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Recently there has been a lot of buzz in the fitness industry about a new study showing that 45 minutes on vigorous activity boosts post exercise calorie burning by 190 calories.  Frankly, I think the study was done VERY well, but I think people are taking it to mean more than it does.  I figured I’d do a quick review to share a few of my thoughts.

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In short, the researchers took 10 subjects had each one spend 24 hours in a metabolic chamber on two separate occaisions.

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For the uninitiated, a metabolic chamber is an 8 x 10 foot room with a 7 foot ceiling that is completely sealed for the period in which the subject is studied.  (In other words, if you don’t like enclosed spaces you’d probably freak right the hell out)

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On one occaision the subjects did no physical activity within the chamber other than what was necessary for daily living (washing, brushing teeth, etc).  The rest of the time was spent sitting and no additional activity was permitted.

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On another occaision, the same methods were followed except that subjects performed 45 minutes of exercise at a “vigorous” intensity (75% VO2 max – actually VO2 peak, but that’s just being picky). 

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On both occaisions subjects received meals that were designed to keep them in calorie balance so on the exercise day subjects were fed more food to account for the calories expended from activity.

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The results of this very strictly controlled study showed that when the subjects exercised they burned 514 calories from the exercise bout itself and an additional 190 calories in the post exercise period.

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So what does this study actually tell us?

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This study shows that you’ll burn 190 extra calories after doing vigorous exercise than you would if you did absolutely nothing!

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Mind-friggin’-blowing isn’t it?!?

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I think the researchers did a very good job at answering the question they asked, but I’m not sure the the research is of much relevance to non-researchers (i.e., people who want to lose fat).  I don’t think there is really anything new here.

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Previous research has demonstrated that intensity and duration can both contribute to the post exercise calorie expenditure so this research just reinforces this fact. 

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.And more importantly, does it really matter?

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To illustrate the effects of such a protocol in the real world a training study would have to be conducted to show that fat loss would result as a chronic effect of this protocol.

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But again…you’d be looking at doing nothing versus doing something so I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t be surprised to see that the exercise group might come out on top.

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In summary, exercise versus not exercising DOES result in increased calorie expenditure.  You might even hypothesize (probably correctly) that this would result in greater weight loss over time. 

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Would there be a difference between two exercise intensities if done for the same time with both groups already in a calorie deficit and free living conditions (i.e., not being told to sit down all day in a box)?

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I don’t know the answer to that.  But I’m not holding my breath since exercise really doesn’t tend to result in more weight loss in trials where diet changes are already in place.

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In the end, this study does show we burn more calories when we exercise which is good (not surprising).  But it doesn’t really tell us much more than that.

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Knab AM, Shanely RA, Corbin K, Jin F, Sha W, Nieman DC. A 45-Minute Vigorous Exercise Bout Increases Metabolic Rate for 14 Hours. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011 Feb 8. [Epub ahead of print]

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Side Note - I found it interesting that this study actually had two references from Eric Poehlman whose career has come crashing down after admitting to falsifying data in grant applications and several studies.

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If you’d like to review studies like this for yourself, check out my product How to Read Fitness Research.

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As most of my frequent readers know, I’m an avid reader of anything and everything to do with fitness and nutrition.  Today I’d like to share with you some of the stuff I think is worth reading this week.

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1.  Interview with me by Ben Bruno

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In case you missed this last week, my friend and up and coming strength coach Ben Bruno (his blog seriously kicks ass) interviewed me about training, fat loss, mullets, and everything in between.  I think this is possibly my best interview yet.  Check it out HERE.

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2.  High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise and Fat Loss

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You’ve probably heard me ranting (as in the interview above) about the relative usefulness of interval training for fat loss.  Well…just today I recieved the email update from The Journal of Obesity and it featured a great review on the research on Interval Training for fat loss by Dr. Stephen Boutcher.

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His conclusion (for those who don’t feel like reading the whole thing) is as follows:

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“The effects of HIIE on subcutaneous and abdominal fat loss are promising but more studies using overweight individuals need to be carried out. Given that the major reason given for not exercising is time, it is likely that the brevity of HIIE protocols should be appealing to most individuals interested in fat reduction. The optimal intensity and length of the sprint and rest periods together with examination of the benefits of other HIIE modalities need to be established.”

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It should be mentioned that the protocol created by his team that uses 8 second intervals with 12 seconds of rest that I described in THIS ARTICLE appears to be the best researched backed interval method for fat loss that I’ve seen to date.  I still think the results are pretty modest and not worthy of the hype intervals get, but if I’m going to use intervals this is the method of choice…for now at least.

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*Note that this review did not include Dr. Lemon’s latest study which shows similar amounts of fat loss for intervals versus steady state running.  Again…faster, but not necessarily better.

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3.  Factors that may impede the weight loss response to exercise-based interventions

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I’ve said before that exercise is often unable to provide much benefit over and above diet alone for weight loss.  However, it is important to remember that individual differences do apply and it does work for some (men more than women), but not others.  This review talks about these differences and makes recommendations on the use of exercise for weight loss.

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And finally, I want to congratulate Chris Krattiger on winning Mike Boyle’s Functional Strength Coach 3.0 last week.  Chris, I’ll be in touch shortly to get your mailing info.  Everyone else, keep reading.  More stuff to come this week!

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PS: Please feel free to read the articles above and discuss in the comments below.

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A couple weeks back my good friend Tony Gentilcore wrote a post about an article that was published recently called the Workout Enigma.  It talked about a study that showed some people actually became weaker and less fit after a 21 week exercise program.  Needless to say, I had to check this out.

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Today you can check out my full on review on Tony’s blog HERE.

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Also, don’t forget that there is only one day left to pick up your copy of Accelerated Muscular Development at a 20% discount and comment on the post HERE to grab your free copy of Mike Boyles Functional Strength Coach 3.0.

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As many of my readers already know, I have previously reviewed a few of the studies on the Functional Movement Screen including:

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Interrater Reliability of the Functional Movement Screen

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Core strength: A New Model for Injury Prediction and Prevention

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Research Review: Can Serious Injury in Professional Football be Predicted by a Preseason Functional Movement Screen?

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Today I’ve decided to start wrapping up my series by reviewing one final study on the FMS.  Tomorrow I’ll share more comment on the FMS that I think is worth addressing and that will be it for my discussion of the research piece.   However, I’m going to withhold my final thoughts on the system as a whole until I’ve finished reading and absorbing Gray Cook’s new book Movement as I feel this will contribute a lot more to the bigger picture than just reviewing the studies themselves.

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Let’s get to it!

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Functional Movement Test Scores Improve Following a Standardized Off-Season Intervention Program in Professional Football Players

Kiesel K, et al.  Scand J Med Sci Sports, 2009. 

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Background

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Previous research has shown that players scoring lower than a 14 on the FMS were more likely to be injured than those scoring above 14.  However, no studies have assessed whether changes in an individual’s FMS score can be achieved with a training program.

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Purpose

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1)  To determine if an offseason intervention program is effective in improving FMS scores in professional American football players.

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2)  To examine if there was a greater percentage of players above the injury threshold of a score of 14 at the after training than before.

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3)  Because, right and left asymmetry in the FMS has also been related to injury subjects were examined to see if more players were free of asymmetry at the end of the study compared with the beginning of the study.

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4)  To determine if it was possible to predict who would not improve their score above the injury threshold score of 14 using data from the pre-screen.

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Methods

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FMS scores were obtained prior to the start of an off-season training program for 62 professional American football players and each subject was prescribed an individualized training program based on their FMS score.  “Movement preparation” and “corrective exercises” were selected to improve movement scores and decrease assymetries.  After the 7 week training program FMS scores were collected and compared with the scores from prior to training.

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Results

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Linemen and linebackers tended to have slightly lower FMS scores both at the start and end of the study when compared to the other “skill positions” (my words not theirs). 

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As a whole, linemen and other players from ”skill positions” were able to increase their FMS scores from 11.8 to 14.8 and 13.3 to 16.3 respectively. 

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At the start of the study only 7 subjects had a score above the injury threshold of 14 on the FMS.  At the end of the intervention 30 subjects had a score above 14 on the Functional Movement Screen.  Keep in mind that this means that 32 people still failed to improve their FMS score above 14 over the training period.

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Prior to training 31 players were determined to have at least one assymetry on the FMS.  After training only 20 players had a remaining assymetry.

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The only significant predictor of whether a subject failed to improve their score above the injury threshold of 14 on the FMS was a low score on the deep squat.

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Funding

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None declared.

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My Thoughts

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I think there are a few things that need to be addressed when looking at this study, but the main thing that stands out to me is the complete lack of a control group.  Although the football players had some quite impressive improvements in their scores, it is hard to determine whether these were due to the FMS specific interventions, any off-season training program in general, or just becoming more proficient on the tests as a result of repeated practice.

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Moreover, there may have been other treatments (massage, chiropractic, etc) taking place during the same time from so it is possible that these contributed to the improvments in scores.  That is not to say that I don’t think the improvements are there, but I think a control group is one of the most important elements of the study design when evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention.  As a result, the results of this study (while promising) should be taken with a grain of salt until similar results are produced in the presence of a control group.

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The other thing that leaps out at me is that while the FMS score below 14 has been related to an increased risk of injury we must be cautious in interpreting the results of this study as they pertain only to the FMS and not to actual injury risk.  In other words, “It has yet to be determined if prospective improvements in the FMS actually reduce injury risk.”

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I should note that the authors of this study did acknowledge both of the limitations above so perhaps future research that addresses them will turn up eventually.

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Finally, I think it is interesting that the deep squat is such a powerful predictor of success or failure when it comes to reaching a score of 14 on the FMS.  I find this especially interesting because (as far as I know) this is not one of the patterns that is typically immediately addressed with an FMS specific intervention.

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Given the relatively large number of subjects who failed to reach the injury threshold of 14 on the FMS, perhaps this indicates a need for more intensive intervention for those who score low on the deep squat from the very beginning.  I’m also wondering if the lack of improvement in the total score (and assymetry) in some of the players is simply a result of a short intervention. 

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Summing Up

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I think what we can take away from this study as a definite is that FMS scores can be improved and assymetries can be eliminated.  While it is likely that this is due to a specific exercise protocol related to the FMS score, the results of this study should be taken as tentative or hypothesis generating until an intervention trial with a control group is performed.

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Again, I think it is important to reiterate that FMS scores are an injury prevention tool and there is no research yet to suggest that increasing these scores or eliminating assymetries will reduce injury.  I think it is pretty safe to say that this is possible…or even likely…but it certainly isn’t guaranteed. 

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Finally, I think it highlights the need to look at the deep squat when assessing our clients whether we use the FMS or not.  This movement is obviously related to global improvements in movement patterns and it should be carefully investigated if there are any limitations.

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What you you think?

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Speaking of injuries, don’t forget to grab your FREE copy of Mike Robertson’s Bulletproof Knees by dropping a comment on THIS POST before midnight tonight.

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And while you’re here, don’t forget to grab your FREE core audio interviews with Mike and other industry giants like McGill, Myers, Tumminello, and more HERE.

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Every so often I get the question “Mark, how is it that you are such a genius and are  also so incredibly good looking?  It is so damn unfair.”  Okay…I think the question goes more like “What are you reading these days that you think is worth sharing?”

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As you can see, these two questions are almost exactly the same.  In any case, below are a few things I think you should definitely check out.

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1.  Categories of Weight Training

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If you’ve not been following Lyle McDonald’s latest series on types of weight trainining (from depletion, to hypertrophy, to maximum strength) you are absolutely missing out.  Do your self a favor and start HERE to read part 1 and then click your way on through the entire series.  Included in this series is possibly one of the best summaries on training for hypertrophy I’ve seen in a long while and almost completely in line with my own thoughts.

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2.  Hypertrophy Specialist Interview

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Along the same lines, I think you should definitely check out this great article by Bret Contreras where he interviews Brad Schoenfeld about his recent review on hypertrophy in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.  I still don’t agree with the assertion Brad made in his interview about the impact of acute hormone changes on muscle growth, but the rest of the interview is pretty solid.

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3.  Cognitive-Behavioral Strategies to Increase the Adherence to Exercise in the Management of Obesity

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At first glance the title of this article probably makes it look like a snooze-fest, but it is actually one of the best review articles I’ve read on weight loss in a long time.  It comes from the Journal of Obesity (where the articles are free by the way) and it talks about many things relating to success with weight loss and maintenance.

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Trust me when I tell you that if you are trying to lose body fat or help others do so then this article will teach you something.  I personally grabbed a bunch of studies from the references too that I’ll be reading in the near future.

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The big picture though, is that this article reinforces my belief that long term fat loss has less to do with what type of exercise and nutrition plan you use and more to do with the psychosocial factors that help or hinder your consistency in executing whichever plan it is you choose to follow.  If you address these you’re more likely to be successful than if you buy the next fat loss product that comes up on Twitter (which should occur in the next 3.5 seconds).

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4.  Best NEW blog in my RSS Feed

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 Ben Bruno is really smart and his blog always contains some great vids of people training hard and getting it done.   Moreover, this is a great example for young guys just gettting started in this field on blogging of how it is done. 

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If you’re a young coach or trainer start blogging now and build your readership as you learn.  You don’t have to be perfect and you don’t have to pretend to know everything.  Just be humble and share your thoughts as you learn.  Acknowledge when you’re wrong and updating your ideas.

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I waited far too long to launch this blog and feel like I’m finally coming into my own over 10 years into my career.  Don’t do that.  Read Ben’s blog, enjoy the content, then get to work.

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5.  Interview with Tony Gentilcore

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This is a great interview with the funniest man in fitness where he talks at great length about many of the things that make a good trainer…and other things that make trainers like Jillian Michaels suck.  Perhaps more importantly (or at least MY favorite part of the article), Tony mentions me as one of the fitness professionals that people should take notice of.  You hear that Men’s Health?  Huh?  Huh?

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In all seriousness, when guys like Tony take time out to mention me I feel flattered and it is great to know that my work is starting to be appreciated by some of the bigger names in this industry as well.  I almost cried a little tear of excitement.  Almost.

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And that’s it for good reads.  Before you go make sure to drop a comment on yesterday’s post to score yourself some FREE protein.

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Oh…and since I’ll be giving away tons of free stuff over the next couple of months make sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter on the left, my RSS feed, Facebook, and Twitter so you don’t miss out.  You snooze, you lose.

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