"Are You Still Training the Old Fashioned Way?"

Today I want to explain to you a concept that will save you time and deliver very quick results.
This concept Im talking about is know as Burst Training. I have been training my clients and campers like this for years and previously nicknamed this "Rapid Fire Interval Training" however in the last couple of years its gained popularity and most people refer to it as Burst Training.

The old fashioned way of doing cardio which most people can still be seen doing at the gyms are the long, slow to moderate intensity sessions of cardio that typically go from 30-90 minutes long.

Short Burst Training (SBT)- SBT is done for short periods of time. 60 second bouts of very high intensity followed by about 1-2minutes of recovery. Repeat for about 3-6 sets. The workout session is done in about 10 minutes.

Check out this study in Fat Burning Results of Burst Training:

Recent research opens the door for a new theory—that high-intensity training is even more effective that long, moderate aerobic training sessions. 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. 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).

Health Benefits of Short-Burst Trainingr
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 continuous—exercise (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).
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.

I suggest that you incorporate burst training sessions about 3x a week. If you are new to exercising I suggest you start off doing regular sessions of cardio and a moderate intensity because the health benefits are still abundant. If you are used to training and cannot seem to lose the last 10 lbs of fat...I suggest you incorporate burst training.
My 2 favorite Burst Training Workouts that I do weekly are either sprinting up flights of stairs for 60 seconds followed by a rest for 90 seconds...about 10x (probably more tha
I need to) or using the Stair Master. I crank it up to level 16 for 60 seconds followed by 90 seconds on level 4...repeat about 5-10x.
The results have been impressive for our campers in boot camp, our clients, and myself for years. Your metabolic rate will be elevated and the benefits of these short sessions will continue for hours after, unlike a long cardio session in which most of the benefits end immediately when your done. Email me if you have questions.