What if I told you all those hours of cardio in hopes of getting a dream body were counter-productive?
What if the more miles you put in every week, the more cortisol you produced, and the more your results slowed?
What if the more miles you put in, the more muscle you lost?
What if I could show you a more efficient type of cardio, that could build muscle, up-regulate beneficial hormones, and squash fat?
High intensity training. Is this a new buzz phrase? Or does it actually work? And what the heck is it?
High intensity training is much more efficient then what many people tend to call exercise in the gym (I call it watching T.V.)
But it’s not for you if you’re not willing to get out of your comfort zone.
It’s not for you if you’re not willing to put in a lot of effort, and get impressive results.
It’s definitely not for you if you like going to the gym to turn on the television and watch fake news that induces cortisol, and talk to people when you should really be putting on headphones and working on yourself.
I am all for being into politics, but not from mainstream crap, and definitely not at the gym. And Im all for having a social life, but once again, not at the gym. (BTW that was a mixed-rant, partially against BS news, and partially against laziness)
In my book, high intensity training involves working your ass off for a period of time followed by short rest. In that short cycle you put loads of effort in, effectively and strategically, and also reap a large reward. Eventually.
That might mean you sprint for 30 seconds, rest for a minute, and then repeat that cycle 8 times.
That might mean you compile a workout full of muscle-fiber-activating exercises (what exercise doesn’t activate muscle fiber) such as front squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, push-ups, burpees, lunges, snatches, cleans, push-presses, rows, and cycle them with rest.
The general idea is that you’re going to put in work, rest, and repeat. You do this in the timeframe of anywhere from 15 minutes to an 45 minutes (some maybe less, for some, maybe more), and you’re done.
So what does that (HIT) do and why is it better than 90 minutes of cardio?
The general consensus is that you’re going to build more muscle, feel-better, respond better mentally, physically, hormonally, get WTF -looks from people, and ask yourself why you didn’t discover high intensity exercise a while ago.
The general consensus is also that if you’re not getting results, there’s always something you can do. Some people who read this post already Crossfit and do other types of intense exercise, but realize, at one point you didn’t.
What do I mean?
At one point you knew absolutely nothing but curls, bench press, and protein. Then you started READING, studying, and listening. And eventually you worked yourself up to curls, bench press, rows, squats, and protein.
If this isn’t new content for you, then get out there and find some new content. The only reason I consider myself knowledgeable in the health field is because when I read an article or piece of material, I go and read other experts view on that exact same issue.
Then I use my brain to draw a conclusion, and apply it to my own life. And I force myself to continually learn new things. And if you change your stance on an issue, that’s good! If you’re not constantly changing, you’re probably not learning.
There are some pieces of knowledge that are forever-consistent, but there’s also a lot of information out there, and I guarantee whether it be a novice like me, or an expert like Paul Chek or Charles Poliquin, we still have a lot to learn.
I’m getting an urge to tell you that advice applies to other issues.
