Beverly International Nutrition

Burning Fat...
Why Bodybuilding is Superior than aerobics

Smart bodybuilders are using intervals these days (anaerobics) to burn the maximum amount of fat they can ...
Beverly International Nutrition

By Tony Poggiali CSCS
Body Muscle Journal Volume 3

For almost everyone these days (well, at least all our intelligent BodyMuscle readers), burning stored body fat is a high priority. While aerobic training has largely remained unopposed for its ability to increase coronary circulation and to burn both blood born and stored body fat as fuel, it's time to revisit a "new" player in the quest to achieve physique perfection and to lose fat----and that is anaerobic training.

For simplicity, aerobic will be defined as using oxygen for energy, while anaerobic (in the absence of oxygen) will refer to using chemicals (ATP and CP) and sugars (glucose) for energy. This is important, as we will refer to these substrates often.

At any given time, during any given activity, there is a mix of fats and sugars being used for energy. At one extreme (sleeping and at total rest in the day) the vast majority of energy to carry out routine metabolic processes is derived from fat.

At the other extreme (sprinting 50 yards, or going for a two-rep max) almost all the energy is from blood sugar and intra-muscular chemicals. Therefore, it would seem logical to extrapolate the theory that low intensity activities would be ideal for fat burning. Or would it?
[ Energy Reserve ]    [ Lean Out ]
The large doses of L-Carnitine in Energy Reserve and Lean Out help oxidize fat by making more fat available as energy to working muscles. These supplements also ensure that a higher percentage of fat is used to fuel metabolic after-burn (EPOC). The end result - more lean muscle and less fat!

Intensity

During a low intensity (i.e. 50-60% of HR max), long duration exercise, a large percentage of energy is coming from the mobilization of stored adipose tissue, in other words, you are burning more fats than sugars. And… you would want to do this type of exercise without having eaten a load of carbohydrates within 2-3 hours prior to it.

During a high intensity (i.e. 85-90% of HR max), short duration event, the majority of energy is achieved via phosphates (ATP) and anaerobic glycolysis, or the utilization of chemicals and sugars for energy. Because of the high intensity and short duration, oxygen plays a very small role in energy production.

But --- here's where it gets interesting…..While aerobic exercise burns a higher percentage of calories from fat, and anaerobic exercise burns a higher percentage of calories from sugars, it is the latter that ends up burning more fat in the long run!
Yes, anaerobic activities are the preferred methods of fat burning.

Scenario #1: Joe walks on a treadmill for 40 minutes at a low intensity (about 3.5 MPH). He uses about 3/4 of his calories from fats and 1/4 from sugars over the whole 40 minutes. Scenario #2: Suzy runs sprints on an oval track, alternating between running 100 yards and walking 100 yards. She does this for 15 minutes. She uses almost all her energy from stored glycogen and the rest from chemicals and blood sugars.

Suzy would burn the most calories from fat, not while she is exercising, but over a 24-hour period! This is because the absolute number of calories burned is much higher for Suzy than for Joe and Suzie has a much greater deficit of calories due to a higher metabolic after-burn from the form of exercise.

Although Joe burned some calories while on the treadmill, his intensity was too low to stoke his metabolism for the rest of the day. So, in essence, when his exercise stopped, so did his fat burning; while some hours later, Suzy is still feeling the effects of her sprints via a higher metabolic rate and increased thermogenesis. And, with the type of exercise that Susie does -- she will add lean tissue to her glutes, quads, calves, low back and hamstrings. Because muscle has a higher metabolic requirement, she will start burning more calories at rest just to help sustain this newly added muscle over a 24-hour period.

Anthony Busacco at age 22
Anthony Busacco's off-season cardio includes extreme Mountain Biking where his heart rate sometimes exceeds 95% of his calculated max for a minute or more before coasting/resting down the next hill.

To quickly recap:

Here is a perfect real world analogy -- Compare the physiques of a sprinter and a long-distance runner. While the runner is lean, it is the sprinter who is shredded. It is the sprinter who has the lowest body fat percentage. It is the sprinter who trains with short bursts and short durations. In other words, it is through anaerobic mechanisms that the sprinter has attained his physique.

While I am not advocating a total switch to sprinting as a means to reducing body fat, I do suggest that you explore this area. If nothing else, you can alternate between traditional aerobic activities and anaerobic activities. The box below has a few examples of anaerobic protocols.
The above are just a few suggestions but there are many creative ways to make this work. Here are some basic reminders:
      Keep the intensity high while working... >85 percent of your heart rate theoretical maximum. (220 minus your age x 85%). A heart rate monitor is ideal for calculation
  1. Keep the duration short….no more than 20 minutes. This is extremely taxing and can contribute to systemic overtraining if done improperly. Include a warm-up and cool-down
  2. Perform two or three times/week at most
  3. Alternate with lower intensity workouts as warranted
  4. Use a progressive model --- use common sense! Don't be fooled by the short duration of this approach--this is very hard! Use rest days to rest! No additional cardio!
  5. You will notice that many of the above examples in the box are not continuous. High intensity work cannot be sustained for very long due to pH fluctuations in the blood (also known as the accretion of lactic acid). Therefore, much of what you will be attempting to do will be in an interval fashion
  6. Finally, to avoid injury, you must start at the lower end of everything--frequency, duration and intensity. For example, if you start running 100-yard sprints with no experience running short distances, you may pull a muscle and/or will be sorer than after any leg workout you have ever done!

Calculate Your 85 % High Intensity Rate

Enter your age then press the Calculate button:

Your Maximum heart rate is:

Your Minimum training heart rate is:

Your High Intensity 85 % heart rate is:

You can manipulate several variables to ensure success. A quick sample routine follows:

 

Frequency

Intensity (HR percentages will be determined by speed of work interval and length of rest interval)

Duration (not including warm-up and cool-down)

Week 1

1/week

4 intervals @ 80% HR max

5 minutes

Week 2

1/week

6 int. @ 80%

8 minutes

Week 3

2/week

6 int. @ 80%

8 minutes/day

Week 4

2/week

6 int. @ 80%

8 minutes/day

Week 5

2/week

8 int. @ 80%

12 minutes/day

Week 6

2/week

8 int. @ 80%

12 minutes/day

Week 7

2/week

10 int. @ 85%

15 minutes/day

Week 8

2/week

10 int. @ 85%

15 minutes/day

Adam Lyons interval cardio
Talk about starting early! 22 year old Adam Lyons won the overall NPC Junior USA title in just his 3rd contest. Cardio of choice - 20 minutes of intervals on the stepper supplementing Energy Reserve 2 with each meal and Lean Out 30 minutes before his session

           [ Energy Reserve ]    [ Lean Out ]

Finally, here's a progressive 12-week sprint-conditioning program. Use the workout below one or two days per week. A third day may be spent on one of the other anaerobic protocols listed above or on a less intense aerobic activity.

Intervals      Rest Interval
Week 1:
4 x 50 meters Walk 50 meters
1 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters
4 x 50 meters Walk 50 meters

Week 2:
3 x 50 meters Walk 50 meters
3 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters
3 x 50 meters Walk 50 meters

Week 3:
4 x 50 meters Walk 50 meters
1 x 200 meters Walk 200 meters
2 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters
4 x 100 meters Walk 50 meters

Week 4:
4 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters
1 x 200 meters Walk 200 meters
2 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters

Week 5:
2 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters
2 x 200 meters Walk 200 meters
2 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters

Week 6:
4 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters
2 x 200 meters Walk 200 meters
2 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters

Week 7:
2 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters
1 x 200 meters Walk 100 meters
1 x 300 meters Walk 100 meters
4 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters
**Note shortened rest interval on 200 and 300.

Week 8:
3 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters
2 x 200 meters Walk 100 meters
2 x 300 meters Walk 100 meters
1 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters

Week 9:
3 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters
2 x 200 meters Walk 100 meters
2 x 300 meters Walk 100 meters
2 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters

Week 10:
2 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters
2 x 300 meters Walk 100 meters
3 x 200 meters Walk 100 meters
2 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters

Week 11:
2 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters
2 x 300 meters Walk 100 meters
2 x 200 meters Walk 100 meters
3 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters

Week 12:
1 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters
2 x 200 meters Walk 100 meters
3 x 300 meters Walk 100 meters
2 x 100 meters Walk 100 meters

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