best bet for maximum gains is a total-body
circuit-training program: strength training done with short rest periods
between exercises.

This is especially true if the amount of time you can commit to a workout
program is limited.

Let’s go over what a bodyweight circuit is. You can use a bodyweight
circuit instead of interval training. Not everyone has the time or space to
sprint so this can be a good substitute to burn fat.

We use about 6 exercises, 3 upper body, and 3 lower body exercises and
alternate between the upper body exercises and the lower body exercises.

Beginning with two basic upper and lower body exercises we will go through a
bodyweight circuit. Perform a Y squat for 15 repetitions, and immediately go
into a push up for 15 repetitions. The goal here is to fatigue ourselves,
but the exercises should not leave you sore the next day so go with more
reps at less challenging exercises.

Next do a lunge for 12-15 reps per leg, followed by and decline push up for
15 repetitions. Do 60 jumping jacks and finish with mountain climbers for 15
reps a side. This is a good way to do interval training anywhere anytime.

Keeping in mind that the goal here is not to strain the muscles but to get a
good sweat going. So use circuit training instead of long slow cardio to get
more results in less time.

About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Fat Burning Bodyweight Circuit Exercises

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

Turbulence Training for Fat Loss

When you travel, you worry about missing your workouts and eating poorly…So you must plan ahead for both (apples and almonds for planes, trains, & automobiles)…and bodyweight circuits for “no-equipment fat burning”.

And while I have bodyweight exercises that are just as hard as the bench press and barbell squat in one of my bodyweight workouts, today we’ll focus on replacing intervals with bodyweight circuits.

To do a bodyweight circuit…

a) Pick 3 lower body exercises

b) Pick 3 upper body exercises

c) Alternate between a lower and upper body exercise without rest, till you are done all 6 exercises

d) Rest a minute.

e) Repeat 2-3 more times until you are done 20 minutes

For example, this is a great circuit that doesn’t need any equipment

1) Prisoner Squat (12 repetitions)
2) Elevated Pushups (8 reps per side)
3) Single-Leg Deadlift (10 reps per side)
4) Close-grip Pushups (As many reps as possible)
5) Jumping Jacks (30-60 reps)
6) Cross-Body Mountain Climber (12 reps per side)

Try Turbulence Training Circuit Training

Whew. That’s pretty advanced…for a beginner, we’d slow it down like this and take some breaks between exercises…

1) Wall Squat (8 reps)
2) Kneeling Elevated Pushup (5 reps per side)
3) Lying 1-leg Hip Extension (8 reps per side)
4) Plank (30 second hold)
5) Jumping Jacks (5-10 reps)
6) Side Plank (15 second hold per side)

Safe travels, and of course, always check with your doctor before beginning a fat burning bodyweight circuit exercise program.

Weight Loss With Circuit Training – A Fast Alternative to Interval Training

by: Aaron Ivey ATC, CSCS

Though circuit training has been given a different name, it is much the same as interval training. Both combine bouts of high intensity exercise with rest periods. Circuit training is great for busy people because, like interval training, it takes much less time than traditional cardio workouts and can be performed with minimal yet inexpensive equipment.

A typical circuit training routine involves selecting 5 – 10 exercises, I prefer total body exercises, and perform them without rest consecutively. I like to use the following formula for my workouts:

1. A push exercise

Try Circuit Training Workouts Here

2. A pull exercise
3. A leg exercise
4. A core exercise
5. Another push
6. Pull
7. Legs
8. Core

I think you get the picture. Now perform each exercise in order for either a certain period of time, say 30 seconds, with as many reps as you can. You can measure your progress over time by keeping track of how many reps you are able to do in the circuit. You may also perform a certain number of repetitions and time how long it takes you to complete the circuit. Follow each circuit with a 1 – 2 minute rest and repeat up to 4 times (1-2 for beginners 2-3 for intermediate and 3-4 for advanced).

It should take you between 4 – 5 minutes to complete the circuit depending on how much transition time you need between exercises. Try to make it as short as possible for maximum effect. If you do the circuit 3 times you have a total of around 15 minutes of workout. That beats 60 minutes on the treadmill any day.

Watch for more specific examples of circuit training workouts in the “workouts” category.

8 Benefits of Interval Training

What are the benefits of interval training? Why would I switch from doing my traditional cardio routine? Does it really work if I am not working hard for at least an hour? These are a couple of questions that I hear all the time with clients and injured athletes that I work with. Here are the top 8 benefits of an interval training workout routine.

1. Interval training is similar to everyday activities. Most of us are not trying to work at a moderate to high intensity for a long period of time throughout the day. We naturally take breaks and actively rest in between intense activities. Interval training prepares us for the sudden bursts of intense activity or stress that we experience.

2. Interval training improves the body’s ability to utilize oxygen. It won’t matter how efficient your lungs are at getting oxygen to the working muscles if the muscles are not able to pull it out of the blood stream. This is referred to as oxidative capacity. The measure of oxidative capacity is referred to as VO2max (the maximum amount of oxygen that your muscles can extract from the blood and use). Interval training workouts have been shown to significantly increase a person’s ability to utilize oxygen. One study showed a 100% increase.

3. Interval training workouts are fast. You won’t need to spend hours in the gym running at the same speed for 1-2 hours. In fact, You can get the same or better benefits by doing an interval training workout that lasts a total of 4 minutes (Tabata workout) as you would with a 1 hour run at about 65% of your maximum.

4. Improve your fat burning ability. Interval training nearly exhausts your muscles carbohydrate reserves known as glycogen. It would seem sort of backwards that interval training could improve fat burning if it uses carbohydrates as a primary fuel source. However, those glycogen stores have to be replaced somehow. What fuel source is left to take care of that? Fat! Fat! And more fat! During the hours after your workout your body uses fat to replace the glycogen that you depleted.

5. Train for any sport with interval training. If you notice, there are workouts available to train for just about anything from short sprints to marathons. By changing the amount of time you rest versus the amount of time you are working at near maximum effort, you can train different energy systems that dominate your specific sport.

6. Human growth hormone (HGH) production increases with interval training. HGH is necessary for repair of tissue damage as well as building new tissue like muscle. This has even been shown to increase in older populations. HGH will help you recover more quickly and be prepared for your next workout.

7. Interval training improves the efficiency of the heart. There are two ways to improve how much blood is pumped through your body. First is the volume of blood that the heart expels. Second is the rate at which the heart pumps the blood (heart rate). Have you ever wondered why a fit person has a lower heart rate than average Joe? Interval training strengthens the heart. In doing so the heart is able to pump more volume and therefore won’t have to pump as many times. Imagine how much blood can be circulated when your heart rate increases and the volume that the blood pumps increase together. Some studies suggest that interval training type workouts are beneficial for those with heart disease.

8. Interval training reduces the body’s dependence on insulin. Insulin is essential for transporting sugar, in the form of glucose, into a cell for energy. Just ask any one who is diabetic. During high intensity exercise your body produces lactate. The truth is that lactate production is a good thing. Lactate can be transported into a cell much more easily than glucose and without the need of insulin. Lactate can then be converted easily into pyruvate which is a major chemical used to produce fast energy. This is good news for diabetics and non-diabetics.

There you have it: 8 benefits of interval training workouts. I’m sure we could find many more reasons to do interval training workouts rather than traditional cardio.

6 Interval Training Sessions Improve Oxygen Utilization

How effective are interval training sessions at increasing aerobic exercise capacity
compared to traditional aerobic training? Researchers at McMaster University in Canada
uncovered some very interesting answers.

The study involved 8 subjects who performed interval training sprints on a stationary cycle.
Subjects participated in 6 sessions over 14 days. Each session consisted of between 4-7 bouts
of 30 second “all-out” sprints on the cycle. On session 2 they performed 5 sets, session 3
6 sets, session 4 6 sets, session 5 7 sets, and the final session 4 sets. Each set was
separated by 4 minutes of active rest on the cycle. Subjects continued to ride on the bike
but at a very low intensity. Subjects were given 1-2 days of rest in between sessions.

The results showed an increase in the endurance capacity of the subjects by an average of
100%. Subjects were able to ride for 51 minutes at 80% of their peak compared to 26 minutes
before the study began. Their was also an increase in the chemical that is used to indicate
how well the body is able to utilize oxygen, citrate synthase. The increase in citrate synthase
activity in this study is similar to the results reported after 6-7 of traditional endurance
exercise training. The difference is that these traditional training sessions lasted for 2 hours.

The interval training sessions were just as effective or in some cases more effective
at stimulating improvements in muscle oxidative potential, the body’s ability to utilize
oxygen during exercise.

If you are ready to start your interval training routine, check out Turbulence Training. Craig has put together a collection of great workouts to keep you motivated for a long time.

‘No Time To Exercise’ Is No Excuse

A study, published in The Journal of Physiology, shows that short bursts of very intense exercise — equivalent to only a few minutes per day — can produce the same results as traditional endurance training.

The Study:
Subjects: 16 college-aged students

Protocols:
- Interval training group: 4-6 sets of 30 second “all out” bouts with 4 minutes recovery for 2 weeks.
Total training time = 2.5 hours
- Moderate-intensity group: 90-120 minutes of continuous cycling for 2 weeks.
Total training time = 10.5 hours

The Results:
Similar improvements were demonstrated in both groups for exercise performance and muscle characteristics associated with resistance to fatigue.

“The most striking finding from our study was the remarkably similar improvements in muscle health and performance induced by two such diverse training strategies,” says Martin Gibala, an associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University.

“Our study demonstrates that interval-based exercise is a very time-efficient training strategy,” said Gibala. “This type of training is very demanding and requires a high level of motivation. However, short bursts of intense exercise may be an effective option for individuals who cite ‘lack of time’ as a major impediment to fitness.”

Blackwell Publishing Ltd. (2006, September 18). ‘No Time To Exercise’ Is No Excuse. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 12, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2006/09/060918142456.htm

Want to know how to implement an interval training program. My friend Craig Ballantyne is offering a discounted trial period for those who want to fire up their training program. Check it out at Turbulence Training.

Interval Training For Cardiac Rehabilitation?

Short bursts of high intensity sprints–known to benefit muscle and improve exercise performance–can improve the function and structure of blood vessels, in particular arteries that deliver blood to our muscles and heart, according to new research from McMaster University.

The study is published online in the journal American Journal of Physiology. Regulatory, Integrative & Comparative Physiology.

The Study:

Training Protocols:
- Interval training: 30 second “all out” sprints 3x per week for 6 weeks
- Moderate Intensity: 40-60 minutes cycling 5x per week for 6 weeks

The Findings:
- Interval training improves the structure and function of arteries as much as traditional cardio.

The findings support the idea that people can exercise using brief, high-intensity forms of exercise and reap the same benefits to cardiovascular health that can be derived from traditional, long-duration and moderately intense exercise. In addition, more and more scientists and professionals are recommending interval training protocols even during cardiac rehabilitation programs.

Want to know how to implement an interval training program? My friend Craig Ballantyne is offering a discounted trial period for those who want to fire up their training program. Check it out at Turbulence Training.

McMaster University (2008, June 4). Brief, Intense Exercise Can Benefit The Heart, Study Shows. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 12, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/06/080604101529.htm

Fat Burning Bodyweight Circuit Exercises

Fat Burning Bodyweight Circuit Exercises

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Turbulence Training for Fat Loss

And while I have bodyweight exercises that are just as hard as the bench press and barbell squat in one of my bodyweight workouts, today we’ll focus on replacing intervals with bodyweight circuits.

To do a bodyweight circuit…

a) Pick 3 lower body exercises

b) Pick 3 upper body exercises

c) Alternate between a lower and upper body exercise without rest, till you are done all 6 exercises

d) Rest a minute.

e) Repeat 2-3 more times until you are done 20 minutes

For example, this is a great circuit that doesn’t need any equipment

Whew. That’s pretty advanced…for a beginner, we’d slow it down like this and take some breaks between exercises…

Safe travels, and of course, always check with your doctor before beginning a fat burning bodyweight circuit exercise program.

Advanced Bodyweight Circuit Workout

The Cardio Machine That Sucks

The Cardio Machine that Sucks

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Recently, I was in Tampa, Florida, at a seminar. Between sessions, a physician from Georgia stopped me in the hall and said, “Hey Craig, you were right about those crosstrainer machines. I’ve had your program for a few months now and I’m getting better results with the bodyweight circuits.”

It’s always great to meet clients, and I was curious to find out how he heard of me. Turns out, he found me through Google, landing on an article I wrote about “how elliptical machines (crosstrainers) suck for fat loss”.

That’s right, I think those machines are almost a complete waste of time.

“I was using one of those machines for a long time and was wondering why I wasn’t getting any results,” the physician continued, “I’m so glad I found your program and now I’m using the bodyweight circuits from the Dumbell-Bodyweight Fusion Workout”, he added.

I told him how I wasn’t surprised. In fact, I’ve never personally known anyone to get great results with one of those crosstrainer machines. Now I’ve watched really lean people use them, but they didn’t get lean with those machines.

I know some people will be angry with what I have to say because they like exercising on the crosstrainer, but the truth is that they just don’t work as well as harder forms of interval training.

And hey, any time you are traveling or want a break from regular interval training workouts, you can use one of the 4 bodyweight circuits from the TT DB-BW Fusion Fat Loss program that you get as a bonus when you order the Turbulence Training fat burning workout routine.

Order Turbulence Training

Let me know how it goes for you,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

30 Second Sprints As Effective as 60 Minute Run

Just six minutes of intense exercise a week could be as effective as an hour of daily moderate activity suggests new findings from researchers at McMaster University.

“Short bouts of very intense exercise improved muscle health and performance comparable to several weeks of traditional endurance training,” says Martin Gibala, an associate professor in the department of kinesiology of McMaster.

The research, which is published in the June edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology, found that performing repeated bouts of high-intensity “sprint”-type exercise resulted in profound changes in skeletal muscle and endurance capacity, similar to training that requires hours of exercise each week.

The Study
16 Subjects: 8 doing intervals, 3 no exercise
Training protocol: 30 seconds work to 4 minutes rest ratio for 4-7 sets “all out.”
Frequency: 3x per week for 4 weeks

Findings for interval training group:
- Endurance capacity nearly doubled
- Increased enzyme (citrate sythase) activity. This enzyme indicates the muscle’s ability to utilize oxygen

The researchers suggested that implementation of an interval training program may offer a time saving alternative to individuals with a time crunch. “This type of training is very demanding and requires a high level of motivation, however, less frequent, higher intensity exercise can indeed lead to improvements in health and fitness.”

Why Cardio Doesn’t Work for Fat Loss

Why Cardio Doesn’t Work for Fat Loss

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Cardio exercise is such a strange thing. In theory, it should work
so perfectly well for all men and women, but as anyone who has
tried it knows, the practicality of it just doesn’t add up.

After all, some men and women do cardio 6 hours, 9 hours, or more per week, and still have belly fat to burn. On the other hand, it works just fine for others.

British researchers wanted to get more insight into this paradox, and studied 35 overweight men and women, who weren’t previously exercising.

(Reference: International Journal of Obesity 32: 177-184, 2008).

Subjects exercised 5 times per week for 12 weeks. That’s a lot of
exercise, but it helped the subjects lose an average of 8.2 pounds, which is great – I was positively surprised by the results.

So cardio will work for some people, however, in my experience, it works best in young men, who need the help the least!

Back to the study, the variance in fat loss between individuals was huge. Check this out…

The best subject lost a staggering 32.3 pounds in 12 weeks, while the worst subject actually GAINED 3.74 pounds.

The scientists think they know where things went sour. They
classified the subjects into 2 groups, called the “Compensators”
and the “Non-compensators”.

The Compensators were hungrier, and as a result consumed an extra 268 calories per day, all but wiping out their cardio efforts.

Therefore, the Compensators lost the least amount of weight, and scientists believe that was due to the huge “compensatory” increase in appetite experienced by this group.

Does your appetite increase when you do slow cardio? If it does,
research shows it will ruin your cardio efforts.

So if your cardio program is not working for you, check your
appetite and calorie intake to see if you are “compensating” for
your efforts. If you are, you might be better off using a program
of high-intensity resistance and interval training (i.e. Turbulence Training) for your weight loss efforts.

As Australian Professor Steve Boucher has shown in research,
interval training increases hormones called catecholamines. And
increased catecholamines can reduce appetite, among other fat-
burning benefits.

In the real world, few people lose 33 pounds after 12 weeks of
cardio. Heck, few even achieve an average weight loss of 8 pounds with aerobic exercise.

So again, check your appetite, and consider giving high-intensity
exercise a go for your next workout program.

Beat the curse of cardio with high-intensity Turbulence Training.

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training
About the Author

Learn about the “Dark Side of Cardio” in the free report from Craig Ballantyne at www.TurbulenceTraining.com. Craig is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Interval Training Burns More Fat, Increases Fitness

Interval training burns fat and improves fitness more quickly than constant but moderately intensive physical activity, according to research by a University of Guelph researcher.

The study included moderately fit women in their 20’s and borderline sedentary subjects. Subjects trained every other day for 2 weeks alternating between 4 minute work periods and 2 minute rest periods for a total of 10 sets. They trained at 90% intensity.

So what were the results?

- Increase in fat usage.
- Increase in aerobic capacity. This means that a person is better able to sustain prolonged activity.
- Increase in muscle enzyme activity. These are the chemicals in the body that help make reactions happen faster. This may help to make the body more efficient at producing energy in the muscles.

The bottom line is that the interval training study demonstrated that this interval training program elicits faster and improved fat burning potential and greater overall fitness. Talanian concludes that the introduction of an interval training program into your exercise routine once or twice a week can be beneficial.

This study can be found at:
University Of Guelph (2007, June 29). Interval Training Burns More Fat, Increases Fitness, Study Finds. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 12, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2007/06/070627140103.htm

Politically Incorrect Holiday Fat Loss Tips

Politically Incorrect Holiday Fat Loss Tips

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

I was at a big event last week and was reminded how
important it is to have strategies for this season of high-calorie
parties and busy schedules. But I get ticked off by the tired old
suggestions you find on the Internet or in magazines like Woman’s World.

Often the suggestions are lack any substance, because the writers don’t want to imply you actually have to make a sacrifice to succeed. They make fat loss sound easy, as if all you had to do was park at the far end of the parking lot and you’d burn all the
calories from 5 shortbread cookies.

Well it doesn’t work that way…So here are my politically
incorrect, unique Turbulence Training strategies to help you keep off the holiday pounds.

By the way, I “borrowed” a few ideas from contestants in my
Turbulence Training Transformation Contest. The Transformation is rocking with social support and success stories right now, even while the rest of the world struggles with weight gain, these TT users are losing fat over the holidays.

Click here to get started with Turbulence Training for Fat Loss:
==> http://www.turbulencetraining.com

Strategy #1 – Green Tea & Almonds

One of the most common tips you’ll hear is to “fill up” before you
go to a party where there will be lots of goodies.

Unfortunately, most people I talk to have no luck with this tip.
Most people still go to a party and eat everything in sight.

But recently TT users have told me that having a cup of Green Tea and one ounce of almonds has helped them avoid holiday cravings better than anything ever before.

The fiber from the almonds reduces appetite while the small amount of caffeine from the Green Tea seems to increase mental alertness and keep you “energized” at the party.

Hopefully that might work for you…

Strategy #2 – Don’t waste your time on any fancy cardio programs

Listen, the bottom line over the holiday season is that your success depends almost entirely on your nutrition.

You can’t expect to hit the cardio confessional and burn off last
night’s 2000 calorie smorgasboard. That’s a 4-hour workout. Instead, don’t get into that situation in the first place.

Here are more nutrition tips:

- Focus on portion control (and if you have no discipline, forget
even trying to eat just one)
- Nix all drinks mixed with calorie-containing beverages, or better yet, just stop getting drunk. Period.
- Write down everything you eat to identify your problem spots. Then do whatever you need to do to eliminate your weaknesses. If you don’t record your nutrition, chances are you’ll miss big
opportunities to change your diet and lose fat.

Strategy #3 – Take care of yourself first.

My friend Holly Rigsby (of http://www.fityummymummy.com) is always reminding busy moms to take care of themselves first, and I think that suggestion applies at this time of year to everyone.

So take a deep breath. Ask yourself as you’re running around to
please everyone else, “Have you set aside time for yourself”

Be selfish. Make sure you have had some exercise time, some good nutrition, and some rest before overextending yourself and doing too much for other people when you haven’t taken care of yourself and your goals first.

Strategy #4 – Get on a roll

This one comes from a TT Transformation contestant who is too busy losing fat to get off track over the holidays.

Don’t procrastinate till January 1st. Get started now. Dozens of
men and women are doing their Turbulence Training Transformations right now – through the heart of the holiday season.

They aren’t waiting for Jan. 1st to show up. They are taking
control now, and getting on a roll, and not letting anything (from
work parties to peer pressure) get in their way.

Strategy #5 – Exercise in short bursts whenever you can

Don’t be afraid to dance at your Christmas party. Don’t worry, there is bound to be at least one worse dancer than you out on the floor. Have fun and get down!

On a more serious note, here’s how to avoid falling off the fitness
program during the busy holiday season.

Get your butt out of bed 15 minutes early so you can have 3 minutes to wake up and 12 minutes to do the December 2007 Turbulence Training 12-Minute Workouts.

Get this workout as part of your bonuses when you start using
Turbulence Training today: http://www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Stay healthy and fit over the holidays,

Order the Turbulence Training Bodyweight 1000

10 Truths About Lactic Acid

10 Truths About Lactic Acid by Aaron Ivey

Many misunderstandings exist about lactic acid, even among fitness professionals and exercise physiologists. Here is a list of 10 things you should know about lactic acid. The terms lactic acid and lactate will be used interchangeably in this article. However, the truth is that lactic acid, as the acid form, is not likely to exist in the blood. Please refer to “The Real Truth About Lactic Acid.”

1. Breaking down glucose in muscles results in the production of lactic acid.

Muscle cells break down glucose to for ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which provides the high energy bonds that are used for most chemical reactions in the body. The byproduct lactate does not require the use of oxygen (anaerobic metabolism). ATP production from lactate happens quickly but produces very little ATP. It is ideal for high intensity activity that exceeds 50% of maximum capacity such as interval training.

2. Lactic acid is not responsible for muscle soreness or cramps.

Delayed onset muscle soreness, also known as DOMS is soreness that most people feel a day or two after a tough workout or a change in your workout routine. Though some have attributed this soreness to lactic acid, research suggests that the soreness is more likely caused by damage done by the workout as well as post-exercise inflammation. Muscle cramps may be caused by dehydration or overexcitable nerve receptors in the muscle due to fatigue.

It is common to use massage, hot baths, and other relaxation techniques to rid the muscles of “built up” lactic acid. These remedies for muscle soreness may be beneficial for getting rid of the soreness but they have noting to do with getting rid of lactic acid build up. Your body clears the lactate out of the blood and converts it to pyruvate, another chemical that can be used to produce ATP.

3. Lactic acid is a byproduct of carbohydrate break down for energy.

During exercise that does not rely primarily on oxygen, anaerobic exercise, such as interval training, glycogen (muscle glucose) is broken down quickly to produce ATP. The greater the rate of glycogen breakdown the greater the production of lactate. As the intensity of exercise increases, a greater proportion of the energy is derived from muscle glycogen which in turn produces a greater amount of lactate.

4. Lactate production occurs all the time. It can occur even when the majority of the energy produced comes from fat sources.

Lactate production occurs during low intensity activities also. However, the body is able process the lactate fast enough so that the levels of lactate in the blood rises only minimally. As the intensity of exercise increases, you rely more and more on fast-twitch muscle fibers which are very efficient at burning carbohydrates. As lactate production increases, it exceeds the rate at which the body can process lactate and convert it to pyruvate to continue the energy production process. This increase in blood lactate levels simply means that those fast twitch muscles you have been using for your interval training are producing more lactate than the body can process. Oxygen has little to do with it.

5. Lactic acid is continuously produced and used by many of the body’s tissues.

A delicate blood lactate balance is maintained between lactic acid production and utilization. An increase in lactic acid concentration may simply mean a decrease in the rate of removal from blood or tissues not necessarily that the lactic acid production rate was increased.

Lactate production is proportional to the amount of carbohydrate that is used for energy production. A portion of the carbohydrate is converted to lactate as a byproduct and then utilized by the same tissue or others in the body to produce more ATP. Rapid break down of carbohydrates, as with interval training, accelerates production of lactate. This lactate may temporarily build up in the muscle because it is not able to utilize it as quickly as it is produced. Some of it may even end up in the blood stream. However, once you lower your intensity, like during your rest phase of interval training, your body is able to clear out and use the lactate that built up. It doesn’t take days for this clearing out to occur.

6. Lactic acid is used by the body to continue anaerobic metabolism.

Carbohydrates are digested, broken down to glucose, and enter the blood stream. Sometimes glucose travels to the liver and is converted to muscle glucose known as glycogen. Sometimes glucose goes directly to the muscles and is converted to lactate. The lactate then travels to the liver where it is converted to liver glycogen. Much of the glycogen in the liver is produced from lactate. This is known as the “Glucose Paradox.”

7. During long steady state exercise such as endurance races, blood lactate levels stabilize though production continues to increase throughout the event.

As blood flow increases to the muscles that are being used the most and producing the most amount of lactate, you are able to shuttle the increased lactate to other tissues. This in turn reduces the lactate levels in your muscles even though you continue to break down carbohydrates into lactate. As you become more conditioned your body increases its ability to clear out lactate, increased lactate threshold.

Radioactive tracers are used to discovery patterns of fuel usage in the blood and muscles. These studies suggest that lactate production and removal continue at 300-500% of resting rates.

8. Slow twitch muscles, the heart, and respiratory muscles prefer lactate as primary fuel source.

The uptake of lactate increases in the heart as the intensity of exercise increases while the usage of glucose remains unchanged.

9. Lactic acid is a very fast fuel that is actually an athlete’s friend during intertense exercise.

After eating a meal high in carbohydrates. the concentration of glucose and lactate increase in the blood. Lactate is cleared out and processed pretty quickly so its concentration does not rise to high levels. However, glucose is processed and removed from the blood much more slowly. The body’s ability to use lactate as a fuel source actually helps to keep insulin levels lower. Less insulin in the blood stream means that your body won’t freak out and go in to fat storage mode.

So why is lactic acid so important for regulating metabolism? We aren’t totally sure. However, there are a few physiological reasons that seem to make sense. Because lactic acid is a smaller substance than glucose and some other fuel sources, it is able to be transported more readily into the cells through a process called facilitated transport. Other fuels such as glucose depend more on slower processes to get them into the cells such as with insulin. Lactate can also be produced rather quickly from high intensity muscle activity as was mentioned previously. It is easier for the muscles to release lactate into the blood than to convert glycogen (muscle glucose) into glucose for mass distribution in the blood.

Some fluid replacement drinks are including lactate as part of their formulation. The rationale for that is that since glucose is converted to lactate anyways and lactate can provide a faster energy source during intense exercise, why not use it in a drink? Lactate in the drink can also provide a great source of building blocks to restore glycogen levels in the muscle.

10. Specific training can help the body become more efficient removing lactate from your muslces.

High intensity interval training is perfect for training your body to use lactate more efficiently. This is critical for an athlete to compete at their best. It is also important for coaches to know how to train their athletes to most effectively prepare them for their sport or event. Fortunately, most training programs incorporate elements necessary to speed lactate removal. Training programs should build your capacity to remove lactic acid during competition.

Training programs should aim to tax your body’s ability to process lactic acid production. Increased intensity and training at a level that exceeds the body’s ability to remove lactate (lactate threshold) will help it to become more efficient. Training at or above your lactate threshold stimulates your body to produce enzymes that speed the use of lactic acid as a fuel.

High intensity interval training will cause cardiovascular adaptations that increase oxygen delivery to your muscles and tissues. Consequently, you have less need to breakdown carbohydrate to lactic acid. Also, better circulation helps speed the transport of lactic acid to tissues that can remove it from the blood.

6 Ways to Fire Up Your Interval Training Workout

Coaches and athletes using interval training are always looking for ways to improve their workout and make them more effective. I have included 7 different different ways to tweak your interval training workout. These tweaks will challenge your body and keep it guessing. These changes are the key elements to breaking through plateaus and stagnant periods as you work toward your goals.

When considering changes in these factors, consider the metabolic demands that are your are placing on your body and use the variables to challenge those demands based on the energy systems that are being utilized in your sport or event. A basketball player will need to train a different energy system than a golfer or a baseball player.

1. The number of reps you perform – Adding an additional repetition or two to your workout will increase the intensity of your overall workout. And, isn’t that what makes interval training so effective?

2. Distance you cover- If you are using sprints as your primary interval training method, then consider changing the distance. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to run further. Sometimes, it may be best to actually run a shorter distance. The shorter distance will mean that you can increase the intensity of your workout.

3. Assigned work interval time – The time it takes for you to complete a repetition of your work interval will vary, depending on the distance you are going to cover and your ability. You may consider either lowering your work interval to increase the intensity or you can increase the work interval time if you are training for a longer distance event. Remember, the shorter the work interval time the higher intensity you can put out.

4. Rest interval – This is the period of time you give yourself to “rest” in between work interval bouts. Some of this may depend on what the goals of your training are. Generally, you should adapt the rest interval to most closely match that of your event or sport. If you are not training for a specific event or sport then you will have more latitude with this variable. Lowering the time of the rest interval will create a new challenge because you may not have completely recovered from the previous work interval.

5. Rest to work ratio – This is the ratio of the amount of time “resting” versus the amount of time “working.” Shorter work intervals may require a longer rest interval because they will be very intense. Remember, the higher the intensity of the work interval the shorter amount of time you will be able to sustain the intensity. In the beginning of an interval training training period you may elect to use a ration of 4:1 and gradually taper down to a 3:1 or even a 2:1 rest to work ratio. Remember to consider the energy systems at work in your sport.

6. Workout frequency – Because of the high intense nature of interval training workouts, it is advisableto give yourself plenty of time for recovery. In the beginning phases of your interval training program, the recommended frequency of workouts should not exceed 2x per week. As you progress in your program you can increase to no more than 3x per week. You should also avoid scheduling your interval training workouts on consecutive days. Interval training takes a lot out of your body. It needs time to recover.

In summary, if you are a coach, personal trainer, or athlete that needs to take your workout to the next level, here are 6 different ways to tweak your interval training workout to push yourself or your client past the plateau they may be experiencing.

High Intensity Interval Training: The Scientific Approach to Weight Loss

High Intensity Interval Training-the Scientific Approach to Weight Loss.

Okay, I am pretty sure you have read most of the material you could get your hands on concerning dieting and weight loss. Chances are, you even attempted dieting and cardiovascular training at some point in order to shed some of those unwanted pounds. The question is, did it work? If it did work, how long did your new body last? A matter of weeks? A matter of months? Chances are, if you are reading this article, you weren’t completely satisfied with the results of your last attempt to lose weight, and you are hoping there is something out there that can give you the edge. There is something out there that can give you the edge when climbing toward your weight loss goals, but you have to be willing to work for it. That something is called high intensity interval training, or HIIT.

What is the difference between HIIT and your run of the mill cardio, and why will it help you lose weight faster and more effectively than your average dieting and cardio scheme? The answer is in the science behind it all. In order to understand why HIIT works, you need to understand how your body loses weight in general, and how your body converting fat to energy determines how much unwanted body fat you shed after a given bout of physical exertion. In other words, you need a bit of back ground to thoroughly understand why HIIT is superior, and what it can do for you.

Okay. In order to lose weight, you need to either sweat off weight in water, or burn off weight in fat. I am sure that you are most interested in the latter. Burning off weight in fat is relatively simple in theory, but extremely difficult in practice because most people with extra fat have it because their body is highly efficient in its use of energy. In other words, the genes that make you predisposed to fat during these sedentary times are the same ones that gave your ancestors the edge when we had to hunt and fight for each and every meal. Fat burning for energy occurs when your body’s source of glucose and glycogen are depleted, thus forcing your body to convert stored fat into usable energy. Your body will utilize fat in any situation that requires energy when you no longer have glycogen and glucose on hand. This means that yes, cardio will burn fat, but not as efficiently as HIIT. Why? Because HIIT is much more intense and requires a much higher amount of energy to sustain. This increased amount of energy requirements is the same thing that leads to more fat burning. But this is not the only reason HIIT is superior to normal cardio. HIIT has been proven to increase basal metabolic weight for a substantial amount of time after you are finished training. This means, in layman’s terms that your body will continue to use more calories than usual for energy, even after you have stopped training. Even if you sit down on a couch or sleep after your training! How does that sound?

Now for the good stuff. How can you apply HIIT today? HIIT is exactly like what the name suggests. High intensity means you will be working at or above %80 of your maximum heart rate. Interval means that you will be alternating between these bouts of high intensity and bouts of average intensity cardio or work. Training, well, we all know what that is-hopefully. Now, lets say you want to give HIIT a try. You would start by jogging at a comfortable pace for 3-5 minutes. Then, you would increase the pace to a run for a minute. Don’t kill yourself at first, just increase the intensity to a point that you really have to focus to finish the minute. Now, relax for a couple of minutes by jogging at an easy pace. Then repeat the burst of running again. Do this cycle a few times, aiming for twenty minutes at first. This cycle can be applied to almost any apparatus, be it stair stepper or elliptical trainer. You can even utilize bleacher running for a brutally effective workout.

Now, if you want to attempt HIIT, you should always remember to warm up before hand. In order to maximize the benefits of any weight loss plan, healthy eating is a must. With a bit of discipline and perseverance, you too can reap the rewards of scientifically applied training protocols.

About the Author

Steve Hochman is the founder and CEO of Next Level Fitness, home of the innovative 3-in-1 workout- O.C.’s fastest way for you to get fit. Personal Trainer Orange County Ca, Irvine Personal Training, Weight Loss Personal Trainer Orange County Ca, Irvine Personal Training, weight Loss.

Anaerobic Exercise: Fast Fuel

Anaerobic exercise: fast fuel

Anaerobic exercise is when you are exercising at a rate that requires your body to use energy systems that do not require the use of oxygen to produce energy from within the muscle. That’s not to say that you are going so fast that oxygen is not being used. Some people error in suggesting that we get to a point where our body doesn’t use oxygen. That isn’t the case. What it means is that the primary source of energy being used at that particular moment is not dependent upon oxygen to produce energy (ATP) to keep you going.

The problem with anaerobic pathways is that they cannot be maintained for a long period of time. When the energy demand exceeds the rate at which it can be produced, you hit the wall and slow down. Slowing down allows for the oxygen dependent system (oxidative or aerobic) to produce more energy and hopefully catch up.

Another myth about anaerobic exercise is that lactic acid creates muscle failure and burning. The fact is that lactate (not lactic acid) can be useful in serving as a bridge between the aerobic pathway and anaerobic pathways.

The point at which the muscle is no longer able to clear out lactate fast enough to be used in aerobic pathways is known as the lactate threshold or anaerobic threshold. This measurement can be used to determine an athletes fitness level just as the maximum amount of oxygen that can be used by the muscle (VO2max).

Currently, there is a considerable amount of research to determine what relationship exists between VO2max and lactate threshold. Both characteristics are important for high level athletes.

Anaerobic threshold can be improved through high intensity interval training. Other sports or activities that require high levels of anaerobic threshold include basketball, soccer, hockey, lacrosse and racquetball just to name a few.

These types of workouts and activities are effective for improving lactate threshold because they tax the body’s ability to clear lactate out of the muscles and become more efficient. High Intensity Interval training (HIIT) routines help achieve this. HIIT allows you to exceed your anaerobic threshold for a period of time by alternating high intensity activities with periods of rest and recovery.

The Real Truth About Lactic Acid

“Feel the burn!” The lactic acid myth revealed!

You hear it all the time in the gym when you feel that burn in the muscle. “Oh that is the lactic acid building up in your muscle. That is why it burns.” Is that really what is happening or is there some other chemical or physiological explanation for the burn you feel. You have probably been sore a day or two after a good workout. Again, some attribute this to lactic acid build up. Can there be another explanation for this?

Yes! The idea that lactic acid is the cause of such discomfort is not supported by basic biochemistry, the chemical reactions that take place in your body. It is true that lactic acid exists. However, lactic acid is not the cause of the soreness or the burn.

Maybe a quick summary of basic chemistry will help. Acids are made up of a “free” hydrogen molecule (not chemically combined with another substance) and a salt molecule such as lactate. Under the right conditions, these two molecules chemically combine to form an acid. One of the most common acids is hydrochloric acid. The number of hydrogen molecules that are “free” determines the pH of a solution. The measure of the concentration of free hydrogens in a solution is known as pH. A lower pH value means that the solution or environment has a greater concentration of free hydrogens (more acidic). A higher pH value means that the solution has a lower concentration of free hydrogens. We call this basic or alkaline.

The value of pH is measured on a scale from 0 to 14. Stomach acid has a pH of around 2. Water has a pH of around 7 and liquid drain cleaner has a pH of around 14. When you combine a base and an acid, the solution moves closer to the neutral pH around 7. That is why you add baking soda to your pool if the pH is too low and muriatic acid if the pH is too low. By doing so you are providing a salt for the hydrogen to bond to thereby reducing the concentration of free hydrogens. This increases the pH

At a pH of 3.86 lactate bonds with free hydrogens to form lactic acid. However, when the pH is greater than 3.86 lactic acid becomes sodium lactate and does not contribute to the free hydrogens in the blood, which has a pH of around 7. Even during intense exercise the pH of blood does not drop very far below this. Therefore, lactic acid really does not exist in the body. In fact, the production of lactate in the blood during exercise helps to make the blood more basic and neutralize the pH.

The burn you feel during your workout is not a result of lactic acid. Nor is lactic acid the so-called “toxin” that is released when you get a massage. But that’s another story…

For more detailed information on the biochemistry involved please see the following article by Robert A Robergs:
Exercise-Induced Metabolic Acidosis: Where do the Protons come from?

Interval Training

What is HIIT?

What is HIIT? by Greg McKenzie

High Intensity Interval Training is a certain type of routine used in training primary focused on those trying to lose fat. There are many distinct goals and differences this type of routine has that makes it stand out from all the others.

Only 20 minutes is needed not including warm ups and cool downs. Twenty minutes may not seem like much time, but if done correctly, this workout will exhaust you. High Intensity Interval Training’s goal is to maintain an anaerobic state over a period of time. Allowing you to sprint harder for longer periods, it’s designed with rest intervals. Depending on how fast you were, for example, if you were to sprint for 100 meters, you would go full out for about 15 seconds. Start out at only about 4 to 6 minutes if you are a beginner, but an advanced High Intensity Interval Training routine will eventually allow you to go all out for 7 to 8 minutes.

High Intensity Interval Training allows for a range of different activities. Using the largest muscle groups in your body safely is important when choosing an activity. The energy source found inside the muscle is tapped by the High Intensity Interval Training. Your benefits increase with an increase in the size of the exercised muscle group.

Sprinting is the ideal choice for High Intensity Interval Training. Pick another activity if you have injuries or problems which may prevent you from sprinting. One excellent option is using a stationery spinning bicycle.

High Intensity Interval Training routines are not designed to be done on consecutive days. The goal of a workout is to operate at quite a high intensity. In order to maintain this level of exertion, put as much effort as possible into your reps. This is when High Intensity Interval Training is at its most productive. After working out, give your muscles time to regain energy. You have a much greater chance of injuring yourself if this doesn’t happen, and you will not be able to workout with as much intensity as before. The more rested you are, the more intensity you can put into your workout, getting the benefits in your body during your rest period.

It was believed that doing High Intensity Interval Training on an empty stomach was the optimal method for maximum fatloss. However, new studies have shown that this is not the case. Before you exercise, make sure you eat something balanced and easily digestible; also ensure that your meal is not too heavy before you exercise.

One of the goals of High Intensity Interval Training is for continuous improvement, never to hit a wall, or plateau. High Intensity Interval Training capitalizes on your body’s natural ability to continuously adapt to increasing levels of demand; because of this innate ability, your body inevitably will adapt to whatever you demand of it. Your goal results will not be as quick if this occurs. Avoid this by keeping your body guessing. After eight weeks on one High Intensity Interval Training program, take a week off and start a different routine. There are many options available.

To find the secrets to High Intensity Interval Training visit IntervalTraining.net

About the Author

Greg McKenzie is the creator of IntervalTraining.net, the most complete resource on Interval Training and HIIT on the Internet

What is Interval Training?

What is Interval Training?
by Aaron Ivey

The term “interval training” has become quiet the buzz word over the past year. So what is it and how does it work? First off, interval training is not a new technique for athletic performance improvement. Athletes have made interval training a part of their training for many years. Fartlek training is a good example of a training technique based on the same principles. Interval training is simply combining periods of high intesity exercise with low intensity exercise. You can apply interval training no matter what your level of fitness.

Many studies indicate that the use of interval training with “untrained” individuals is more effective at decreasing a person body fat than long slow distance training like most people are used to doing. They also got in shape faster. Here is a personal example. Several years ago I was looking to supplement my income a little and decided that I would deliver newspapers in the early morning. Well, instead of driving my car to each individual house, getting out. letting the engine run, and move on, I decided I would park my car, grab as many papers as I could carry and run from one house to the next. I would then get in the car and drive to the next area. This short duration, high intensity exercise with rest in between is what interval training is all about. Within 3 or 4 weeks I noticed that my pants were a little loose and I wasn’t quiete as out of breath coming back to the car.

So how does it work? Think of your body as having 3 different types of fuel, or energy systems, to use. I will use the metaphor of starting a fire to help illustrate. The first fuel is easily ignited and burns really quickly (think of a match). The second fuel takes a little more effort to get it going but will burn for a little longer than the first (think of the kindling). The third energy system takes quiet a bit of effort to get started and burns really slow and long (think of the oak log). Each of these systems has fancy scientific names attached to them. Maybe in another blog I will go into further detail.

When you are doing interval training you are burning matches like crazy and some of the kindling, depending on how long your exercise bout is. During your recovery period, which could last up to 3x the length of your exercise bout, your body uses energy from the oak log to rebuild your matches. The oak log uses fat for energy and to replace the energy used during the match phase and the kindling phase.

By using high intensity interval training you are training your body to use fat to replenish your emergency fuel sources.

Who else wants to discover the most effective strategies for getting rid of fat and keeping it off?

Best Abs Exercise

Now for the ultimate abdominal workout – Interval Training Style!

Interval Training Secrets Mini Course

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