If I see an article on the Internet or in paper publication worth reading, I take notes of the gist of the article and secure its reference. If it contains valuable and practical information, then it is worthy of passing on to others.
I've accumulated a few such articles over the last months. What follows is a brief synopsis of these articles and the related research links. I’m hopeful they give you a greater insight to facilitate better training and nutrition.
For the Best Fat Loss, Don't Run
Nate Miyaki wrote an excellent piece on T-Nation regarding cardio training for fat loss. Let's take a look at what we can learn from him and others who share his opinion.
When it comes to running, people typically have one or more of these reasons:
- Improved sport performance
- General performance enhancement and health benefits
- Stress relief obtained by the endorphin rush
- A love of running and competing
These are all fine justifications for running. If it makes you happy, go for it. But if you’re running as a means of reducing body fat, you have better options.
"The key is to elevate your resting metabolic rate (via anaerobic work) to promote better post-workout fat burning and muscle building."
Look at true runners - marathoners. Their training is primarily (relatively speaking) low-intensity and non-muscle-building. No one is tackling or colliding with them. They don’t normally find themselves in compromised positions (e.g., changing multiple directions, landing awkwardly). They’re in control of their mostly straight-line task.
But distance running is a contact sport. It involves thousands of single-leg collisions with the ground. Over time, it creates havoc on your joints.
In his article, Miyaki expounded on the downside of cardio and why traditional cardio is poor for fat loss. The majority of your training should be anaerobic (strength training/interval training), as opposed to aerobic (traditional lengthy and low-level) in nature.
Attempting to alter your physique goes beyond simple calories in versus calories out. The key is to elevate your resting metabolic rate (via anaerobic work) to promote better post-workout fat burning and muscle building. And yes, diet is important here.
Strength training, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and anaerobic-based circuit training are much better options than long-distance running or plodding away on a treadmill for an hour.
The calories in versus calories out faction run into issues. Over-the-top aerobic exercise coupled with a large reduction of calories consumed leads to decreased muscle tissue (the muscle gets used as energy) and the tendency to store more body fat as a survival mechanism. This is not good.
For optimal fat loss and lean tissue gains, go in this order of priorities:
- Diet
- Strength training
- Cardio - interval training
- Cardio - long, steady state
The Research on High-Intensity Interval Exercise
Unless you have had your head buried in the ground like an ostrich, you should by now have figured out high-effort interval training is a spectacular exercise option. (I'll admit, I've been to the zoo and have yet to see an ostrich with its head in the ground, so maybe it's time to use another analogy. Either way, you get my point.)
"If the benefits of a forty-minute training session can be obtained from a twenty-minute higher-effort training session, why would you not opt for the more time-efficient session?"
Brief repeated sessions of high-intensity interval exercise garner changes that are elicited by traditional endurance training. Think about it. If the benefits of a forty-minute training session can be obtained from a twenty-minute higher-effort training session, why would you not opt for the more time-efficient session?
Reference: http://tinyurl.com/zfyl6ac
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