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.


Do You Really Need “Cardio” Workouts?

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.

Truth About Six Pack Abs

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 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.


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