
Fancy a take away tonight?
April 17, 2012
Topics:
It’s been a long day; you’ve worked hard and delivered the goods for the boss. You’ve bust a gut to get out of the office on time, your destination…BMF's outdoor bootcamps!
Like a sardine you’ve squeezed yourself on to the train, with beads of sweat running down your temples. You’ve cosied up to an arm pit belonging to someone you can only describe as ‘the missing link.’ However, everything is going well and you’re on schedule to make the exercise class. Then at the next stop the driver announces “there will be a delay!”
Grrrrrrrrr!
You arrive at the park 5 minutes late! The van is all locked up and the instructor has run off into the distance with his group. So you decide to give chase. Eventually arriving, begging the instructor to allow you to take part, only to be given a big fat “NO! no warm up no class, health and safety, sorry!’
At this moment you wish you could HIT the instructor over the head and make him join the person underneath the train that made you late.
But do not despair! You can make better use of that HIT and give this exercise class a try, which would take less than 30 minutes and get you the same results as an hour of running. Do it at home or at your nearest green space.
[B]High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)[/B].
[LINK "http://www.intervaltraining.net/hiit.html" "HIIT"] has gained huge popularity in the last few years. Studies have revealed that rapid improvements are to be gained in conditioning and body composition, following a course in intense and short duration fitness classes. Interval training is simply alternating periods of high intensity efforts with periods of rest or recovery. It is arguably the most effective means of improving both aerobic and anaerobic fitness, without compromising speed and power.
HIIT has shown that it is able to improve VO2 max in subjects. VO2 max is the maximum capacity, at which an individual's body can transport and use oxygen during an incremental exercise class. This reflects the physical fitness of the individual. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) is widely accepted as the single best measure of cardiovascular fitness and maximal aerobic capacity. The higher your VO2 max, the more work you can do before you start shifting into anaerobic territory. Anaerobic exercise is to perform without oxygen which usually happens at higher rates of intensity, and is usually coupled with everyone’s favourite: ‘the lactic acid burn!’ So increase your VO2 max to run harder for longer, before you burn up and die.
[B]Tabata this Tabata that![/B]
Dr. Izumi Tabata came up with some ground breaking results with his research and studies on interval training. His studies had already been applied in the athletic world of speed skating.
Tabata used a protocol of 20 seconds on 10 seconds off in relation to exercise and rest. He made two groups exercise five days a week. One group exercised at a moderate intensity for 60 minutes at 70% VO2 max, whilst the high intensity group exercised at 170% of their VO2 max for eight intervals of 20 seconds on 10 seconds off. The testing was carried out on stationary cycles and lasted for six weeks. Although similar results were noted for aerobic power for both groups, the high intensity group improved their VO2 max by 14% and the low intensity group improved by 10%.
However, only the high intensity group had an improvement in anaerobic performance; up an incredible 28%! I guess this shouldn’t come as a big surprise, as they were working at 170% of their VO2 max so you would expect an increase in anaerobic power. But it does point out that such a brief period of a high intensity exercise class can yield a substantial increase in performance. So next time lads, when it comes to that four minute performance in the bedroom you can back it up with some scientific facts!
There are benefits to body composition too...Let’s face it, most of us workout to change our physiques. People either try to get big or become smaller, following fitness classes which allow for these changes to occur. Another great thing about HIIT, is if done at break neck speed, then the effects can last for several hours after the workout has finished.
This is down to EPOC. No not those hairy C3PO loving mouth breathers they were ewoks. EPOC is [B]Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption[/B]. After intense exercise has stopped, heavy breathing continues for a period of time, and oxygen consumption remains above resting levels. Depending on the intensity of the exercise class, recovery can range from just a few minutes to several hours.
A study by Hunter (1998) supports this statement. Following high intensity exercise (at least 70% of VO2 max) the study showed the resting energy expenditure increased by 5-15% for anywhere between 24-48 hours. That can equate to burning between 100-200 extra calories per day, or walking 1-2 miles but without taking a step! Low intensity exercise however failed to elicit this change.
Resistance training in a HIIT format can also increase lean muscle tissue, which in turn affects metabolism. For every pound of lean muscle added to the body, calorie expenditure rises 50 calories per day. Over the course of a year that equates to 5lbs of fat loss!
So it’s easy to see how intensive fitness classes can be a potent body composition changing tool!
[B]Take home HIIT workouts[/B]
These workouts must be performed at high intensity, so go ugly early to avoid disappointment or go home alone!
[B]Workout 1[/B]
Tabata 20 seconds on 10 seconds off (8 sets per exercise, no rest between sets)
Press-ups
Squats
Pull-ups
Burpees
[B]Workout 2[/B]
8 x 400m sprints (rest 1 minute between runs)
[B]Workout 3[/B]
1 minute of exercise 20 jumping jacks between exercises (3 rounds)
- T press-ups
- Alternating lunges
- Plank to press-up position (30 seconds left arm 30 seconds right arm)
- Star jumps
- Crunches
[B]Workout 4[/B]
50m sprint followed by 20 reps of the following (5 rounds for time )
- Wide arm press ups
- Squat jumps
- High knees
[B]Workout 5[/B]
Four rounds for time (to be completed as quickly as possible):
- 12 Bastardos/ Burpees
- 24 Hand release press ups
- 36 Squats/ jump squats
- Run 400 metres