Sprints, HIT, Tabata, Metabolic, AMRAP, German Body Comp, or Death Circuits: Whatever it’s called, everyone knows that high-intensity training is a superb way to lose fat and get lean. Done properly, these workouts are short but intense, providing numerous benefits for your efforts: Huge during and post-exercise calorie burn lasting up to 24 hours Enhanced hormone response that supports fat burning Health benefits for the heart, lungs, and brain Increased power and strength capacity Improved mood and brain function An overall feeling of awesomeness The key to achieving these benefits is how you do high-intensity training (HIT). Randomness and lack of effort will set you up for failure. But if you do HIT right, it’s short, sweet, painful, and amazingly beneficial! This article will provide you with a few HIT workout models for superior fat loss results, all based on recent research. #1: Gain Muscle & Lose Fat With High-Intensity Strength Training HIT training with weights is all the rage, but will it truly get you shredded? Done right, no doubt. An Italian study shows how a weight workout performed to failure will produce fat loss because it causes a massive EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption). EPOC is a valuable measure of the effectiveness of protocols for fat loss because it means the metabolism is elevated to a significant degree after the exercise bout, and you continue burning a larger volume of calories during the 24-hour recovery period. It also correlates with a “metabolic disturbance” of increased lactate, growth hormone, and cortisol for an overall fat burning response—this will be explained in #3. This study used weight-trained young men and had them perform one of two weight training programs: 1) a Traditional program of 4 sets to failure of 8 exercises with an intensity of 75 percent of the 1RM, or 2) a High-Intensity program of 3 sets per exercise of leg press, chest press, and pull-downs performed using an intensity of 85 percent of the 1RM lifted to failure with two subsequent 20-second rest-periods followed by additional lifts to failure. Results showed the following: The Traditional program took 62 minutes, resulted in 7835 kg being lifted, and produced an elevation in blood lactate of 5.1 mmol/L post-workout. At 22 hours after exercise, this group experienced a 5 percent increase in calorie burn (98 extra calories), increasing from an average 1901 to 1999 resting energy expenditure/day. An insignificant increase in the use of fat for fuel occurred as measured by the respiratory exchange ratio of 0.822. The High-Intensity program took 32 minutes, resulted in 3872 kg being lifted, and produced an elevation in blood lactate of 10.5 mmol/L post-workout. At 22 hours after exercise, this group experienced a 24 percent increase in calorie burn (452 extra calories), increasing from an average 1909 to 2362 resting energy expenditure/day. A shift to use fat for fuel occurred as measured by the respiratory exchange ratio of 0.798. In half the time, with half the volume, the participants had a robust increase in energy use that would be highly effective for producing rapid fat loss if the workout was performed 2 to 3 times a week for a few months. The single most important point that you must understand is that the increased calorie burn is just a drop in the overall fat loss bucket—the real benefit is the dramatic “metabolic effect” goes with a big EPOC. Here’s why it’s so: First, it appears beneficial to lift to failure and use very short rest to produce a major build up of lactate. The need to remove blood lactate—a waste product—will elevate energy expenditure. Second, during high-intensity training, the body will shift to burn fatty acids to satisfy the high energy cost of exercise, leading to the use of fat stores for fuel. The High-Intensity protocol favorably shifted the body to use fat rather than stored glycogen for fuel, which occurs as the respiratory exchange ratio nears 0.7. Third, though not measured in this study, it’s probable that the high metabolic stress of the workout and short rest periods elevated growth hormone, a hormone that mobilizes fat to be burned for energy. Take Away Points: All healthy trainees should use multi-joint lifts. Be sure to sequence exercises so that as you become fatigued, you don’t put yourself at risk of injury due to failing technique. Remember, HIT for fat loss should train lifts to failure or near failure. Choose lifts intelligently. Try the protocol used in this study: leg press, chest press, and pull down on machines with an 85 percent of maximal load. Trainees did 6 reps, rested for 20 seconds, then repped out to failure, rested for 20 seconds and repped out again. Then they rested for 2:30 and repeated the same protocol for a total of 3 sets for each lift. The goal of a fat loss phase is obviously fat loss. You might get the added benefit of a little extra muscle mass, but you aren’t training for athletic performance or maximal strength here. The key to success in life is to go after one thing at a time. Success is sequential; one of the major causes of failure is having to many goals. Get to your “fighting weight” first and then focus on performance and strength. #2: Manipulate Variables Like Time Under Tension To Get Lean & Cut We’ve established that HIT workouts increase fat burning in the body, while causing a big increase in EPOC that correlates with a massive metabolic disturbance. However, studies show that an increase in EPOC is not guaranteed from training—a casual lift, too little volume, or lackadaisical intervals won’t get you lean. For example, scientists quantify volume by calculating the total weight lifted during a workout and have found that for trained athletes, volumes above 25,000 kg lifted may be necessary to elevate EPOC in trained people. In a 20,000 kg workout using multi-joint lifts at 85 percent of the 1RM with 3-minute rest periods didn’t significantly increase EPOC during the 48 hours post-workout. In contrast, other workouts that have elevated EPOC effectively have favorably used one of the following variables to get a better metabolic response: • Shorter rest periods (example is the HIT protocol in #1) • Greater intensity (a bench press workout using 90 percent of the 1RM to failure significantly elevated EPOC significantly more than lighter loads), • Extended tempo (a 4 seconds eccentric, 1-second concentric bench press workout increased EPOC more than an even 1.5 second tempo), or • Greater volume (a protocol with an intensity of 70 percent of the 1 RM with 60 total sets equaling 600 reps for a load-volume of 38,000 kg produced a robust increase in EPOC). Take Away Tips: Beginners may benefit from lighter loads trained to failure because this will allow them to hone technique. Using longer eccentric (down motion) tempos can significantly increase metabolic cost for fat loss. Intermediate trainees should use intensity to their advantage, favoring heavier load training and playing with programming variables such as rest intervals, tempos, exercise selection, and volume-load. Advanced trainees need to precisely program tempo and intensity, while paying attention to total volume-load for optimal fat loss benefits. By Strength Sensei
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 08:53:44 +0000
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