There was a recent (February 15, 2012) article from The New York Times entitled How 1-Minute Intervals Can Improve Your Health.
The article, and the study contained within, corroborates a trend in the recent literature regarding exercise and nutrition: it’s about quality over quantity in everything we do to improve our health.
We are always looking for experimental evidence that supports what we’re doing in our small group training studios, and we are always actively seeking out any evidence that may refute our methods as well, to ensure that we are delivering the most effective program.
You are not going to lose fat, preserve lean body mass, become fitter, stronger, increase cardiac output, improve bone density, ditch your medication, and transform your lives by a mathematical equation: you’re going to get results by focusing on quality, not quantity, and ditching the calorie-mentality in everything you do to transform your body and health.
Most people tend to think of everything in terms of how many calories we are burning or putting into our bodies in order to lose or maintain our weight and to live healthfully. This line of thinking is almost assuredly not doing ourselves any favors. While the laws of physics (thermodynamics, to be more precise) will always apply to a system, or an individual, in regards to getting bigger or smaller, it tells us nothing about why we get fat or why we get lean.
The latest research on intervals, or high-intensity-interval-training, or HIIT for short, demonstrates that quality trumps quantity: for the same amount of total work performed in aerobic exercise, HIIT yields better results for fat loss, reducing insulin resistance, and losing fat in the abdominal region. This area of fat accumulation is also referred to as visceral fat, and has a strong correlation with cardiovascular disease.
The take-home message: perform quality cardio exercise: Ditch the calorie-mentality and work hard for 60 seconds - and then recover for 120 seconds. Repeat this a few times, and you are engaging in efficient, and effective, activity.
Push yourself out of your comfort zone on those intervals so that when those 60 seconds are up, there’s barely anything left in the tank. Then you get to recover. Walk at a snail’s pace if you want, but be ready to hit that next interval with maximal intensity! You should be an 8-10 by the last few ticks on that clock.
Interval training has been shown to improve cardiovascular health, blood vessel function, insulin sensitivity, decrease insulin resistance, and increase the size and density of mitochondria - the power plants of the cells - which are likely the reasons why this type of training is superior for fat loss and overall heath than conventional aerobic training.
Charles Poliquin, a well-known leader in the field of strength and conditioning, had this to write about interval training:
Add a Conditioning Program to Your Workout: All-Out Sprints to Get Lean
Perform a high-intensity interval workout a few times a week for optimal body composition. Research shows that brief sprinting at a high intensity is an excellent way to lose fat, improve oxygen uptake or general conditioning, and gain lean mass.
There are a variety of interval sprint protocols and exercise modes (cycling, stair running, sprinting) that have proven to be effective for significant fat loss (as much 16 pounds in two months), and this is without an additional resistance training program or diet modification. Sprint training is good for getting lean because it results in elevated hormone levels and increases fat oxidation after exercise. Even better, the greatest percentage of fat loss comes from the trunk and abdominal area, and sprint training lowers insulin resistance, and suppresses appetite.
The one possible drawback to sprint training is that it is mentally challenging to push through an all-out workout even if it is short. There is an upside: research shows that near-maximal intensity sprints (greater than 90 percent of max oxygen uptake) can be completed in 10 to 20 minutes depending on the number of sprints and interval lengths.
References:
Gibala et al. Physiological adaptations to low-volume, high-intensity interval training in health and disease. Journal of Physiology. 2012. Jan 30.
Burgomaster et al. Similar metabolic adaptations during exercise after low volume sprint interval and traditional endurance training in humans. Journal of Physiology. 2008. Jan 1;586(1):151-60.
Trapp, E.G., Chisholm, D.J., Freund, J., Boutcher, S.H. The Effects of High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise Training on Fat Loss and Fasting Insulin Levels of Young Women. International Journal of Obesity. 2008. 32(4), 684-691.
Gibala, M.J., McGee, S.L. Metabolic Adaptations to Short-Term High-Intensity Interval Training: A Little Pain for a Lot of Gain? Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews. 2008. 36(2), 58-63.
Little et al. A practical model of low-volume high-intensity interval training induces mitochondrial biogenesis in human skeletal muscle: potential mechanisms. J Physiol. 2010 Mar 15;588(Pt 6):1011-22. Epub 2010 Jan 25.
Talanian et al. Exercise training increases sarcolemmal and mitochondrial fatty acid transport proteins in human skeletal muscle. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Aug;299(2):E180-8. Epub 2010 May 18.
Little et al. An acute bout of high-intensity interval training increases the nuclear abundance of PGC-1α and activates mitochondrial biogenesis in human skeletal muscle. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2011 Jun;300(6):R1303-10. Epub 2011 Mar 30.
Bob Kaplan holds advance degrees in exercise physiology and business, an undergraduate degree in nutrition, is a nationally certified personal trainer, and owns six Get In Shape For Women locations in Bedford, Wayland, Wellesley, Westford, Weston, and Winchester.
For more information about Kaplan's services at Get in Shape For Women in Winchester, please call 781-729-8100 or visit at 564 Main Street, Winchester, MA 01890, or online at www.getinshapeforwomen.com for a free week trial.
