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Touchline • Issue 15 • 13
Marines get ready to take off running after
getting in the plank position during a high-
intensity workout. The high-intensity circuit-
training keeps the heart rate elevated which
speeds up the metabolism.
TIPS FOR FAT BUSTING
and take breaks no longer than 45 seconds. This
makes the exercise anaerobic, meaning that you
are relying on twitch power from your muscles
rather than increased levels of oxygen in your
bloodstream to get the effect.
It didn’t take long for the cardio nerds to strike
back, though. Recent studies seem to say that
resistance is not blasting fat the way muscle
men would hope. Sports science researcher Cris
Slentz at Duke University in North Carolina, USA,
said: ‘Resistance training is great for improving
strength and increasing lean body mass. But
aerobic exercise is better for losing belly fat
because it burns more calories.’
It would seem that cardio is back to being your
best weapon in the fight against that muffin top.
But before you lace on your brand new runners for
a 10km run, you’d better take a seat.
High Intensity Interval Training, better known to
its friends as HIIT, has pulled ahead of the pack as
the Number One method for making you beach-
ready. Studies are showing that you can get better
results using short bursts of high intensity than
you can with longer, low intensity efforts.
The reasons for this are uncertain, but the results
suggest this is the way to go. In one study by
the University of NSW, subjects undertook three
20-minute sessions of HIIT per week. The study
found that participants lost two kilograms of fat
per week and gained 1.1kg of muscle mass. That
is without changing their diet. Similar losses and
gains would require up to seven hours of low
intensity exercise like jogging in order to yield
the same results.
‘’We don’t know why, but moving limbs very fast
generates high levels of catecholamine,’’ Dr. Steve
Boutcher, head of the project, said. Catecholamine
is a hormone which increases the release of fat.
The consensus really comes down to balance.
Ideally, you should mix your resistance training
with some interval training. That way you are
ahead of the scientific community, ready for the
next study that comes out and contradicts what
came before.
Don’t drink your calories. Drinks that have calories
don’t fill you up, but they do add to your daily intake.
Stick to water. Drink plenty of it, especially if you are
going high protein in your diet.
Eat more protein, and avoid refined grains.
Start your exercise regime gradually. Don’t bite off
more than you can chew: this is the best way to shrivel
your enthusiasm. Set clear, incremental goals.
Balance your exercise routines between resistance,
high intensity and low intensity. Your body needs it
all.
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