So, for those who know me, you are overwhelmingly aware
that I am one of those weird ducks that actually ENJOYED distance running. For
over 40 years I would take to the trails, roads or beach for 30-90 minute
interludes. I enjoyed the sweat, calorie burn and conditioning, not to mention
that it would afford me the ability to eat whatever my heart desired, without
gaining weight...which in my more youthful days was actually annoying as I
hated being skinny! Wow, what a difference a decade makes! Now, I follow a
regimen that is fairly healthy during the week, and then cheat (sometimes
REALLY cheat) on the weekends. Yes, about twice a year, one might be very
surprised to see even me at a Varsity restaurant!
But as for my exercising routine, I have made some
drastic changes since I’m not as durable as I once could claim. I started doing
P90X a few years ago, and enjoyed the results. Then, I tried INSANITY and ended
up getting an epidural steroid injection! There was a bit too much plyometrics
for my liking. Then, I started reading articles like the one below and my
personal paradigm of exercise shifted dramatically! (I planned on penning my own personal article,
but thought that Ms. Schwager did a very nice job in communicating my heart on
the subject). Not only is my workout
time shorter, but I don’t feel like I’m beating myself up! Don’t get me wrong,
the burst training, if done correctly, will wear your bottom out!! I do a
combination of spinning, jumping jacks, squats, push-ups and rope skipping,
HARD, for 20 second intervals, followed by a 20 second rest, for 8 sets, using
a TABATA-LITE AP on my phone as a timer (as you will see in the article below,
there can be variations in the routine). Then, I will follow up with a yoga stretch
routine. This has worked for me the past two years. As with any exercise routine, however, you
want to be given a green light by your doctor and begin easily, i.e. not as
many repetitions in a set, or as many sets. Ultimately, I want to encourage
people to exercise for better endurance, flexibility, and weight loss, as well
as the added benefit of endorphin (happy hormone) release. In my line of work
as a pre-mortem body mechanic (think about that), I cannot stress enough the
need to have some semblance of regular exercise activity (including EACH of
flexibility, endurance and strengthening) so that visits to me are at a minimum.
May your day be greatly blessed!
Short-Burst Training
Ex Rx:
High-intensity, short-duration interval workouts are a new frontier in fitness
and sports training.
When you’re a
sports fan, it doesn’t matter if you prefer the NBA, figure skating or the
Olympics—you’re sure to admire the performances of athletes who work
inconceivably hard to achieve greatness. It’s practically impossible to watch
without feeling compelled to hit the gym and try some new training method,
hoping to achieve your own gold-medal performance. So what’s the latest buzz in
the training room?
It’s
short-burst training (SBT), a variation of circuit training. SBT uses a series
of high-intensity, short-duration exercises interspersed with brief periods of
lower-intensity movement (www.exercisegoals.com). Clients go all-out
for intervals of 30–60 seconds (depending on the intensity level and the
equipment/apparatus used for training) before entering the recovery phase. This
pattern repeats throughout the workout. The intent is to utilize the anaerobic
energy system, long thought to be the exclusive realm of sprinters and court
athletes whose movements are too brief and powerful to engage the oxygen
pathways of the cardiovascular system (Smith 2002). During short-burst
exercise, the body produces metabolic byproducts (hydrogen ions) that have been
identified as the cause of acidosis (“the burn”). The cardiovascular exercise
following the short burst of anaerobic exercise helps to neutralize or buffer
this acidosis. The primary fuel used is carbohydrate (Smith 2002), with stored
fat kicking in later.
By contrast,
traditional endurance training keeps the body moving longer at more moderate
intensity levels, with the aerobic system maintaining function. The primary
energy sources are carbohydrate and fat (Smith 2002). There is abundant
research verifying the physiological adaptations attributed to endurance
training, especially improved exercise capacity—the body’s ability to “sustain
a given sub-maximal workload for a longer period of time” (Gibala et al. 2006).
For many exercisers, the rewards include improved cardiovascular function;
decreased incidence of diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension; weight
loss; and reduction of body fat. And those training for competitive sports
count on aerobic training to gain needed stamina.
Fat
Burning
In old-school
thinking, accessing fat both stored and free-floating in the bloodstream
required endurance-type “aerobic” training. Aerobic means “with oxygen,”
and the physiological pathway initiated in the presence of oxygen utilizes fat
for fuel, making it the superior choice. But recent research opens the door for
a new theory—that high-intensity training is even more effective. One
such study compared the effect of a 20-week endurance-training program with
that of a 15-week high-intensity program in terms of body fat loss and muscle
metabolism.
Researchers
found a larger reduction in subcutaneous fat in the high-intensity group,
despite noting that the total energy cost between the two groups indicated
higher caloric expenditure for the endurance group. Furthermore, “when
corrected for the energy cost . . . the reduction induced by the high-intensity
program was nine-fold greater than the endurance program” (Smith 2002).
Another study,
published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, measured skeletal muscle
fuel content, fatty-acid transport proteins, and hormonal and other responses
in women after a 2-week SBT program. Results indicated that “seven sessions of
SBT over 2 weeks induced marked increases in whole body and skeletal muscle
capacity for fatty acid oxidation during exercise in moderately active women”
(Talanian 2006).
Traditional
aerobic training is also praised for improving the body’s efficiency at burning
stored fat once activity ceases, a phenomenon termed excess post-exercise
oxygen consumption, or EPOC. But more and more studies are showing that the
EPOC created by high-intensity training induces a response that renders the
body even more efficient at burning fuel. For example, a 1996 study in Medicine
& Science in Sports & Exercise comparing endurance- and
interval-trained subjects showed that “the
interval group burned more fat during exercise . . . [and] exhibited increased
fat burning effects that persisted for 24 hours after the exercise had stopped”
(Treuth, Hunter & Williams 1996).
In a 2001
study, researchers compared two groups, one exercising aerobically and the
other using interval training. Both groups burned exactly 300 calories, but
despite exercising longer, “the aerobic group lost less body fat” (King et al.
2001).
[Editor’s
Note: See this month’s Making News column for more on
post-exercise fat metabolism.]
Endurance
Benefits
Training in the
“target zone” (65%–85% of one’s maximum heart rate) for an extended duration
(20 minutes minimum) at least 3–5 times a week is an age-old exercise formula.
However, that formula was challenged in 1995, when the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
convened to re-evaluate physical activity recommendations for the general
public. The panel determined that “every U.S. adult should accumulate 30
minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity” almost every day (Pate
et al. 1995). This opened the door for beginners to add small increments of
activity to their day and still improve their fitness levels. In line with this
physical activity model, data now being accumulated with regard to short-burst
training definitely support shorter bouts of intermittent activity.
Then there is a
2005 study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology. The subjects,
who were not athletes, did a 2-week SBT program and were then retested. The
result? Their endurance level, a direct measure of cardiorespiratory fitness,
had actually doubled (Burgomaster et al. 2005).
Time
Efficiency
In today’s
world, time is precious. So if something can be accomplished faster, who
wouldn’t do it? Traditional training is long, slow and time-consuming. SBT is
not only effective, but markedly so in a significantly shorter period of time.
Numerous studies demonstrate that, in terms of body fat, weight loss and
fitness-related gains, subjects performing SBT for minimal time periods
achieved more than endurance-trained subjects despite the overall training time
being much less.
In a study by
Gibala et al. (2006), six sessions of high-intensity, low-volume interval
training and six of high-volume endurance training were compared for their
effect on “muscle oxidative capacity, muscle buffering capacity and exercise
performance.” Between the two groups, researchers noted significant differences
in both training volume (approximately 90% less for the interval group) and
time commitment (around 2.5 hours with intervals versus 10.5 hours with
endurance training over 2 weeks), yet the resulting physiological changes were
similar. While the authors cautioned that further research was needed, their
findings suggest that “SBT is a time-efficient strategy to induce rapid
adaptations in skeletal muscle and exercise performance” (Gibala 2006).
Another study,
published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, showed
interval-trained groups achieving significant improvements in EPOC and calorie/
fat burning during exercise. And these benefits were achieved with an “exercise
session that was a full 15 minutes shorter than the aerobic group” (Treuth,
Hunter & Williams 1996).
The
Ramifications
With so much
evidence favoring short-burst training, should we hang up our indoor cycling
gear and list our stair-climbing machines on eBay? Not so fast. SBT has its
perks, but the benefits of traditional training cannot be denied. Some people
actually seek the solace and rhythm of long, slow, distance training—e.g., an
hour long aerobics class, precious reading time on the treadmill, an extended
Sunday morning hill run. Studies may suggest that SBT gives superior results,
but it’s all a matter of time: SBT garners much quicker results from
significantly shorter training sessions, while traditional training effects
take longer to achieve. Bottom line—are your clients in a hurry?
If you’re
looking for a quick fix, athleticism or better competitive sports performance,
SBT is a good choice. But if you’re training for a cross-country ski trip or
long-distance bike race, traditional endurance training is still needed. As one
researcher states, “The present data should not be interpreted to suggest that
SBT is necessarily adequate for prolonged endurance type activities” (Gibala
2006). On the flip side, however, Mark Smith, PhD, an applied physiologist and
the program director for X-iser Industries, in Southlake, Texas, reminds us
that high-caliber endurance athletes do not train by distance alone: “Looking
at elite endurance athletes like marathoners, people don’t realize that 50%,
and sometimes as much as 75%, of their training is actually high-intensity
intervals.”
What about
exercise difficulty? As trainers, our job is motivating and educating our
clientele, and they’ll usually work hard for their results. But there’s a fine
line between time efficiency and movement quality. If a training technique is
performed incorrectly or is so high in intensity that a person can’t keep up,
results won’t come and injury potential will increase. Exercise science
professor Stuart Biddle, PhD, of Loughborough University in Leicestershire,
England, notes, “You have to strike a compromise between physiology and
psychology. The harder you make it, the fewer people will actually do it” (BBC
News 2006).
Smith
disagrees: “When exercise clients are in control of their intensity, they tend
to be self-limiting. A minute is the magic number for a human to go all-out. I
tell clients, ‘Give me a good honest effort. If you need to stop short of our
goal in terms of time, it’s okay.’’ With SBT, the higher the intensity is, the
shorter the duration and the longer the recovery periods between intervals. So,
in essence, the danger of injury from overuse may decrease compared with what
can happen with continuous, repetitive exercises.
Getting in
shape is a journey, not a destination. And the best journeys are ever-changing.
Recreational exercisers should strive to achieve not only sleeker thighs, but
also a long-term love of movement and activity, regardless of its form. The
beauty of fitness and sports training is that there is no one “right way” to
train. Keeping the workouts fresh leads to a constant renewal of your clients’
commitment to good health and well-being. And that, above all, is the key to
success.
SIDEBAR:
Incorporating Short-Burst Training
The easiest way
to incorporate SBT into program design is to gradually replace the lengthy
cardio session with short 60-second burst intervals. Between these
high-intensity, short- duration bouts, perform the strengthening, therapeutic,
stretching and muscle-balancing exercises you are currently doing (these become
“corrective” or recovery exercises) for a 4-minute recovery. Here is an
example:
·
brief warm-up
·
60-second bout of
SBT on the treadmill (use an incline as needed to achieve maximum intensity),
on the stationary bike or doing whole-body exercises (squats, lunges, push-ups,
pull-ups, etc.)
·
4-minute
recovery (doing corrective exercises such as stretching, weight machines,
dumbbells or other muscle isolation exercises)
·
two 30-second
bouts of SBT on a stationary bike, with a 30-second recovery between bouts
Repeat the full
routine until a total of 4–6 minutes of burst training has been done.
When it comes
to intensity, perceived exertion is the best guideline. Clients will limit
themselves and push only as hard as they are comfortable pushing. When cued to
do their best, they will give their own maximal effort in each interval.
Therefore, a good rate of perceived exertion to follow is to have participants
sustain their chosen intensity, with good form and body control, for the
time you select.
When using a
treadmill, burst intervals should be lower intensity and longer duration, to
maintain safety. On a stationary bike or when doing full-body activities such
as lunges, squats or core work, the intensity can be pushed much higher, making
for a shorter interval. As a general rule, with SBT go for quality, not
quantity. Intensity is the key ingredient.
SIDEBAR:
Health Benefits of Short-Burst Training
Health is a big
motivator for people to exercise: clients want to lose weight,
counteract a poor family history, maintain healthy functioning or
simply follow their doctor’s orders to become more fit.
The science
behind SBT shows that it is extremely effective in all these areas (just as
traditional training is); plus, it provides benefits that help clients recover
from health crises such as cardiac events, pulmonary problems, cancer diagnoses
and orthopedic surgery (as always, be sure any special-population clients
get a physician’s clearance before working with you).
·
Exercise
intensity had a “13.3 times greater effect on systolic blood pressure, a 2.8
times greater effect on diastolic blood pressure, and a 4.7 times greater
effect on waist circumference in men” than did exercise duration (Williams
1998).
·
High-density
lipoprotein levels (good cholesterol) increased significantly as a result of intermittent—but
not continuousexercise (Smith 2002; Williams 1998).
·
SBT is also an
effective means of reducing stress and achieving a positive mood state. The
phenomenon known as “runner’s high” has previously been attributed to endurance
training lasting longer than 1 hour. Beta-endorphins, the chemicals responsible
for elevated mood states, were found to increase at statistically significant
levels following “incremental graded and short term anaerobic exercise, the
extent correlating with the lactate concentration.” (Smith 2002; Williams
1998).
·
A 2007 study
published in Circulation assessed the effectiveness of high-intensity
training on patients who had suffered from heart failure. The results indicated
that exercise intensity was “an important factor for reversing LV [left
ventricular] remodeling, improving aerobic capacity, . . . and quality of life
in patients with postinfarction heart failure.” The ramifications of this
“suggest that training programs based on these principles may yield more
favorable results than those with low to moderate exercise intensities”
(Wisløff et al. 2007).
BBC News. 2006. Walking “not enough to get fit.” http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5371116.stm;
retrieved Jan. 21, 2009.
Burgomaster, K.A., et al. 2005. Six sessions of sprint interval training
increases muscle oxidative potential and cycle endurance capacity in humans. Journal
of Applied Physiology, 98, 1985–90.
Gibala, M.J., et al. 2006. Short-term sprint interval versus traditional
endurance training: Similar initial adaptations in human skeletal muscle and
exercise performance. Journal of Physiology, 575 (3), 901–11.
King, J., et al. 2001. A comparison of high-intensity vs. low-intensity
exercise on body composition in overweight women. Medicine & Science in
Sports & Exercise, 33 (5, Suppl. 1), S228.
Pate, R.R., et al. 1995. Physical activity and public health: A recommendation
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of
Sports Medicine. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 273
(5), 402–407.
Smith, M.J. 2002. Sports conditioning—a comparison: Moderate-intensity
continuous activity and high-intensity intermittent activity. www.xiser.com;
retrieved Jan. 21, 2009.
Talanian, J., et al. 2006. Two weeks of high-intensity aerobic interval
training increases the capacity for fat oxidation during exercise in women. Journal
of Applied Physiology, 102, 1439–47.
Treuth, M.S., Hunter, G.R., & Williams, M. 1996. Effects of exercise
intensity on 24-h energy expenditure and substrate oxidation. Medicine &
Science in Sports & Exercise, 28 (9), 1138–43.
Williams, P.T. 1998. Relationships of heart disease risk factors to exercise
quantity and intensity. Archives of Internal Medicine, 158 (3), 237–45.
Wisløff, U., et al. 2007. Superior cardiovascular effect of aerobic interval
training versus moderate continuous training in heart failure patients: A
randomized study. Circulation, 115, 3068–94.
Disclaimer
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