The Truth About Interval Training
Is it the way to go for fat loss?
I just finished teaching a five-week course called Better Body University with my friend and personal trainer Scott Colby. It was a huge success, with nearly all the participants dumping a ton of fat and building muscle at the same time.
The course centered around interval training, bodyweight exercise, an inventive diet on my part, and motivation principles.
Now for the confusing part: was the exercise or the diet responsible for the fat loss? Obviously one answer is “both” — and that is the correct answer. But which was more responsible?
Nutrition is king; exercise is queen. Jack LaLanne has it backwards. The diet must be in place for interval training and bodyweight exercise to even make a dent in bodyfat stores.
The protocol Scott used was the Tabata protocol, which has been extended into being defined as interval training. Interval training and the Tabata protocol are cousins of one another, but not as close as one may imagine.
Tabata was the researcher who discovered that very short duration, intense cardio work (between four and nine minutes) was more effective at fat loss and conditioning than long duration, steady state cardio work (i.e. traditional brisk walking, jogging, biking, or what-have-you.) The study we see the most often cites a “nine times greater fat loss” in the Tabata subjects than the duration subjects. Conditioning variables also improved more dramatically in the Tabata group.
Sounds like a no-brainer, doesn’t it? Well…it isn’t.
First, as my friend and superb fitness journalist Christian Finn reports:
Most studies of Tabata-style workouts measure changes in exercise performance, rather than weight loss. Even in the study that’s frequently cited to show that interval training is “9 times better” than traditional cardio for fat loss, neither group lost a significant amount of weight.
Christian is also savvy enough to point out that such a protocol takes it toll on you mentally as well. Always having to push to 90% or more is simply too draining on the mind. Once your mind checks out, even superior nutrition will not save your fat burning goals. You’re hooped.
Take another look at the last line of Christian’s quote: Neither groups lost a significant amount of weight. Why? Nutrition, my friend. Their diet was off the mark. Exercise will do very little by itself without the King of Nutrition to govern the show. Perhaps it was also the dread of pushing so hard all the time..but experience with these study groups lead me to believe it was nutrition. Rarely, if ever do exercise scientists get the nutrition bit right. They try the traditional “safe” diets, or no diet at all.
I’d love to see a study done with ultra low-carb/carb re-feed/intermittent fasting done, but until I can pay for it myself, it’s a pipe dream. So, if the results of my own test subjects (hardly scientific) come back positive, you’ll have to take their word for it. Then again, pictures speak volumes, now don’t they?
What Scott and Christian actually teach is a superior version of Tabata when it comes to fat burning — “traditional” interval training. This is where you hit bursts of higher intensity intervals within much longer bouts of lower intensity cardio. This is where the magic really happens.
The drawback? You are back to “longer” cardio sessions: 25-40 minutes. The benefit? You’ll burn more calories and get the conditioning benefits of the Tabata protocol.
Now, here’s my “monkey in the wrench that’s in the gears” take on all of this:
Tabata alone would burn fat on my low-carb fasting protocol. If you do your cardio fasting (merely first thing in the morning; you do not have to go to my extreme) using Tabata, I can almost guarantee some good results.
Good results. Not “superior” results. Superior in this case requires a longer session — but not that much longer. Twenty minutes would do the trick.
Five minutes at lower intensity (65-70% perceived exertion) followed by one minute of high intensity (85-90% perceived exertion) and repeat. That’s the lotto ticket to ultimate fat burning via cardio.
And that is really what interval training is all about.
[jB]
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This entry is tagged: fasting, fat loss, interval training
Comments (16)
mary said:
I can’t believe you used the terms “king” and “queen” in such a way. I’m surprised at such a sexist view. You infer that men (king) are superior to women (queen). Women have always been equal to men. It’s 2007, wake up. I think you could have found better terms to describe that nutrition is tops over exercise in the fight over losing bodyfat stores.
Posted on Aug 07, 2007 07:44 PM
Jon Benson said:
(snickering beyond control at the moment…)
Everyone, please laugh “with” Mary, not at her.
Mary, the reference was to a rather famous quote from Jack LaLanne. Considering I referenced the reference, I hardly feel sorry for you.
Please take up your rally cry for justice with him. The oppressed women of the world could use someone like you to take Jack out before he lives to 120.
A blow to the solar plexus shoud do the trick.
Geez…
Posted on Aug 07, 2007 07:53 PM
GM Mary said:
GS Jon, I don’t know who the “mary” who wrote that comment is, but I hope you knew it wasn’t your GM Mary — that post she wrote was not in my style —
but I’m sure you knew that GS Jon ..!!
Posted on Aug 07, 2007 09:09 PM
Mary said:
There is no reason for you to feel sorry for me. I did not like the use of the term then or now. And I voiced my opinion instead of sitting meekly by.
Posted on Aug 07, 2007 09:37 PM
Jon Benson said:
Oh, stop being such a queenie…
heh.
GM Mary, of course I know it wasn’t you… : )
Posted on Aug 07, 2007 09:50 PM
Kim Frazier said:
Jon:
How many days per week do you suggest 20 minutes of fasting cardio be done for “superior” results?
If it’s just a few days a week, that really doesn’t seem like much of a sacrifice in order to really rachet up the fat melting.
So, do we need to wait for the book to find out what the supplements are that you say are critical to the success of this way of eating? :)
Posted on Aug 08, 2007 07:34 AM
Steve said:
Jon:
I’m a 53 year old male who has a family history of obesity, hypertension and cholesterol issues. Although I do train for cosmetic reasons, as all of us do, I also train with an eye on avoiding some of my unfortunate heredity.
I’m 5’6” and weigh 158 right now with roughly 12% bodyfat. I have weighed nearly 200 pounds in my lifetime, so I do struggle with my weight. I have, in the past, tried cardio programs that are fashioned on the shorter/more intense model but, invariable have gained weight on these [yes, bodyfat, as my % has gone up in these instances]. Right now, what appears to work for me is a combination of the interval model and a longer, slower model. On the days I lift, I will do 3 separate bouts of hard 10 minute interval training around my lifting [eg: one to warm up, then chest, another then shoulders , another then triceps, all on an empty stomach] then, on my non-lifting days I do a straight hour ,at a lower intensity. I take one day per week off completely. I take measurements every so often and have my BF% analyzed to make sure that I am not losing significant leves of muscle tissue, and it appears that I am not.
Now, it seems to me that this could amount to overtraining, but is it possible that some of us mght actually need this sort of volume to actually lose or limit our bodyfat ?? Also, do you have any research in terms of the relative effect of the two protocols on BP and cholesterol levels ?
Thanks a lot.
Posted on Aug 08, 2007 01:55 PM
Mary said:
You’re funny. It’s unfortunate you feel the need to make fun of someone who disagrees with you.
Posted on Aug 08, 2007 04:21 PM
Jon Benson said:
When someone tells me to “wake up”, the gloves come off.
Lighten up a bit, will ya?
Posted on Aug 08, 2007 04:27 PM
Jon Benson said:
Steve;
Thank God for an actual “reply” to this thread.
Oh…sorry…you don’t think I’m a misogynist for using the term “God” do you? After all, He is supposedly a He.
(golly…I’m such a card…)
Okay, to respond:
Kudos to you for taking your health in your own hands. Training and nutrition can have a profound effect on hypertension and on slowing the process of atherosclerosis.
Your program is actually very inventive! I really admire your thinking here.
You are not overtraining unless your body shows definitive signs. Usually that begins with lethargy and apathy toward training. If that happens, back off a few days.
Re: research. First, I consider cholesterol harmless — it is the oxidation of LDL that is concerning. Get with your doctor (hopefully he or she is smart…oh, lookie, I said “he OR she” as I always do! Wow!…) and get the okay to combine 3-4 grams of fish oil or krill oil per day along with red yeast rice (if you are not on a statin.) Add in 200mg of CoQ10 per day.
Exercise does little when it comes to oxidation of cholesterol. That is almost entirely genetic. A lower-carb diet ‘appears’ to help according to some studies, but I would suggest leaning toward savvy supplementation. The training and nutrition will, however, work wonders for ‘most’ hypertension. The only time this is not the case is when the carbs are too high or you are overly stressed.
If your BP is not coming down, I would consider using daily meditation after your training sessions. 30 minutes of peace will really help.
Finally, consider supplementing with L-Theanine and L-Arginine. Theanine helps the body relax, and Arginine is a precursor to nitric oxide, which helps regulate blood pressure.
Again, get with your male OR female (or transgender…or mutant…or alien) doctor (in all seriousness) before making any changes to supplements, diet, etc.
Keep me posted!
Posted on Aug 08, 2007 04:39 PM
Jon Benson said:
Hi Kim;
I didn’t see your reply before my reply to Steve… : )
Every day. Sorry, but that’s for ‘max’ results. Six days minimum.
I will be blogging on the supplements throughout my peak. The book will detail everything, but the blog will cover ‘most’ of the details. The reason for the delay is simply me verifying results. I don’t want to give you info that is not accurate. ; )
Posted on Aug 08, 2007 04:42 PM
Steve said:
Hi, again, Jon—thanks for the reply. I have been using supplements for a while now—my dad was a Pharmacist and I have a very jaded view of Big pharma and what a lot of the consistently changing “normal” numbers actually mean, based on a lot of inside info he had after 35 years in the industry. I use Calcium, Magnesium, Hawthorne berries, L-Arginine and Vitamin D to try to help my diet and exercise control of BP along and Red Rice yeast, COQ10, Niacin and an asprin each day to adress my lipids and heart health in general. I have a physical coming up in a bout 2 weeks, so we’ll see how all of that has been working—or not. I would consider some mild BP medication if my readings were high despite everything I’m doing, since I know that there’s little doubt about the danger of that. But, like you, I see the total cholesterol number as pretty much irrelevant if my HDLs and LDLs are in a good strong ratio, which they usually are. The one family of drugs I will NEVER touch are the statins, no matter what. I saw what they did to my dad, who should have known better but took them anyhow and the muscle deterioration, nervous system deterioration and , yes, even memory loss that can manifest on those drugs are not for me. If not using them takes 10 years off my life exectancy, then, as Dennis Leary says, those are the 10 years when I will be cr@##ing into a bag, using a diaper and not recognizing my family, so they can keep those ten years, thanks very much;-)
Anyhow— I recently added something to my routine and want to know what you think. I am a martial artist from way back—started Judo lessons at 7 and competed into my 20s, wrestled in college and recently was training in MMA (mixed martial arts) at a local school. Yeah, I’m 53 and I should know better, and recovering from those workouts was really getting to exceed my recuparative abilities, so I stopped. But I do have a 275 pound heavy bag set up in my garage. I began incorporating rounds of striking the bag on my one-hour cardio days. I do a half hour on my ellipse trainer, then hit the heavy bag for 3 5 minute rounds with about 30 seconds rest in between and end with a very easy recovery 15 minutes, again on the ellipse. I had been going an hour straight on the machine, and it drove me nuts, so breaking it up this way really does help mentally. Plus, I really feel a strong aerobic/anaerobic burn when I strike that bag for 6 minutes straight without stopping.Any other info you have from personla experience or someone else you ight know in terms of the effectiveness of using the heavy bag ?
Thanks—any and all info from you is always very helpful.
Steve
Posted on Aug 13, 2007 11:40 AM
Steve said:
Just an update—seems like this diet/supplement/exercise thing really does work ;-)
I had my physical today.Now, mind you, around April I tried to give blood at my school blood drive and they wouldn’t allow me to because they clocked my BP at 160/100. Needless to say i got a bit upset at that, which was when I deceided to drop some weight and arrange my supplementation and eating around the goal of lowering that nmber. I went from 176 at the time down to 158 as of today. That, plus the supplement regimen I mentioned above seem to have done me some serious good, as my MD got me at 120/80 on the head today—EKG and all other things turned up fine as well. My bloodwork won’t be back for about 10 days, so when I get the old lipid profile, I’ll let you know how that is. I had a reading of 240 about a year ago, with HDL at 50 and LDL at 130, which is all borderline. We’ll see if everything I’ve done has had any effect on those numbers too—at least on the HDL/LDL ratio if not the total.
I’ve adapted the split routine you listed in another thread to accomodate the fact that I need to change things up, so I’l get back to you on how that goes as well.
Thanks for all the info and feedback—talk to you soon. I’m eagerly awaiting the new book !!!
Steve
Posted on Aug 23, 2007 04:03 PM
carlos alberto solorzano said:
hi dr jon how are you..jon benson is muscle,bikini blue sow,gay,homsexual,pig,hog,cow,cow,bastrd,pig,sadictic,assassin,medic assassin,bastard,dirt,bikini blue sow and whale big.jon is you inject injections steriods drugs horses and cows in bodya nd pecs
whit drugs femenines hormons.jon does he have muscles,pecs and tits bigs seem cow paride hog.jon benson is muscle,homosexualo,pig,hog,loathsom,edriveling,cow,sadictic,muscle assasin,sadictic,drugstic,gay,bikini blue sow,bikini blue disgust,pig,dirt,whale and pig.bye..cow jon..bye..carlos solorzano,valle verde,nueva esparta state.isla de margarita.`post 6301455 venezuela.phone cell:04141929357 ..584141929357 ..4141929357
Posted on Sep 27, 2008 06:51 PM
Jon Benson said:
You know, normal people would delete the strange ranting of Meeester Carlos… but not me. I’m just NOT F’N NORMAL MAN!!
Let’s have some fun with it, shall we? (Then I’ll block his ass… )
// hi dr jon how are you..//
Not a doctor. Did consider med school but I suck at biology. You can sorta suck at it and still be a nutritionist. Besides, I work longer hours than doctors and get paid less. It’s a dream!
// jon benson is muscle,bikini blue sow,gay,homsexual,pig,hog,cow,cow,bastrd,pig,sadictic,assassin,medic assassin,bastard,dirt,bikini blue sow and whale big. //
Wow Sybil, make up your mind. Am I “muscle” or “cow”? They’re somewhat mutually exclusive, unless you factor out the fat of the cow.
Let’s see… muscle. Yep. Bikini. Yep… on Jessica Alba with a side of lasagna. And I still have a massive crush (and more of a shot at getting) on the sultry Jennifer Aniston. Hey, look at her choices thus far. I’m a vast improvement.
But Jessica can come love me. Yeah.
“Blue sow.” Do they even come in blue? “Gay” etc. Er…. no. I’m TOO hetero for my own good. My friends can’t bring their daughters too close to my house without my testosterone flaring up. (Remember, they have kids in their 20s folks…; )
Bastard. No. My mom and dad were married 16 years when I became more than a twinkle.
Next, I think you’re trying to say “sadistic”. Other than writing a paper on the Marquis de Sade in college, I detest everything “sade”… that’s why I wrote the paper. So… no.
Medic. Heh. I’ll pass on the “take your temperature ma’am” jokes that are creeping into my straight wittle brain.
Assassin. I have been known to stalk gnats this time of year.
// jon is you inject injections steriods drugs horses and cows in bodya nd pecs whit drugs femenines hormons.jon does he have muscles,pecs and tits bigs … [ snip due to sub-room temperature IQ ranting… ] //
Yeah, but at least I can spell.
Let’s see…
No. No. No. And… no, although that may be interesting. Never leave the house and all. Umm…wish I did. My chest sucks. And… yeah. I like them just fine.
// jon..bye..carlos solorzano,valle verde,nueva esparta state.isla de margarita.`post 6301455 venezuela.phone cell:04141929357 ..584141929357 ..4141929357 //
Oh, DO come again Carlos.
And everyone with international plans… start dialing.
JB
Posted on Sep 27, 2008 09:06 PM
kookimebux said:
Hello. And Bye. :)
Posted on Feb 01, 2009 12:23 PM