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Today I just wanted to drop a quick note to share a few things.

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1.  FitJerk Interview

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Today an interview was posted that I did with a guy that calls himself FitJerk.  If you hadn’t guessed by the name, he calls himself this because he’s delightfully pleasant, politically correct, and loves to sip tea and eat crumpets.  *Note the obvious sarcasm*.  He’s actually a straight shooter and doesn’t take BS from anyone which is part of what made the interview so cool to do.  If you want to check it out you can do so HERE.  (Some language in this interview not suitable for work or those who are offended by such things).

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2.  Thoughts on Intervals

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I was recently asked to write a piece for the Ontario Society for Health and Fitness Bulletin (which is an evidence based publication) on my thoughts on interval training for fat loss.  Interestingly, they paired it up with another article on the same topic that presented a different viewpoint.  You can check it out HERE.  (My stuff is on page 3).

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3.  Last call for Muscle Imbalances Revealed Upper Body

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Yesterday I wrote a post on why I think MIRU is going to be solid.  So today I just wanted to remind you that the sale where you can save $70 on this product will end at the end of the day TODAY.  After that, the price will go from $77 to $147!

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Of course, if you’re still leery about shelling out the dough, I also want to remind you that there is a 60 day money back guarantee on this product so if you’re interested in checking out the product, I’d highly advise that you take advantage of the deal now before the price jumps.

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So that’s it.  Last call.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.  :)

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Muscle Imbalances Revealed Upper Body <– Get it now before the price goes up!

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I have a confession to make.

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I use interval training with my clients for fat loss.

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For those who are new to this blog this will probably come as no surprise as interval training is pretty trendy and everyone and their mother “knows” that interval training is better than steady state exercise for fat loss.

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However, my regular readers will know that I’m not buying this at all.  As far as the research is concerned, I don’t think that there is any evidence to date showing that interval training is vastly superior in terms of total fat loss compared to steady state exercise.  In fact, there are only a handful of studies (less than 5) actually looking at this and the differences in fat loss between groups are actually quite small.

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To further complicate matters, in studies where intervals and steady state have been compared, there was no calorie restriction.  As I mentioned previously, adding exercise to diet rarely yields additional weight loss so I’m wondering just how much of an extra effect intervals would have if this was added to the mix.  I’m guessing the divide between intervals and steady state would get even smaller!

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Until a study is conducted where steady state is compared to intervals with dietary restriction and a similar amount of mechanical work,  I think the jury will be out on the true effectiveness of this method for fat loss.  I could be wrong, but in the end, I think they may just pan out to be even.

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Of course, some might find this shocking given the amount of media hype about how intervals will make you lose 26 pounds of fat in 18 seconds.  But the truth is, that if you prefer steady state exercise or you don’t love puking on your shoes after repeated sets of sprints, you don’t necessarily need to jump on the interval bandwagon if you want to get lean.  After all, people used steady state exercise to get lean for years before intervals were “in”.

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So why would I use intervals in my fat loss programs???

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One word.  TIME.  I certainly don’t believe that intervals are better, but I know they are faster and that is where I believe the big distinction is.  Maybe it is semantics, but I don’t think it is fair to tell people that intervals are superior when the research doesn’t support it.

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If you only have time for short bouts of activity then I’m in full agreement that intervals are a good choice (which is why I think so many facilities that use them feel intervals are superior).  But for those who prefer steady state exercise and have more time available for this I don’t feel that we need to force them into interval training.

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Both work.  Find what you like, get it done, and be consistent.  Diet is probably more important anyway.

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What do you think?

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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 ago on StrengthCoach.com I called out the masses to defend the current practice of using interval training for fat loss.  As a result, a great discussion followed and I think everyone took home some great information.  I was also asked by my friend Chris Kelly to share some of my thoughts on intervals.

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Check our discussion on his blog HERE.

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PS:  Yes ladies, I think he’s single.

In my recent article Intervals Don’t Work I discussed the scientific evidence surrounding the use intervals for fat loss.  By why, if science says intervals aren’t that much better than endurance exercise, does everyone report such great success with intervals?

In my mind, there are a few possible reasons for this:

1.  Actually Doing Cardio

Before interval training became en vogue, many people weren’t doing much (if any) cardio.  Whether it was due to fear of cardio burning off hard earned muscle (which it doesn’t), boredom from endurance style cardio, or lack of the “cool factor” associated with intervals people just weren’t getting it done.  The additional calories from doing something instead of nothing could easily account for the “success” of intervals for those that were previously doing nothing for conditioning.

2.  Working Intensely

Many who were actually doing cardio before considered walking on a treadmill sufficient to burn calories.  Of course, exercising at this intensity is hardly different than sitting on the couch watching Gilligan’s Island reruns so it should come as no great surprise that doing high intensity interval work brings about greater results.  Had they done higher intensity steady state work the result would likely have been similar.

3.  Efficiency

Those that were doing cardio before and doing it with success (i.e., busting ass and burning kcals) realized that it takes time and hard work to lose extra fat via cardiovascular exercise.  Intervals (even if not technically better in terms of fat loss) were a welcome addition since they made achieving the same results possible with less of a time commitment.  So not better, but faster.

4.  Appetite Supression

While everyone knows that it is quite possible to burn off the same number of calories from endurance or interval training, intervals have the added bonus of appetite supression.  This could lead to less eating for those who are doing intervals and not consciously dieting.  It could also result in greater ease in sticking to a nutrition plan for those who need a more formal eating plan.  Personally, I lean slightly toward this as the most likely player for the relative success of intervals because the calorie deficit from any exercise is fairly dismal compared to the calorie deficit that can be achieved with food.

What do you think?

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I have to be honest and say that I was once swept up onto the interval training bandwagon.  But when it comes to fat loss, the research isn’t actually as strong in favor of intervals as you might think.  Check out my review on TMuscle HERE and let me know what you think.

Special thanks to Nate Green for editing my piece and making it look like I know how to write.

No thanks to the haters in the discussion after the article for the unsubstantiated personal attacks.  Damn interwebz.

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As many of you may know, I believe that reading for an hour per day is paramount if you hope to become a leader in any field.  Fitness and nutrition are no different.  Here are a few things to get you started for today.

1.  We know to program in HTML, Java and Windows, but we don’t know how to cook or eat.

Last week I was reading my colleague Aaron Schwenzfeier’s blog and saw this link to an article he posted.  Since Aaron always posts really thought provoking stuff I decided to check it out and I’m glad I did.  Check out this great essay by Frank Forencich HERE. 

 2.  You think you’re doing Tabata workouts, but you’re not.

Lyle McDonald does an incredible job reviewing the ever popular Tabata study that was the initial stimulus for all of the “Tabata” based workouts that you see all over the internet.  If you’re using this type of training you need to read this article.  Interestingly, what you’re probably doing looks nothing like what was actually studied in the first place.  Check out Lyle’s post HERE.

However, I got a couple emails suggesting that it was a little difficult to transition from steady state cardio if you’re just getting into intervals.  I also got an email telling me that intervals are not for beginners.

Fortunately, I was recently speaking to Craig Ballantyne of TurbulanceTraining.com and he mentioned that he’s had great success with intervals for beginners and he was kind enough to share his ideas with me.  Although neither of us is really a huge fan of treadmills, I’ll use this as an example because it is pretty easy to understand.

Let’s say that a beginner can walk on a treadmill at a steady pace of 3.5 for twenty minutes.  You could start to implement intervals by having that person performing at a higher level than usual (3.8) followed for about one minute followed by a minute at a lower level (3.2).

By doing this you’re gradually increasing the intensity at which someone can work.  Over time you’ll be able to increase the intervals to higher and higher levels until they can go full tilt with a true interval protocol.

So if you’re just getting started you can definitely give this a go.  Also, I’d highly recommend checking out Craig’s website at TurbulanceTraining.com

Part I
Part II

I hadn’t initially planned to write a part three, but in light of the questions I’m being asked, I realized I may have left out a few things.

Training Frequency for the Conditioning Period

As with most things, the amount of interval training you need to be doing depends on several variables so there is no cut and dry answer that applies to everybody.  However, I generally like to start with two interval sessions per week and build from there.

Whether you’re a complete novice and you’ve never touched a weight in your life or you’ve trained for years I’m going to suggest that you start off nice and easy by performing the introductory cardio phase three times per week for three weeks.  If you’re a novice, you also need to start weight training (what to do specifically is beyond the scope of this article), and get your diet together.

If you’re more advanced, it wouldn’t hurt you to review your diet too.  All great physique transformations start in the kitchen so this is an essential starting point for any fat loss plan.  If you’re looking for ways to lose fat, chances are that your diet isn’t where it needs to be in the first place.

I personally like to start most of my fat loss clients with a 5 session per week exercise plan and go up or down from there as necessary.

Here is a sample NOVICE template for the conditioning period
2 Lifting Days / 2 Cardio Days / 1 Recreational Day

Mon  – Off
Tues – Weights
Wed  – 30 Minutes Cardio
Thurs – Weights
Fri – 30 Minutes Cardio
Sat  – Off
Sun – Long Walk, Hike, or Recreational Sport

Here is a more ADVANCED template for the conditioning period
3-4 Lifting Days / 2 Cardio Days / 1 Recreational Day

Mon  – Weights
Tues – 30 Minutes Cardio
Wed  – Weights
Thurs – 30 Minutes Cardio
Fri – Weights
Sat  – Weights (optional)
Sun – Long Walk, Hike, or Recreational Sport

You’ll notice that I don’t like indoor “cardio” very much and I know most other people don’t either so I encourage my clients to get out and do stuff that they actually enjoy.  This leads to greater long term adherence to the program and an increased likelihood of surrounding themselves with other active people instead of coach potatoes.

If fat loss was my goal and I had to drop an exercise day due to time and recovery constraints I’d probably drop one of my lifting days (i.e., Saturday) instead of a cardio/recreational bout.

Training Frequency for Intervals

After the three week conditioning period you can start into the interval training as described in Part II, but don’t go at it more than twice per week.  Personally I’d suggest doing it on “off” days from your training to start.  If you’re doing all the things I’ve suggested above and added interval training you should be getting results.  If you’re not, it’s probably your diet.  Check this before thinking about more intervals.

Here is a sample NOVICE template for interval training
2 Lifting Days / 2 Interval Days / 1 Recreational Day

Mon  – Off
Tues – Weights
Wed  – Intervals
Thurs – Weights
Fri – Intervals
Sat  – Off
Sun – Long Walk, Hike, or Recreational Sport

Here is a more ADVANCED template for interval training
3 Lifting Days / 2 Interval Days / 1 Recreational Day

Mon  – Weights
Tues – Intervals
Wed  – Weights
Thurs – Intervals
Fri – Weights
Sat  – Off
Sun – Long Walk, Hike, or Recreational Sport

If you MUST add a 4th training day I would use this template
4 Lifting Days / 4 Interval Days / 1 Recreational Day

Mon  – Weights / Intervals
Tues – Weights / Intervals
Wed  – Off
Thurs – Weights / Intervals
Fri – Weights / Intervals
Sat  – Off
Sun – Long Walk, Hike, or Recreational Sport

In this case I think that the increased recovery demands from the weight training, dieting (you are trying to lose fat right?), and intervals would require at least two off days during the week.  I would suggest abbreviating all workouts to 30-45 minutes and performing intervals at the end.  Alternatively, intervals could be done in the morning and training at night or vice versa to save time.  This could also be done for a 3 day lifting program in the interest of time or recovery.

However, I think it should be said that this level of training is not usually necessary if your diet is where it should be.  I’ve only had to use this level of exercise with ONE client in 9 years so think twice before trying this yourself.

Also, if you’re on a severe diet such as that described in Lyle McDonald’s Rapid Fat Loss Handbook, don’t even think about attempting intervals.  You just won’t be able to recover and you’ll be doing more harm than good.

Used carefully intervals can be the missing key to a ripped midsection.  Used stupidly they can lead directly to overtraining and feeling like crap.

Be smart and get lean.

 Wingate aftermath: Note the number of towels

Step 2 – Introducing Sprints

I’ve seen people running for 3 minutes and walking for 2 minutes and calling in interval training.  So I’m going to clarify by stating that only Short High Intensity Training (S.H.I.T) is best for fat loss.  All other forms of interval training that use longer intervals may be useful for certain athletic situations, but they are not best for fat loss.

To properly perform S.H.I.T your bouts must be:

- High intensity
- Short duration
- Have rest periods where you are doing absolutely nothing

I’ve seen people pedaling lightly on a bike for “active recovery”, but I don’t agree with this practice as it increases the time needed for full recovery.  And yes, I’m aware that it helps clear lactate from the muscle…blah, blah, blah.  I’m only asking for a few minutes.  You’ll have the whole rest of the day to clear your lactate.

To properly perform a sprint you must go ALL OUT for anywhere from 30 seconds to a maximum of 1 minute to get the best effect.  I don’t think that this should change for novices.  However, I do think that the rest time and total number of sprints should be adjusted accordingly.

I personally prefer shorter sprints for fat loss so here’s how I think a beginner program should look after the general conditioning phase.  I would strongly advise the use of a stationary bike for this as I don’t like treadmills for sprint work.  Adjust the tension up so that it allows you to exert a maximal effort for the full 30 seconds.

Note: Even if you’re an advanced trainee, if you haven’t done intervals before you’re technically a beginner in this regard.

Note #2: The program below is just a guide and it should be adjusted if you’re finding it too easy or too hard for your current level of conditioning.  Some people need a full 4 minute rest between each interval in the beginning.  Adjust accordingly.

Week 1 – 4 intervals (1:4 work to rest ratio)

Interval #1 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #2 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #3 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #4 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds

Week 2 – 5 intervals (1:4 work to rest ratio)

Interval #1 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #2 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #3 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #4 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #5 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds

Week 3 – 6 intervals (1:4 work to rest ratio)

Interval #1 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #2 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #3 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #4 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #5 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #6 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds

Week 4 – 7 intervals (1:4 work to rest ratio)

Interval #1 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #2 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #3 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #4 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #5 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #6 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #7 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds

Week 5 – 7 intervals (1:3 work to rest ratio for first two intervals – 1:4 work to rest for remaining intervals)

Interval #1 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 90 seconds
Interval #2 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 90 seconds
Interval #3 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #4 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #5 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #6 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #7 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds

Week 6 – 7 intervals (1:3 work to rest ratio for first four intervals – 1:4 work to rest for remaining intervals)

Interval #1 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 90 seconds
Interval #2 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 90 seconds
Interval #3 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 90 seconds
Interval #4 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 90 seconds
Interval #5 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #6 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds
Interval #7 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds

Week 7 – 7 intervals (1:3 work to rest ratio for first six intervals – 1:4 work to rest for remaining interval)

Interval #1 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 90 seconds
Interval #2 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 90 seconds
Interval #3 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 90 seconds
Interval #4 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 90 seconds
Interval #5 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 90 seconds
Interval #6 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 90 seconds
Interval #7 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 120 seconds

Week 8 – 7 intervals (1:3 work to rest ratio for ALL intervals)

Interval #1 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 90 seconds
Interval #2 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 90 seconds
Interval #3 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 90 seconds
Interval #4 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 90 seconds
Interval #5 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 90 seconds
Interval #6 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 90 seconds
Interval #7 – Sprint 30 seconds – Rest 90 seconds

If you happen to feel inclined to do longer intervals instead of the proposed 30 second intervals above a shorter work to rest ratio is advised (1:3 for novices and 1:2 for more advanced trainees).

For example:

Novice: Sprint 60 seconds – Rest 180 seconds
Advanced: Sprint 60 seconds – Rest 120 seconds

One more bonus tidbit on interval training

Recently I was reading a post by Mike Boyle on Eric Cressey’s blog and he suggested that instead of using a set time for the rest interval that heart rate could be used instead.  He proposed that 60% of your theoretical heart rate maximum could be used to determine your rest time.

So if you were 30 years old your 60% mark would be:

(220 – Age) x 60%
(220 – 30) x 0.6 = 114 beats per minute

In this case, you would simply wear a heart rate monitor and perform your sprint as usual.  Afterward, when your heart rate dropped to 114 beats per minute it would be time to go again.  In essence, this would eliminate the need to time the intervals between sets and it would automatically adjust the difficulty based on your level of conditioning and fatigue.

Less conditioned people would be allowed more time to recover and more conditioned people would be allowed less.  However, as the less fit people became increasingly fit, the rest times would automatically decrease.

Coincidentally (I’m not even sure if Mike noticed this or not), the ACSM guideline for increasing aerobic fitness is to increase the heart rate above 60% of your theoretical max for 20 minutes at a time.  Go figure!

Regardless of whether you’re timing or using your heart rate as a guide, you can finally get out there and do interval training the way it was meant to be done.

What are you waiting for?

Go get ripped!