To
really fire up your fat-burning furnace, you
need a workout that addresses not only calories
burned DURING the workout itself, but also calories
burned AFTER the workout. But it doesn't end
there...to REALLY maximize your results, you
need to also address your body's HORMONAL response
to training.
When
you put all these factors together, you can
SERIOUSLY increase the fat-burning drive you
generate with each and every workout.
Let's
look at the factors one at a time:
1. Calories burned DURING the workout
Every
time you exercise, you burn calories. Makes
sense! The amount of calories you burn depends
on the specific exercise you're doing, how intense
it is and how long you do it for. I won't spend
much time on this one as pretty much everybody
knows instinctively that the harder and longer
you work, the more calories you burn.
2. Calories burned AFTER the workout
Here's
where it gets interesting...the more intense
the exercise you perform, the more your overall
metabolism is boosted and the more calories
your body will burn AFTER the workout as it
strives to recover from the training.
The
practical result is this...if you do long, slow
cardio training for your fat loss, you will
burn calories during the workout, but your metabolism
will go back to its normal rate very soon after.
If you increase the pace (e.g. through interval
training), you create a MUCH greater demand
on your body and your metabolism is jacked up
long after your workout is done - this can be
for up to 24 hours after!
When
it comes to fat loss, intensity is the key,
not your resistance to boredom during repetitive
movement.
3. Your HORMONAL response to training
Here's
the one most people don't know about. When you
exercise, whether it be for fat loss or any
other purpose, your body secretes hormones in
response to the training. The big one that we
want to key in on for fat loss is Growth Hormone.
Without
delving too much into the science of Growth
Hormone (GH for short), it's enough to know
that one of the primary functions of GH is to
send a signal to your body to burn fat for fuel
(it's also involved in many other functions,
including muscle building, immune system function
and connective tissue repair).
So
how do we maximize the release of natural GH
in the body from training? Lactic Acid.
Lactic
Acid is one of the key "ingredients"
that we want the body to produce in order to
maximize the release of GH. When the body detects
large amounts of Lactic Acid in the blood stream
(it determines this by tracking the acidity
of your blood), GH is secreted in response.
In
a nutshell, the greater the burn, the greater
the GH release.
---
So
how do we maximize ALL THREE aspects of fat
loss that I mentioned above? We will do it through
a training technique I call "No-Rest Lactic
Acid Supersetting."
We
are going to combine several techniques that
are extremely effective for maximizing the production
of Lactic Acid in the body. I'll tell you up
front, this training WON'T be easy (if you find
it easy, you're not working hard enough!) but
it's VERY effective.
The
first part of the equation is high-rep training.
There is NO doubt that high reps will produce
Lactic Acid. The bonus with high-rep training
is that it also helps improve the capillirization
of the muscles. In English, this means it helps
improve the blood supply to the muscles by increasing
the amount of tiny blood vessels (capillaries)
in the muscles. One of the reaons muscles don't
grow? Poor blood supply. So high-reps can not
only produce Lactic Acid, they can even improve
the growth potential of a muscle!
The
next part of the equation is Supersetting. Supersets
involve moving from one exercise directly into
another exercise, with no rest inbetween the
two exercises. This is a great way to increase
the burn from Lactic Acid. The specific type
of Supersets we'll be using with this training
technique are "Antagonistic Supersets."
This means we'll be working two opposing bodyparts
at a time, e.g. back and chest or biceps and
triceps.
The
final part of the equation is that we're not
only NOT going to take any rest between the
two Superset exercises, we're actually not going
to take ANY REST AT ALL (except when we move
to a different Superset combination).
The
body clears out Lactic Acid when it gets a chance
to rest. By removing complete rest from the
equation, we're going to dramatically ramp up
the production of Lactic Acid in your body and,
as a result, ideally dramatically ramp up the
production of Growth Hormone in response.
All
this, in turn, will lead to increased fat loss
by increasing Growth Hormone and burning LOTS
of calories during the workout AND after the
workout, because of the high intensity level.
A
quick note about Growth Hormone: there are plenty
of websites and magazines that will try to sell
you HGH pills to increase your GH levels. While
some nutritional supplements can be moderately
effective at boosting GH levels (glutamine is
one), the vast majority of these HGH ads are
scams and should be avoided. Your body, with
proper training, can produce ample amounts on
its own.
How To Do It:
I
will use chest and back as the example bodyparts
for this training program. We will be switching
between dumbell presses on the ball and standing
dumbell rows (using two dumbells in bent-over
row position). I find this to be a good combination
because you can use the same dumbells for both
exercises and perform them in the very same
spot.
The
key with this training technique is speed, not
only during the sets but switching between exercises.
At the end of the article, I'll include a link
to a demonstration video of this technique in
action.
First,
select a pair of dumbells that you know you
can get at least 20 reps with on the dumbell
press. For this technique, 20 reps is going
to be the MINIMUM number of reps we want to
hit on the first set of dumbell presses.
Get
into position on the ball and begin pressing
the dumbells. Keep a fairly quick tempo on the
presses using a powerful movement, not worrying
about squeezing the muscles or getting any slow
negatives (the lowering phase of the movement).
It should be a fast, powerful movement to get
as many reps as you can.
Big
note here...DO NOT sacrifice form for speed.
If you're flailing the dumbells around, you're
going to hurt yourself. While the movement is
fast, it should be UNDER CONTROL at all times.
Do
as many reps as you can until the Lactic Acid
burn forces you to stop. The last reps will
see you moving a LOT slower than you started
but keep going until the burn stops you.
Now
set the dumbells down and IMMEDIATELY get into
position for the two dumbell rows. The two dumbell
row is performed exactly like a bent-over barbell
but using two dumbells instead (the link will
also include demo pictures on how to perform
both of these exercises).
Begin
rowing with the same quick tempo. Be VERY careful
that you're not bobbing up and down excessively
as you do this exercise. It's fine to have a
little movement - it's natural as the weight
comes up and down. But you should do your best
to keep your lower back arched, your abs tight
and your torso as still as possible.
Again,
perform as many reps as you can until the burn
stops you and you have to set the weights down.
Now
IMMEDIATELY put all thoughts of rest aside!
Grab those dumbells, get back on the ball and
starting cranking out more dumbell presses!
Your
reps will most likely drop fairly significantly
on this second round through due to muscle fatigue
and Lactic Acid accumulation. Get as many reps
as you can, though. Personally, I may start
my first set with 30 to 40 reps and get 8 to
10 on the second set.
Finish
the pressing reps then go right back to the
dumbell rows for as many reps as you can. Keep
going back and forth between exercises until
you've done the prescribed number of sets for
each bodypart (see below for recommendations).
Be
sure to push yourself on those sets! Make sure
you stop because of the Lactic Acid burn and
not because you've counted enough reps and you've
lost track.
As
for number of sets, here are my recommendations...
If
you're going to do your entire body in one workout
use the following set guidelines:
Back
and chest - 6 sets each
Quadriceps and Hamstrings - 6 sets each
Shoulders and Calves - 3 sets each
Biceps and Triceps - 3 sets each
The
reason shoulders and calves are paired together
is that neither muscle group really has an antagonist
to it.
If
you're going to split up your workouts, I would
suggest picking two of the combinations (whichever
combos you like to do together) and use the
following set guidelines:
Back
and chest - 8 sets each
Quadriceps and Hamstrings - 10 sets each
Shoulders and Calves - 5 sets each
Biceps and Triceps - 5 sets each
This
means if you want to do back, chest, biceps,
triceps, do 8 sets each of back and chest then
5 sets each of biceps and triceps.
Take
1 minute rest in between bodypart combinations
or judge it by the time it takes for you to
set up the next two exercises.
Perform
this training program three times a week, e.g.
Monday, Wednesday, Friday if you're doing total
body workouts. If you're splitting your body
up, do Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday.
Follow
this training technique for 3 weeks and then
check the mirror!
A
small note about Growth Hormone:
DO
NOT eat anything before training when you're
doing this program. It's best to perform this
training on an empty stomach. The reason for
this is that GH secretion is reduced by both
elevated blood sugar levels and/or elevated
insulin levels in the body. When you eat something
(specifically carbohydrates), your blood sugar
will rise and insulin will be secreted as a
result. Insulin is a storage hormone and works
directly against GH.
AFTER
training, it's a whole different ballgame. You
CAN take in carbs and it won't affect the post-workout
fat-burning process. Because of the tremendous
demands on the recovery systems from a hard
workout, your body will continue to use stored
fat to fuel the recovery process even when you
take in carbs.
So
be sure to take in some good post-workout nutrition
in the form of liquid protein and carbs. It'll
help speed recovery and keep your body from
eating up its own muscle tissue.
Conclusion:
If
you're looking for a shock to your body to kick-start
your fat loss, give this program a try. It'll
place tremendous demands on your body and put
your fat loss into high gear!
Video
Demonstrations
(click on the link
to view streaming video
or right-click and choose
"save target as"
to save to your computer) |
|
Windows
WMV
1.5 MB
|
Quicktime
Movie
2.2 MB |
In
order to keep file size to
a somewhat reasonable level
for these videos, I've only
demonstrated the first two
and a half sets of this technique
- 1 bench press on the ball,
1 dumbell row then back to
the first few reps of bench
press on the ball on the next
set. When you're actually
performing the technique,
keep going in the back-and-forth
fashion until you've done
all your sets. No rest in
between!
Also,
in order to keep time down,
I didn't push to complete
Lactic Acid-induced failure
on these sets. When you do
your sets, the last few
reps should be a slow grind,
fighting the burn to complete
the reps.
Dumbell
Bench Press
Move
your mouse on and off the
picture to view the exercise
in action.
Two
Dumbell Rows
Move
your mouse on and off the
picture to view the exercise
in action.
Other Resource articles:
1.
Supersets - What They Are, Why They Work, and
Several Unique Variations You Can Try In Your
Next Workout
http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archives/issue39.htm
2.
What Do You Mean Low-Intensity Training Isn't
The Best For Fat Burning?
http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archives/issue7.htm
3.
The Insider Secrets of Interval Training - Learn
How Now!
http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archives/issue26.htm
4.
Fat Loss Article Index - Fitstep.com
http://www.fitstep.com/fat-loss/fat-loss.htm
5.
Are You Cheating Yourself Out Of 50% or More
Of Your Hard-Earned Results?
http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archives/issue19.htm
