Great stuff man, i just love it…..Keep on the good work!!!
In the last update I talked to you about the massive shortcomings of “slow-go” aerobic exercise for fat loss and began to briefly touch on the benefits of something much more effective – short duration, high intensity exercise.
Simply put, if you are looking for the fastest fat loss results, high intensity exercise is a MUST.
Short duration, high intensity exercise comes in two major forms: metabolic resistance training and interval training. Today, I want to take a DEEP look into the benefits of each.
First up, metabolic resistance training:
As mentioned in my previous post, metabolic resistance training is simply “cardio with weights”, and when speaking of the most effective form of exercise for the fastest possible fat loss, this is it.
A couple of studies to support this that my buddy Alwyn Cosgrove dug up:
Schuenke MD, Mikat RP, McBride JM.
Effect of an acute period of resistance exercise on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption: implications for body mass management.
Eur J Appl Physiol. 2002 Mar;86(5):411-7. Epub 2002 Jan 29.
In this study a 30-minute circuit style metabolic resistance training session was put to the test. The result was a 38 hour increase in metabolism – massive AFTERBURN.
Let’s put this in perspective: Say that you worked out at 8AM on Friday. By way of metabolic resistance training, you’d still be burning calories from that workout while out at the movies on Saturday night.
You want to burn calories by watching Wolverine? Now you can.
Here’s another:
Kramer, Volek et al.
Influence of exercise training on physiological and performance changes with weight loss in men.
Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 31, No. 9, pp. 1320-1329, 1999.
This study showed that those who added metabolic resistance training to a reduced calorie diet burned up to 44% more fat than those who dieted alone.
Don’t get me wrong, diet is the NUMBER ONE component of the fat loss puzzle, but once you’ve got that down, metabolic resistance training can really take your results to a whole new level.
And here’s one more:
Bryner RW, Ullrich IH, Sauers J, Donley D, Hornsby G, Kolar M, Yeater R.
Effects of resistance vs. aerobic training combined with an 800 calorie liquid diet on lean body mass and resting metabolic rate.
J Am Coll Nutr. 1999 Apr;18(2):115-21.
This study compared “slow-go” aerobic exercise to metabolic resistance training and found that the resistance group lost significantly more fat without losing ANY lean muscle even at an extremely low calorie intake (not so for the aerobic group).
In fact, believe it or not, while the aerobic group experienced a decrease in metabolism (and lost muscle), the resistance training group actually increased overall metabolic rate.
THAT’S the power of metabolic resistance training.
Convinced that metabolic resistance training flat out WORKS? Good. Next up, interval training:
Interval training is simply a form of high intensity cardio in which you alternate back and forth between periods of high effort and periods of active recovery.
For example, you may run very hard for a period of one minute and then follow it up with walking for one minute, repeating 8-10 times for a less-than-20-minute workout.
Does it work?
Tremblay A, Simoneau JA, Bouchard C.
Impact of exercise intensity on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism.
Metabolism. 1994 Jul;43(7):814-8
Are you sitting down? If not, take a seat.
You want to know what happened when this research group compared 20 weeks of endurance training vs. 15 weeks of interval training?
While the aerobic/endurance group actually managed to burn more total calories during exercise, the interval training group lost NINE TIMES more body fat. NINE TIMES.
Nine times more fat loss in half the time? The clear choice for fat loss is interval training.
And it all comes down to elevated metabolism after your workout is completed – the afterburn.
Are you experiencing the afterburn?
Give me at least 700 comments and I’ll be back tomorrow with some sample interval training workouts and a post you won’t want to miss!
Talk to you in the comments section!
Joel
P.S. Every so often, something crosses my desk that’s just too good not to share with you. Well, my buddy and uber nutritionist Kyle Leon is at it again:
==> Metabolism trick to OVERCOME your genetics (actually works)
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This is the basis for fat loss in the “Body-for-Life” transformation workouts. 20 minutes of HIIT first thing in the morning, before breakfast which follows no closer than 30 minutes after training on 3 days a week.
I started this on a Schwinn Aerdyne stationary bike in 2000 and lost 30# of fat in 12 weeks! Add that to weight training 5 days a week at a later time and I gained 15# of muscle in the same period. The fat burning after-effects worked for several hours following the HIIT and the weight training kept stoking the fire since increased muscle burns increased energy!
By doing the HIIT training first thing in the morning before breakfast, the body is in a fasting state and has to burn stored energy (fat) to meet the demand. It is not as effective if HIIT is done after a meal because the body is would use the recently ingested food as the energy source.
Slow-go aerobics does little to stress the body to affect a change, however, slow-go is better than no-go!
Remember, get a checkup with your physician before starting any new exercise regime unless you are already in good condition.
As for a definition of HIIT, it means High Intensity Interval Training. For me on that bike, it meant 2 minutes warm-up, 1 minute as fast as I could go in my target heart rate alternating with 1 minute 60% target heart rate until the last 2 minutes which was then back down to cool-down speed.
I also tried doing sprints, which was as follows: Jog 2 minutes; sprint a distance, walk back, repeat for 16 minutes; jog 2 minutes to cool down. The fresh air also cleared my mind and body.
@Cleo Pantazopoulos – If your body fat is dropping and you are losing inches, then you are actually replacing fat weight with muscular weight. This happens and sometimes frustrates people because of the lack of change on the scale. Remember, muscle weighs more than fat because it is more dense. The scale is only one way to determine a change and certainly not the best one.
Congratulations on the progress you are making! As your body fat % continues to decrease, you may actually see a rise in your weight, but don’t worry about that. The bodyfat % is a more important factor.
Hey Super Joel Marion
I like the weight training, and have a program all set up. I follow that with HIIT. I find its better for me to just do it all at once for the simple fact that Im already there and in the mood to do something.
I looked at Vinces cheatday workout and decided it could literally kill me lol. I am gonna try it though, just may have to cut the sets back a little. That sucker just looks brutal. Will be anxious to see how you did with it.
Can’t wait untill the next post. I’m doing both types of training and it really does work. Looking forward to some new things I can do. I’m always open to new ideas. Thanks!!!
I have change my exercise routine over the past week. I used to do 45 min of cardio on my bowflex treadclimber every day, I have changed to interval training on the treadclimber and doing 18 min of interval and 3 min of cool down. My results from the interval training are amazing I was losing approx 2 lbs per week and after starting the interval training believe it or not I lost 2 lbs in 2 days. I normal weigh myself 1 per week but I wanted to test the theory so I weight on Sunday even though I weighed in on Thursday and I was astonished by the results that I saw.
I hear so much conflicting info about exercise, I’d love to hear you take.
I am shortly due to incorporate HIT training in to my cutting workout and would love to hear your recomendations on the subject Joel.
It really does work for me, but I would like to get some samples of different interval workouts to keep challenging myself and endurance.
I have bought your books on cheat your way thin but now I want all the details on the metabolic resistance training – I can’t find examples on the internet…..come on Im ready to stop that long boring walk everyday.
Like the interval training a lot!! I have been working with a trainer and find that on the days he does a “circuit” I feel a lot better after the workout, like I have actually DONE something! I think I can do more on my own with your guidance! Have the weights, have kettlebells, have a Bosu to jump and jog on, all really seem to give me a good workout in a much shorter period of time and I want to do it more times a week since it’s minutes rather than hours! Started CYWT along with this and I’m “melting away”!!
great article .. can’t wait for ur next post
I am really interested in implementing the metabolic resistance training along with interval training. I am excited to see what workouts you have in store for us.
I am a huge fan of High Intesnity interval training. . I typically create a hybrid HIIT/circuit/plyometric/calisthenics/strength circuits for my work outs. . .
ps, I am really LOVING the CYWT program so far!
@Brittain Cephas – You could do lots of things, rollerblading would work too I would think. Heck try beating on a heavy bag. That is a very intense cardio workout. Pound on that sucker Tabata style and you will definately get a workout that will leave you gasping.
Looking forward to seeing the HIIT workouts you’ve created!
Nope. I am NOTyet convinced. I contend that proper diet adjustment is the KEY to fat loss, not just weight training- of any kind. Yes, any kind of exercise is very good, but proper diet is MAJOR especially as one gets older. What many experts fail to tell you is that if you lift weights you will EAT MORE CALORIES. Interval training is very good, but can be very hazardous. One can be easily injured. I know this from experience.
But, hey, I am giving it another try.
@Matt Biancuzzo – If you are interested Tmuscle has a good article with 4-5 different types of complex routines. I tried one of em and it just about killed me off by the 3rd round. I was having to set the weights down in between exercises even though you arent supposed to.
I wasnt sure that doing these would be good for my recovery while I was trying to bulk up so I stopped. I know it made all kinds of sore the next day and I was already doing a heavy routine.
I’d love to know more about interval training. Also, I recently sprained my ankle. Can this type of work-out be temporarily modified to allow for the sprain?
Great post. Would love to have some sample workouts.
Hi Joel – thanks for the great tips :) and for caring about us and sharing your knowledge!
I really want to know about some sample interval training workouts. I really need to burn more fat so please help me.
Great information Joel! Enjoying every article. Keep it up, thanks!
I’ve been following Craig Ballantyne’s Turbulence Training for a few months and have seen good results. I’m interested to see how your sample workouts are similar to or different from his.
Right on Joel this is where its @ love to hear more!
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...