Posts Tagged ‘aerobic’

1,000,000,001 Different Ways to Squat

March 18th, 2009

dave-draper-squat

This post is for that guy at the gym who avoids squatting because:

  • They hurt his back
  • They hurt his knees
  • They hurt his shoulders, wrists, neck, ego…
  • Squat only focus on his quads
  • He’s trying to focus on his vastus medialis
  • Squats are overrated
  • He’s not a powerlifter
  • He’s not a bodybuilder
  • He’s not a football player or sprinter or skater or…

Well, you get the idea.

Just for that guy, I am going to outline all of the different ways that you or him can squat.

Note: I am pretty sure that I will miss something, so feel free to let me know what I missed and I will add it to the post.

1,000,000,001 Different Ways to Squat

In an attempt to organize this master list of squatting options, I decided to organize all of these different lifts into different categories.

Categories

  1. Unilateral / Bilateral
  2. Stance / Body Orientation
  3. Equipment
  4. Position of Load
  5. Range of Motion
  6. Tempo or Speed
  7. Weight of Load as a % of 1 Rep Max Lift
  8. Lifting Surface
  9. Training Volume
  10. Rest Periods
Crossfit builds fit females

Crossfit builds fit females

Unilateral / Bilateral

  • 1 Leg Squat – free leg held in front of body – knee bent
  • 1 Leg Pistol Squat – free leg held in front of body – leg straight
  • 1 Leg Box Squat – free leg hangs down
  • 1 Leg Squat – free leg placed behind body
  • 1 Leg Bulgarian Squat
  • 2 Leg Squat

Stance / Body Orientation

  • Hips turned out – Toes turned out
  • Hips straight – Toes straight – legs shoulder width apart
  • Hips & toes straight – narrow stance – legs close together
  • Torso held high, chest up, very little forward lean at the hips – bodybuilder style
  • Rear end pushed back, large forward lean at the hips – powerlifter style
  • More knee flexion than hip flexion during lift – Knees move past the toes during lift
  • Equal knee and hip flexion – Knees don’t pass the toes
  • More hip flexion than knee flexion – Knees stay well back of the toes – box squat style

Equipment

  • Barbell
  • Dumbbell(s)
  • Kettlebell(s)
  • Bodyweight only
  • Weighted Vest
  • Band(s)
  • Chains
  • Medicine ball, sandbag, log, tire, rock, person or any other extreme implement
  • Machines – Smith machine, Squat machine, Hack Squat machine, etc….
  • Cable weight machines
  • Benches / Boxes
  • Stability balls

Position of Load

  • Back Squat – load held on shoulders behind the neck
  • Front Squat – load held in front of the neck
  • Overhead Squat
  • DBs, KBs, etc held in hands at waist height
  • Zercher Squats – load held in the “crook” of your elbows at chest/belly height
  • Hack Squat – barbell held behind your legs

Range of Motion

  • Full squat
  • Barely bending your knees Partial Squat
  • Everything in between
  • 1 and 1/2 squats – squat all the way down, come up half way, go back down and then squat all the way up
  • Focusing on a specific range – i.e working only in the bottom 1/4 of the full range focuses the effort strongly on your glutes, while focusing on the top 1/4 focuses mainly on the quads while also making the exercise much, much easier

Tempo or Speed

  • There are a number of different systems for classifying lifting speed. For simplicity sake, I will stick with the basics: fast, moderate, slow & pause
  • Different speeds of motion can be used for the different portions of the lift: descent, bottom, ascent, top
  • You can mix and match the different speeds with the different portions of the lift depending on your training goals
  • The typical squatter descends fast, doesn’t pause at the bottom, ascends back up fast and pauses at the top if he needs to rest – not very scientific
  • However, another lifter may descend slowly, pause at the bottom to eliminate the bounce he might receive from his stretch shortening cycle, ascend as fast as possible and immediately descend into another squat

Weight of Load as a % of 1 Rep Max Lift

  • Your 1 Rep Max Lift is the maximum amount of weight you can successfully lift with good form.
  • If you are lifting for strength, you will likely choose a load that is close to your 1 Rep max. A lower percentage load is used when you are performing high reps for muscular endurance or for low reps and high speed in an attempt to develop muscular speed.

Lifting Surface

  • This category is primarily employed by the Bosu or “functional training” crowd
  • Most lifters stand on a solid floor, but if it floats your boat, feel free to squat while standing on:
  • Balance disks
  • a Bosu
  • a 1/2 foam roller
  • a balance beam
  • on top of someone’s shoulders

muscle-beach-pyramid

Training Volume

  • Depending on your training goals (power, strength, hypertrophy, endurance, speed), you can choose a variety of reps per set, sets per exercise and total sets/reps per workout

Rest Periods

  • This category refers to the length of the rest periods taken between sets.
  • Short rest periods are used as a tool to develop the trainees anaerobic energy system.
  • Long rest periods are used to allow more complete muscular and/or nervous system recovery.
  • And as with tempo and load percentage, there is an almost infinite number of positions in between.

Putting it all together…

To be honest, I have no idea how many different types of squats we could make with all of these options.

1,000,000,001 looked impressive, so I went with it…sue me.

But, I do know that my little list ‘o squats should definitely spark your imagination and help you create a new and better squat workout.

Have fun.

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Workout Burnout

March 12th, 2009

groundhog-day

Yesterday was Groundhog Day at my gym.

The same people, with the same bodies, were doing the same workouts that they do each and every day.

  • The skinny-fit people were running hard, uphill, on their treadmills
Brandon Moen: treadmill marathon champ

Brandon Moen: treadmill marathon champ

  • The skinny-fat people were jogging, like good little hamsters on their treadmills or ellipticals, and

skinny-fat

  • The wanna-be skinny-fat people were plodding along in their fat-burning zones.

exercise-reading-book

  • The resident “strong-men” of the gym were trying hard to hide even more muscle under their generous layers of body-fat.
Dave Tate - powerlifting guru - pre-transformation

Dave Tate - powerlifting guru - pre-transformation

  • The “machine-junkies” were getting a very safe & sensible workout

curves

  • The Yoginis were stretching themselves into pretzels
model: Christy Turlington

model: Christy Turlington

  • And the interval training junkies were working out like this:

and this:

And the question I ask is…

Why?

Why do the runners run and the lifters lift?

Why don’t the yoginis ever try to build some strength?

Why do the Crossfit cultists only do Crossfit?

Why don’t the Curves circuit bunnies ever do some sprints on the exercise bikes?

Why?

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So, I ‘m asking you.

Do you have the guts to break out of your routine and try something new?

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HIIT Interval Timers: Review of the Inventico TMR04-B

February 11th, 2009
Bill Hall

artist: Bill Hall

One of my favorite training methods is HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training.

It’s one of the best tools I know for developing power, improving anaerobic endurance and maximizing fat loss.

But, it’s not perfect. One of the potential drawbacks to HIIT workouts is that instead of counting reps, your workout revolves around time.

And that’s fine if you are using a piece of cardio equipment with a built in timer.

However, if you are trying to time a set of HIIT hanging power cleans, you may be in for some trouble.

Unless you have a workout partner with a stopwatch, an expensive personal trainer like yours truly…or a dedicated Interval Workout Timer like the Inventico TMR04-B.

Inventico TMR04-B

Inventico TMR04-B

What is an Interval Timer

Basically, it is a stopwatch dedicated to counting down and alerting you to start and stop your HIIT work sets and rest periods.

The TMR04-B is not the only interval timer on the market. But, it is the only one that I have used.

Disclosure – Inventico contacted me in January and asked if I would be interested in trying out their product. At that time, offers of this kind were fairly new to me. I agreed to try out the unit because:

  1. I was sick of using a stopwatch to time my personal HIIT workouts
  2. The Inventico rep was very confident in the product and was willing to risk a bad review
  3. I am a geek for fitness equipment. You wouldn’t believe the amount of workout and rehab tools that litter my apartment

So, here’s the review:

How Does It Work?

  • The unit is about the size of a travel alarm clock – 3 1/2″ (8.3cm) wide & tall by 1 1/4″ (3.5cm) thick
  • You enter the number of interval sets and the length of the work sets and rest periods via the buttons at the top of the face plate.
  • The relatively large LCD display (height of numerals – 3/4″ or 2cm) counts down the work/rest periods
  • The unit beeps three times at the end of every work set and beeps 1 time at the end of your rest periods
  • At the end of your final work set, the unit produces 3 sets of 3 beeps
  • There is also a red LED light at the top of the unit that flashes in unison with the beeping.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • It made solo HIIT workouts a LOT simpler. For example, in the past when I wanted to do a HIIT workout using front squats, I had to pause between reps to turn and look at the wall clock in my gym. With the timer, I used the LED light as a visual cue to start and stop my sets. Outdoors, the auditory cue (beeping) was loud enough that I didn’t need to carry the timer during sprints.
  • The LCD screen is large enough to see from a few feet
  • Inventico designed the unit to be mounted onto fitness equipment. The unit has two holes in the casing that allow a piece of cable to be threaded through and attached to the frame of a piece of fitness equipment. Obviously, this was designed to help out a health club manager. For my use, I bought a piece of stick-on magnet and stuck it to the back plate of the timer. This allowed me to attach the timer to any piece of metallic equipment at whatever height was appropriate for that exercise.
  • The unit is durable – It was dropped more than once and it kept on tickin’

Cons

  • The beeping noise is way too loud for a health club. And it isn’t adjustable. But, it can be eliminated by removing a small chip from the circuit board inside. Note -  Inventico has plans to offer an adjustable volume control with it’s next edition of the timer
  • The LCD screen is hard to read in certain lighting conditions. However, I seldom used the screen anyway, preferring the LED indoors and the beeping outdoors.
  • The instructions were a little confusing. I gave the unit (with instructions) to a bunch of people and no one found it easy to adjust…at first. After a few tries, it becomes easier.

Overall

The unit isn’t perfect, but if you are a HIIT junkie, it’s worth the $26.

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Note about Health Habits and Product Reviews

In the past few months I have started to receive offers to try out different products & services. At first, I turned down all of these offers because I can’t stand when other bloggers write kiss-ass reviews for products simply because they got the product for free and felt that they owed it to the company.

I decided to take Inventico up on their offer because I was genuinely curious about the product. And I was 100% honest in my review.

In the future, if I write a review about a product that I received at no cost, I will:

  • Let you guys know that I received the product free from the manufacturer,
  • Review it honestly, and
  • Request from the manufacturer that they send a second item to one of my readers for their review. That way, we will get two different points of view on the same product/service.

Reference

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WARNING: Tabata Workouts WILL Cause Fat Loss

January 21st, 2009
6 Weeks of Tabata Training - Before and After Pics

Pre - Tabata Training............................Post - Tabata Training

A couple of days ago, I introduced you to one of my favorite training methods

tabata

At the end of that post, I promised you a pair of  Tabata style workouts.

And, seeing that I am a man of my word, here you go…

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…but, before I dive right into the workouts, I should probably review some of the theory / rules behind these workouts.

Pre-Workout Checklist

  1. Pick an exercise that uses a lot of muscle – squats, power cleans, pull-ups, etc… To make that selection, you can choose from the list of exercises that I have provided or pick your own if you think my choices stink.
  2. Pick a weight that you can handle for at least 7 reps.

Execution

  1. Perform as many reps as possible within 20 seconds - maintain good form
  2. Rest for 10 seconds
  3. Perform 7 more sets
  4. Move on to the next exercise

Note:  Use a clock, stopwatch, workout buddy or a dedicated HIIT timer to keep track of your work sets and rest periods. I prefer….

The Workouts

Instead of giving you a static workout with pre-selected exercises, I have decided to organize the workout by movement patterns (e.g. Vertical Push) or dominant muscle groups (Quadriceps).

Within those groups, I have given you a list of related exercises.

For example, within the Vertical Push Movement Group, you can choose from 1 Arm Overhead Press,  Push Presses, 1 Arm Grappler Presses, Side Presses, etc…

Remember, the goal is to go as hard as you can for 8 sets of 20 seconds.

  • Don’t use this workout to try out new exercises – You won’t be able to develop maximum intensity if you need to concentrate on technique. Choose exercises that you know you can perform effectively and safely.
  • If you can’t make it through all 8 sets because of the lactic burn to a muscle, eliminate that exercise and replace it with one that uses more muscles. e.g. a push press uses more muscles than an overhead barbell press.
  • Single limb exercises allow you overcome this problem as well – e.g. 1 Arm Overhead Press v.s. Barbell Overhead Press

Workout # 1

  1. Vertical Push Movement
  2. Horizontal Pull Movement
  3. Quadriceps Dominant Movement
  4. Core Stabilization – focus on Spinal Flexion & Extension
  5. Vertical Push Movement – optional
  6. Horizontal Pull Movement – optional
  7. Quadriceps Dominant Movement – optional
  • Feel free to re-arrange the order of Exercises 1, 2 and 3. It doesn’t really make a difference.
  • Sets 5 to 7 are for advanced athletes only. Remember, intensity is the key to Tabata success. Don’t try and pace yourself in order to add another set. Go full out on each set. Believe me, 4 sets of full intensity Tabatas should be enough to have you soaking wet with sweat and bordering on nausea.

Workout # 2

  1. Vertical Pull Movement
  2. Horizontal Push Movement
  3. Hamstrings/Glute Dominant Movement
  4. Core Stabilization – focus on Rotation and Lateral Flexion
  5. Vertical Pull Movement – optional
  6. Horizontal Push Movement – optional
  7. Hamstring/Glute Dominant Movement – optional
  • Feel free to re-arrange the order of Exercises 1, 2 and 3. It doesn’t really make a difference.
  • Sets 5 to 7 are for advanced athletes only. Remember, intensity is the key to Tabata success. Don’t try and pace yourself in order to add another set. Go full out on each set. Believe me, 4 sets of full intensity Tabatas should be enough to have you soaking wet with sweat and bordering on nausea.

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Vertical Push Movement

Horizontal Pull Movement

  • 1 Arm Standing Cable Row or Band Row
  • Body-weight Row – use an adjustable power rack or Smith machine. This allows you to modify the angle of pull and the percentage of body-weight. Also, change your grips from set to set – width, underhand, overhand
  • 1 Arm or 2 Arm Seated Rows – I prefer the standing rows because of their high demand for stabilization, but the seated version is pretty good as well
  • Avoid any bent-over movements – Your lower back will fail long before the rest of you

Quadriceps Dominant Movement

  • Front Squats – Dumbbells or Barbell
  • Body-weight or Weighted Vest Squats – 1 Leg or 2
  • Overhead Squats – 1 Arm or 2, 1 Leg or 2
  • Quad Dominant Lunges – Lunge forward onto the ball of your foot AND keep your step short and allow the knee to travel past your toes…I know, I know, everyone says not to lunge this way, but it really hits the quads. BTW, take a look at how far your knee travels past your toes as you climb a flight of stairs…ooooh scary stuff.
  • Bench Step-Ups
  • Bulgarian Lunge/Squat

Core Stabilization – focus on Spinal Flexion & Extension

  • Standing Cable or Band Crunch
  • The Ab Wheel
  • Leg raises/Knee-Ups / Crunches (various) - I would skip these exercises – you will fatigue quickly and you will probably have to cheat to complete all 8 sets

Vertical Pull Movement

Horizontal Push Movement

  • Push-Ups – like the Body-weight Row, use a Smith machine to adjust angles and body-weight resistance. Also, adjust hand placement (width, overhand, underhand) from set to set. Trust me, switching grips will increase the number of reps you will be able to perform
  • 1 Arm Standing Cable Press or Band Presses
  • Stay away from any standard bench press type exercise. The lactic acid will hit way too soon. You will never get a good Tabata workout…trust me. The cable/band exercise is the best choice. Even the push-ups allow you to use your legs and core to help perform the lift. You need these extra muscles to take some of the load

Hamstring/Glute Dominant Movement

Core Stabilization – focus on Rotation and Lateral Flexion

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And while it’s not required, I highly recommend using an interval timer with your Tabatas. Trying to watch the clock an do these workouts is a real pain in the butt.

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WORKOUT DESIGN – Why Can't I Lose This Fat – Part 3

September 23rd, 2008

In Part 1 of this series, I introduced you to Angela, a new client of mine.

Angela is beyond frustrated by her failed attempts to burn off her post-baby body-fat.

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In Part 2 of this series, I described the 3 paths that Angela needs to walk down if she wants to achieve successful and permanent weight loss.

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Path # 1 Nutrition

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Path # 2 Exercise

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Path # 3 Mental / Emotional / Spiritual Strategies

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In today’s post, we will be looking at Path # 2: Exercise.

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In particular, we will be looking at:

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The Most Effective Training Methods for Fat Loss

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Some methods of training are more effective than others.

1.  The Best Methods:

  • Elevate your Metabolism – Long Term
  • Elevate your Metabolism – Short Term
  • Burn Calories

2.  Secondary Methods:

  • Elevate your Metabolism – Short Term
  • Burn Calories

3.  The Least Effective Methods:

  • Burn Calories

So, what does all of that mean?

The following section gets pretty detailed. If that doesn’t interest you, skip ahead to the section labeled Let’s Put This Plan Together

THE SCIENCE OF METABOLISM

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How To Elevate Metabolism – Long Term

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Your Resting or Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the amount of energy (measured in calories) that you burn simply by living…i.e keeping your heart beating, brain thinking, kidneys filtering, etc…

The amount of calories that you burn outside of your BMR (i.e exercise or the Thermic Effect of Food) is insignificant when compared to your BMR.

So, how do we increase BMR?

  • Increase muscle mass
  • Move to the Arctic…BMR increases to “warm them bones”
  • Get sick…a fever will increase your BMR
  • Stress…stress hormones can increase BMR

And the winner is:

Increase Muscle Mass

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And before any of the women reading this article say “I don’t want to get big muscles”, look at these ladies:

Gabrielle Reece - Volleyball

Gabrielle Reece - Volleyball

Amanda Beard - Olympic Swimmer

Amanda Beard - Olympic Swimmer

Iris Kyle - Ms. Olympia

Iris Kyle - Ms. Olympia

Maria Sharapova - Tennis Champ

Maria Sharapova - Tennis Champ

All of these women lift weights.

And all of them have built very different bodies.

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You WILL NOT turn into Ms. Olympia if you lift weights.

REPEAT AFTER ME

“I will not turn into Ms. Olympia if I lift weights”.

Sheesh.

There are a lot of teenage boys that wish they had as much muscle as Ms. Olympia

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How To Elevate Metabolism – Short Term

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When it comes to increasing your metabolism in the short term, we are looking at EPOC.

EPOC or Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption  is essentially a measurement of how quickly or slowly your metabolism (BMR) returns back to normal after exercising.

When it comes to fat loss, we want to focus on exercises and workouts that give us a very high EPOC.

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Burn Calories

This is where most people make their mistake. They hop onto the treadmill, enter their weight into the computer and start running, keeping one eye on the amount of calories burned.

WRONG

Activities that burn calories, but do nothing to increase your metabolism are next to useless in your fat burning battle.

Don’t get me wrong. There is a huge health benefit to putting in the miles on a cardio machine, but when it comes to fat loss, you don’t get much bang for your buck.

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THE BEST FAT BURNING TRAINING METHODS

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1.   High Intensity Resistance Training

High intensity resistance workouts are the superstars of this entire program. When performed properly, they elevate your BMR, drastically increase your EPOC and burn a fair amount of calories per workout.

Various studies have shown these types of workouts to:

  • Increase metabolism for up to 36 hours post-workout…36 hours
  • Drastically outperform diet and aerobic exercise in fat loss studies
  • Maintain muscle mass in subjects on a Very Low Calorie Diet

The Details

High Intensity Resistance Training works best when you focus on:

  • Total Body workouts
  • Pushing yourself until your muscles burn with lactic acid
  • Perform supersets, tri-sets, giant sets, etc…
  • Compound exercises – squats instead of leg extensions
  • Big muscle groups – legs, back and chest instead of arms and shoulders
  • Performing sets of 5 to 15 repetitions

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2.   High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training (HIIT)

High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training will increase your EPOC drastically and burn a whole bunch of calories. It is not as effective as High Intensity Resistance Training at increasing muscle mass and BMR.

The main technical differences between High Intensity Resistance Training and High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training are:

  • Lighter weights are used with HIIT training
  • Rest intervals are minimized (30 sec. MAX) with HIIT
  • EDTs and Circuit training are used instead of supersets
  • Reps can be higher – larger range – 8-30 reps

Basically, you will be substituting speed for strength.

And how effective is HIIT (anaerobic) training?

9x more effective at burning body-fat than aerobic endurance training.

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3.   High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training

High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training replaces resistance exercises with traditional cardio activities like:

  • Running
  • Cycling
  • Swimming
  • Stair Master
  • Rowing

High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training will also increase your EPOC and burn a whole bunch of calories. It is even less effective than High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training at increasing muscle mass and BMR.

Think of sprinting hills.

More info on HIIT can be found here.

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4.   High Intensity Aerobic Training

High Intensity Aerobic Training is simply hard, sweaty, painful cardio.

Think about rowing for 60 minutes without a break. Your lungs burning and your muscles aching.

High Intensity Aerobic Training burns a ton of calories, but doesn’t increase EPOC significantly and hardly does anything to increase your BMR.

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5.   Low Intensity Aerobic Training

Low Intensity Aerobic Training is going for a walk.

It doesn’t do much of anything for fat loss, but it is good for your heart and every calorie counts in this battle of the bulge.

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OK, Let’s Put This Plan Together

First off, I realize that in today’s society, time is precious. There are only so many hours in the day.

Angela has set aside 6 hours a week for her Fat Loss training Program.

  • 2 1/4 of those hours will be spent on High Intensity Resistance Training – 3 x 45 min.
  • 3/4 of an hour will be spent on High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training – 3 x 15 min.
  • 1 of those hours will be spent on High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training – 3 x 20 min.
  • 2 of those hours will be spent on High Intensity Aerobic Training – 2 x 60 min.

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What About You?

Take a look at your schedule. Really look.

If you have less than 3 hours of available time to exercise:

  • Focus on High Intensity Resistance Training

If you have between 3 and 5 hours, divide your time between:

  • High Intensity Resistance Training, and
  • High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training

If you have between 5 and 6 hours, work on:

  • High Intensity Resistance Training,
  • High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training, and
  • High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training

If you have between 6 and 8 hours, work on:

  • High Intensity Resistance Training,
  • High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training,
  • High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training, and
  • High Intensity Aerobic Training

If you have more than 8 hours, add in some Low Intensity Aerobic Training.

Conclusion

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Before you start any training program, please make sure that you can handle the punishment that you are going to put your body through. Seeing you doctor is always a good idea.

I shipped Angela off to her MD with a request for a bunch of blood tests. (Thyroid problems run in her family and her basal temperature is a little low)

Also, keep in mind that she has me hovering over her making sure that are running smoothly.

Better safe than sorry.

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In my next post, I will break all of this theory down into actual workouts.

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So get ready people. It’s time to melt some blubber.

Stay tuned.

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Health and Fitness in a Bottle: Big Pharma Discovers their Holy Grail

August 1st, 2008
I'm strong to the finish, cuz I eats me spinach....

I'm strong to the finish, cuz I eats me spinach....

Scientists from the Salk Institute’s Gene Expression Laboratory may have discovered Big Pharma’s Holy Grail of Pharmaceuticals.

A pill that would allow you to reap all of the benefits of vigorous exercise while sitting on the couch watching re-runs of Seinfeld.

How about that!

Scientists from the Salk Institute’s Gene Expression Laboratory have reported (in the July 31 advance edition of the journal Cell) that they have discovered two drugs (GW1516 and AICAR) that were able to transform regular ole’ lab mice into freaky running machines.

AICAR increased the mice’s endurance on a treadmill by 44 percent after just four weeks of treatment.

GW1516 produced a 77%  increase in endurance, but sadly, had to be combined with exercise to have any effect.

The Study

Lead researcher, Ronald M. Evans, Ph.D, had previously discovered that by permanently activating a genetic switch known as PPAR delta, he could turn lab mice into miniature Olympic marathon champs.

In addition to their improvements in aerobic endurance, these super mice didn’t gain weight while being fed a diet high in pizza and beer. In addition to their ripped physiques, they experienced improved insulin sensitivity and lowered levels of blood sugar.

This led Dr. Evans to hypothesize whether a drug specific for PPAR delta would have the same beneficial effects.

So, they doped the mice with GW1516.
After four weeks, the researchers were in for a bit of a disappointment.
I've got the Eye of the Tiger...

I've got the Eye of the Tiger...

The mice were leaner, had an improved fatty acid profile, improved insulin sensitivity and lowered levels of blood sugar, but there was no effect on their exercise performance.

So, like a personal trainer, they upped the mice’s cardio and had them run up to 50 minutes on a treadmill.

And after a few more weeks, the GW1516 mice were lapping the non-doped mice.

In fact, the GW1516 mice improved their exercise endurance 77% higher than the control mice. They also saw a 38% increase in slow twitch muscle fibers.

But wait, the researchers weren’t finished yet. GW1516 looks pretty great, but they were looking for a drug that would provide the benefits of exercise without actually having to do the exercise.

Enter AICAR.

The researchers fed untrained mice AICAR, (a synthetic AMP analog that directly activates AMPK).

After four weeks, the AICAR mice were pushed onto the treadmill and boy did they perform. On average, they ran 44% longer than the control mice. According to the researchers, “That’s as much improvement as we get with regular exercise.”

So there we go, exercise in a pill.

So, How Does it Work?

Well, according to Dr. Evans,  “GW1516 activates the PPAR-delta protein, but the mice must also exercise to show increased endurance. It seems that PPAR-delta switches on one set of genes, and exercise another, and both are needed for endurance”.

AICAR however, “activates the PPAR-delta protein and mimics the effects of exercise, thus switching on both sets of genes needed for the endurance signal”. It “signals the cell that it has burned off energy and needs to generate more. It is pretty much pharmacological exercise”.

Conclusion

Theirs: “This is not just a free lunch,” Dr. Evans said. “It’s pushing your genome toward a more enhanced genetic tone that impacts metabolism and muscle function. So instead of inheriting a great set-point you are using a drug to move your own genetics to a more activated metabolic state.”

“The drugs’ effect on muscle opens a window to a world of medical problems,” he said. “This paper will alert the medical community that muscle can be a therapeutic target.”

Mine: I wonder if we are not straying a leeetle bit too far down the Eugenics path with this research.

Forgetting the potential moral argument of switching our genes on and off, my concern is purely medical. While it will take years and years of animal and human testing before a commercially viable GW1516 or AICAR is available on the market, I still think that I would prefer to improve my body the old fashioned way.

Thanks to EurekAlert! for the original source material.

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Aerobic Exercise Suppresses Appetite – Obesity Research Update #2

June 27th, 2008

A recent study, led by A. Veronica Araya, MD, showed that aerobic exercise reduces appetite by increasing the level of BDNF (a brain derived neurotrophic factor related to obesity and metabolism) in the bloodstream.

The results of the study indicates that an increase in BDNF results in an unconscious reduction in appetite.

The Study

In the study, 15 participants were asked to maintain their current diet while participating in a three month program of aerobic exercise.

At the end of the study, the two legged guinea pigs reported a reduction in perceived appetite as well as the actual amount of calories ingested.

This led to an overall reduction in BMI, waist circumference and blood pressure.

Most importantly, the participants with the highest concentration of BDNF showed the sharpest reduction in calories and the greatest loss of body-fat.

What does this mean?

I don’t know…yet.

At the present time, I see at least two problems with this study.

  1. The small sample size – 15 overweight test subjects does not excite Big Pharma. However, based on the results alone, these researchers should have little trouble finding more investors for a new, larger study.
  2. The researchers did not test appetite suppression directly. In this study, the participants were unaware that one of the objectives was to evaluate changes in appetite and caloric intake. Once again, Big Pharma would not be impressed.

Conclusion

This was a small study. Well, so was Isaac Newton’s epiphany about gravity.

Small studies lead to big studies.

Current research into obesity is progressing at a ridiculous pace. Just think about it; the company that can patent an effective weight loss drug with no scary side effects (see Fen-Phen) will make an obscene amount of money.

BDNF may not be the answer, but the fact that this study has shown it to be a marker of appetite suppression is a good thing.

In the future, a blood test for BDNF sensitivity may be able to tell your doctor whether or not aerobic exercise will help you lose weight.

Who knows, maybe some smartypants will come up with a synthetic form of BDNF and we can all get the appetite squashing benefits of a good cardio workout while sitting on the couch.

Keep dreaming.

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4 Steps to a Great HIIT Workout

June 9th, 2008

Art by Bill Hall

In a couple of recent posts, (here and here) I discussed the science behind High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT Training. In those posts, I discussed why HIIT is an essential tool in developing complete physical fitness as well as being a VERY effective fat burning tool.

I have also designed a custom HIIT workout geared to improve your vertical jump, click here.

Today’s post will give you the tools to develop your own HIIT or Sprint Training program.

The 4 Steps to a Great HIITWorkout

1. Exercise Selection

Most of the research studies into HIIT have relied on stationary bicycles or ergo-meters to test the effectiveness of this training protocol. Mainly this is due to the need for these studies to control all of the variables in a closed laboratory setting. Kinesiology lab = Stationary bike.

You, however, are not limited to an exercise bike, treadmill or ergo-meter (stationary rowing machine). HIIT or Sprint Training requires an all-out effort followed by an ‘active’ rest period. As long as you choose exercises that are fully challenging your body for the entire sprint portion, you are limited only by your imagination.

My two caveats are that

  1. You should choose big compound exercises that use as many muscles as possible.
  2. You should choose exercises that involve continuous movement. There should be little to no resting during the exercise – i.e. no bench press, power cleans where you drop the bar to the floor.

Here are some suggestions:

Cardio machines

  • Bike
  • Treadmill – be careful transitioning from sprint to recovery – some treadmills are more suited to this type of exercise than others – Back in the day, I used to keep the treadmill at a fast clip and increase the incline for my sprint and then (as quickly as I could hit the ‘decline elevation’ key, bring the treadmill level for the active rest portion.
  • Elliptical – Same warning as the treadmill
  • Ergo-meter / Stationary Flywheel Rowing Machine
  • Versaclimber, VersaPulley

Body Wight Exercises

  • Sprinting – track, indoor, outdoor, cross-country, etc.
  • Hill Sprints
  • Sand dune sprints
  • Swimming
  • Road cycling – My be difficult to coordinate HIIT if you have to deal with traffic
  • Jumping Jacks
  • Burpees
  • Think gym class calisthenics or take a look at some of the crossfit videos on you tube.

External Resistance Exercises

This is where you are really limited only by your imagination and your common sense. Remember, you should be going full out. Moves that are too complex won’t work when you hit that great big wall of pain.

2. Volume

Simply put, as you increase the volume of your HIIT work, your anaerobic endurance improves and the amount of caloric burn increases.

I have included a linear Volume Progression chart for you to follow. Beginners should start with 1 x 20 minute workout per week. Trainees with a good aerobic / anaerobic base can start with 2 x 20 minute workouts per week.

Don’t underestimate HIIT. It’s not like aerobic or standard resistance training. There is a strong neuro-muscular component to this training. You will over train if you are not careful.

Work to increase your volume to the maximum recommended 3 x 30 minute workouts per week before increasing the intensity or eternal load.

3. Intensity

I am defining intensity in reference to the ratio of sprint time to active rest time. In the McMaster University study, the participants struggled with a 1:9 – Sprint:Active Rest Ratio.

My Intensity Progression Chart takes you from a 1:9 ratio all the way to a 1:3 ratio.

In each Sprint:Recovery Ratio Category, I have provided guidelines based on 4 different sprint durations. Feel free to jump back and forth between sprint durations in between workouts. A 10 second sprint is not necessarily any harder than a 30 second sprint. Depending upon your individual fitness, you may find the 30 second sprint harder than the 10 second, while your training partner may be the complete opposite.

My advice; do whichever length is the hardest for you.

Beginners will start out with the 1:9 Ratio and progress through to the 1:3 Ratio.

The range of Sprints per Workout is to accommodate your improvements in HIIT Volume Progression. In the 1:3 Ratio workout, 30 second sprints performed for 20 minutes will result in a total of 10 sprints. As you progress to a 30 minute workout, you will be doing 15 sprints.

4. External Load

The final step to a great HIIT workout is external load.

Increase the resistance on your cardio machine. Increase the weight of the dumbbell. Or use one of my favorite tools, the X Vest. A less expensive brand of weighted vest is available here.

This is the final step on your path to a great HIIT / Sprint Training Workout.

To Review

  • Choose your HIIT exercise carefully. Big muscle groups, constant motion, not too complex to perform when you are tired, availability in the gym and hopefully something you enjoy performing.
  • Increase your HIIT Volume
  • Increase your HIIT Intensity
  • Increase your external load

With just these 4 steps, you have an endless number of HIIT workout options.

For a custom HIIT geared to improve your vertical jump, click here.

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And while it’s not required, I highly recommend using an interval timer with your Tabatas. Trying to watch the clock an do these workouts is a real pain in the butt.

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Improve your Heart with Short Workouts

June 5th, 2008

A recent study has concluded that short bouts of high intensity exercise is as effective at improving the structure and function of your heart’s arteries as the traditional long duration cardio-vascular training.

Participants in the study were divided into two groups:

  • The “sprint” group performed only 3 workouts per week. Each workout consisted of 4 to 6 sets of 30 second sprints on an exercise bike. The participants pedaled slowly for 4 1/2 minutes between sets of sprints.
  • The “cardio” group worked out 5 times per week. Each workout consisted of 40-60 min of cycling at 65% of their VO2peak.

After 6 weeks, both groups showed similar improvement of arterial structure and function.

Why Is This Important?

Traditionally, as we age, our arteries become stiff and lose their ability to dilate. This leads to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

And if you don’t know why that is important, please click the above links and spend some time at the Mayo Clinic site. You might be visiting sooner than you think.

Let’s Review

Sprint of High Intensity Interval Training is as effective as Endurance or Cardio training at preventing age related arterial stiffening.

That’s Good.

Sprint training requires a commitment of 20-30 minutes, 3 times per week (60-90 min per week) to effect that improvement.

That’s Good.

Endurance training requires 40-60 minutes, 5 times per week (200-300 min per week) to effect the desired improvement.

If you are like the rest of us time starved North Americans, that is Not so Good.

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It’s your choice.

Resources:

Exercise Bike Sprints

Hill Sprints – the before picture

Hill Sprints – the after picture

Tabata training – Resistance Training Sprint Intervals

For a more thorough look into High Intensity Interval Training and Energy System Training in general, check out this post. Or, see this post if you need help designing your own HIIT workout program.

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Energy System training affects Heart Function & Structure

April 23rd, 2008

On April 17, I wrote an article about Energy System Fitness.

In that article, I explained how each of your body’s three energy system pathways provide energy for bodily functions.

I also explained how each energy system could be developed through exercise.

New research is showing that not only will exercise affect the function of your energy systems, it will affect the function and structure of your heart.

In a recent study (published in the Journal of Physiology) researchers have “concluded that participation in 90 days of competitive athletics produces significant training-specific changes in cardiac structure and function.”

Endurance Athletes (40 university rowers) expanded both the left and right ventricles of their hearts (bi-ventricular dilation). As well, they improved the relaxation of the heart muscle between beats (Diastolic relaxation).

In contrast, Strength Athletes (35 football players) thickened the heart muscle at the site of the left ventricle. Additionally, the football players experienced diminished diastolic relaxation.

What does this mean?

For athletes, this indicates that dramatic changes to the function of the heart’s function and structure can be achieved in a very short amount of time.

Future studies will be looking at how different exercise protocols affect both the function and structure of the heart.

For heart disease patients (and the health conscious public at-large), this study should indicate that as not all heart dysfunctions are the same, not all exercise prescriptions are the same.

Like different drugs are prescribed for different conditions, in the future unique exercise prescriptions may be dispensed based on the patient’s unique physical condition.

Take two pills and a half hour on the treadmill, and call me in the morning.

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