Since I just got back from the Nationals for USA Swimming, I thought it would be appropriate to post on something exercise related. The swimmers at events like this are top notch athletes–working out anywhere from 4-7 hours a day! (Which might be one good reason their bodies look the way they do…..but please, no drooling ladies.)
I was able to work with Olympic Medalists like Peter Vanderkaay, Cullen Jones, Davis Tarwater, Christine Magnesson, Matt Grevers, Tyler Clary and Elaine Bradden. During the week, 4 World Records were broken and 2 American Records were set.
But don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you that you have to set World Records in order to get in shape or lose weight. While the type of exercise I recommend for most people is based in the same principles of swimmers and sprinters, it is a far cry from spending half your day in the gym. Burst training (also called interval training) actually only requires about 15 minutes a day, 3 days a week. Even the busiest of people can surely find 15 minutes to get fit and lose some weight.
Ryan Lochte and I right after he broke the World Record in the 200 IM
There are three types of exercise:
Strength/Resistance Training
Cardio/Aerobic Training
Flexibility/Stability
Strength/Resistance Training
The primary hormone response invoked by strength and resistance training is elevated levels of Human Growth Hormone. This hormone is essential for fat mobilization. It also signals fat burning enzymes and aids in muscle mass development. HGH levels are raised most during sleep, in direct proportion to exercise intensity during your workout.
Strength training will improve your glucose tolerance and increase insulin receptor sensitivity. This will help your body become a fat burner, rather than a sugar burner. This type of exercise also creates a bigger metabolic after burn than aerobic training, while also increasing fat free muscle, bone density and metabolism.
Peter Vanderkaay. What a great guy! 2 time Olympic Gold Medalist in Beijing.
Cardio/Aerobic Training
There are many benefits associate with cardio and aerobic training, but also many negatives. Cardio training will lower your resting heart rate, lower blood pressure, keep your brain young by increasing circulation to the brain and aids in detoxification by stimulating the lymphatic system.
But long distance cardio training decreases testosterone levels, decreases the immune system post exercise, and raises stress hormone levels (cortisol). Increased levels of cortisol stimulate the appetite, will increase fat storing and slow down or inhibit exercise recovery.
So how do we get the benefits without the negatives? Burst train to burn fat.
What is Burst Training?
Burst training involves exercising at 90%-100% of your maximum effort for 30-60 seconds in order to burn your body’s stored sugar (glycogen), followed by 30-60 seconds of low impact for recovery. This causes your body to burn fat for the next 36 hours to replace your body’s vital energy (glycogen) stores.
You only need to do 4-6 sets of 30-60 second bursts 3 times a week to see marked changes and improvements. More is not always better–make sure you have days of rest.
Tyler Clary. He is definitely one to watch in the near future.
Some examples of burst training workouts:
30-60 seconds of jumping jacks, followed by 30-60 seconds of squats
30-60 seconds of running in place with high knees, followed by 30-60 seconds of wall push-ups
30-60 seconds of sprinting, followed by 30-60 seconds of walking
This is the type of exercise I do every week. Patients in my clinic also come to free burst training classes because I know it will benefit their overall health so positively.
Action Steps:
Davis Tarwater and I. His lats were massive!
Get out your calendar and schedule your burst training times. All you need is 15 minutes 3 days a week.
Find a workout partner or someone who will hold you accountable for sticking to your plan.
Go buy some fast paced work out music if you have to–whatever will motivate you to get moving.
Follow my Healing Diet as well and you will be on your way to shedding pounds!
I’m a teacher at a large high school in Texas and at the beginning of the summer the cross country coach challenged some of the teachers to run each day of the summer along with the students. I have ran on average 3 to 4 miles a day so far throughout the summer. When does it begin to be considered long distance cardio? I’m not running to loose weight, because I am already a very petite girl, i’m running to get in better shape but I have noticed throughout my years of sports and exercising that I never loose weight exercising. I loose inches, but not pounds. Why is that?? I’ve always built muscle easily .. but surely I’m not building THAT much?
Doing cardio exercise over 5 minutes straight is when it become more endurance oriented. But over 40 minutes straight is when your body will start burning muscle for energy. You lose inches not pounds because you are putting on more muscle and burning more fat. Muscle weighs more than fat so thats the exchange taking place. So you actually probably are building that much.
I thought exercising was supposed to increase and better your mood? Does it only have a negative affect if it’s long distance running? Also, it takes me less than 25min to run my 3 miles … and then I usually just walk a mile, so I shouldn’t be at risk for my body burning my muscle for energy, right?
Exercising does release endorphins and thereby improve mood. However, the best way to do that is through burst or interval training. It’s training like a Track athlete rather than a marathon runner. Staying under 40 minutes does help spare more muscular tissue, but if you wanted to build more muscle and be built like a sprinter you would want to do burst training.
Thanks for the info Dr. Axe, great stuff. I’ve been burst training for a few weeks now and I really see the difference. My question is why it is counterproductive to do it more than a few times per week? Why not every day? I understand that when you burn up your glycogen your body goes into survival mode and starts burning fat to replenish the glycogen, but how does this fat-burning process last so long? I would figure that the very next meal after burst training, your body would say “Oh, I have food to work with and now i can just use these carbohydrates to restore the glycogen instead of trying to burn fat. (??) Thus doesn’t your glycogen get replenished after your next meal? Sorry for all the questions..I’m excited that the burst training is working but I was just curious about how it works? Thanks!
Sam, you could do burst training almost every day–you just need to make sure you have at least one day of rest in there. You will definitely get great benefits from doing it 3/week though. That seems to work better with many people’s schedules realistically. But if you can commit to every day–go for it!
Hi Dr. Josh, I’m 45, 6’1″ 295lbs and in good internal health. I heard about burst training several days ago & I thought I’d try it out. I’ve dieted & have done standard cardio & circuit training the last 16 years & has worked the 3 times I’ve been overweight (50lbs+). Those three times I’ve lost 60lbs on average, but now I find it harder to lose weight. Now my knees are not as strong (guess from being overweight & aged, but no injuries). I’d like some other alternatives on exercise routines other than the listed ones on your blog that would be easy on my knees, er low-impact yet high intensity. Thanks So Much!!
My husband I have taken the bursting concept onto the “rebounder” (mini-trampoline)……bursting hard for one minute and then alternating with resistance bands, sit-ups and pushups for a total of 4-6 “sets”. He has dropped at least 20 pounds, and I swear that anyone that does this will never have a “gut”. The high knee running in place can’t help but whittle away at the waistline. We never feel an ache or pain in the joints, and feel like athletes! We could not run with that intensity on the ground……
try it, you won’t be disapointed! Needak is our rebounder of choice.
So this is like plyometrics right? Question: a set…what qualifies as a full “set”?
I am in pretty good shape right now. I’m not overweight, very muscular, have great endurance, and am a professional competitive dancer. I know that I need cardio along with my resistance training to stay lean, but I get bored on cardio machines so it is hard to stay motivated to do it and stick with it. Would you say that the intensity level and length of workout of the burst training is enough for someone like me?
Hi Merrida,
Your level of intensity is very important. With burst training, you are typically going at 90-100% your max effort for the short period of time. If you’re already dancing competitively, then it shouldn’t take a whole of burst training and weights on top of what you’re doing. I typically do 40 minutes of exercise 3x a week. 20 minutes of each session is weights and the last 20 minutes is burst.