Smart Exercise Rx: Workout Less & Lose More Fat

Do you want to lose weight, drop body fat, preserve lean tissue, increase lean muscle mass, optimize hormones and raise human growth hormone in less time? Who doesn’t! In order to do so, your workouts must be smarter, efficient and effective. All too often, men and women alike resort to the “eat less, exercise more” mentality or opt for long, slow distance (LSD), steady state cardio as their preferred exercise of choice.

In my books, The Power of 4 and Fat Loss Revolution, I explain why excessive LSD may not be the best exercise of choice IF….

you’re limited on time
your goal is losing body fat, getting leaner and stronger
you wish to optimize and balance hormones
you want to keep inflammation at bay
you want to decelerate the aging process
your adrenals are fried
you want to look your best and feel better than ever

LSD exercise (when done excessively or as your only mode of activity) increases inflammation, elevates cortisol, creates excess belly fat, causes hormonal imbalances, accelerates aging, and can increase risk of heart damage.

LSD activity such as long distance jogging involves the aerobic energy system (type I muscle fibers) only, and neglects the anaerobic energy system (type IIA and IIB muscle fibers). When you use type IIA and type IIB muscle fibers, high amounts of exercise-induced GH is released.

Intensity trumps duration IF your goal is to change your body composition, spend less time and keep inflammation at bay. The exercise Rx of choice to achieve these results is an intelligently-designed strength training program and interval training, balanced with parasympathetic activities such as leisure walking, yoga, Qi gong, gardening or tai chi.

A study in the journal, Metabolism monitored two groups of people with the purpose of seeing how different exercise programs would affect metabolism and body fat. One group did steady state aerobic training for 20 weeks; the other group did interval training for 15 weeks. Although results showed that the aerobic group burned 48% more calories vs. the interval group, aside from the calories the interval group had 9 times greater subcutaneous (fat under the skin) fat loss!

Sarcopenia (muscle loss) is a normal part of the aging process and our ability to lose body fat can be more challenging as we age. Muscle is your metabolically active, fat-burning tissue. In order to increase the thermic effect for permanent fat loss to happen through exercise, you must increase and preserve muscle mass.

Reduce body fat, raise human growth hormone, optimize and increase muscle in just eight weeks with this Smart Workout.

Workout SMARTER…..not longer! The traditional approach of “more is better” and long hours in the gym is completely passé and results in a metabolic, inflammatory and hormonal disaster.

Pre-Workout Nutrition: 40-60 minutes before your workout, consume a protein-rich meal or 30-40 grams of protein powder and 10-20 grams of BCAA powder.

Dynamic Warm up. Warming up is crucial. Don’t neglect this important component. Perform at least 5 to 10 minutes of a dynamic warm up specific for sprinting – Leg swings (front and side), lunge walk with rotation, hip circles, side lunges, shoulder circles, leg cradles, dynamic calf bounces, butt kicks, 60% build up sprint.

The Workout. Choose your preferred method – cycling, running, stairs or stadiums, or perhaps an elliptical, jump rope or rowing machine. My favorite is sprinting at the local high school track or hill sprints. If you’ve been sedentary for years and just starting out, power walking or a spin bike will be better options. The exercise must involve large muscle groups (legs and glutes).

Intensity, Duration & Sets.

Option 1: Perform eight total sets of 30-seconds at your highest intensity pace (i.e. sprint), followed by 90-second recovery (i.e. leisure walking).
Option 2: Perform 10 sets of 60-second efforts at ∼90% of maximal heart rate with 60-seconds recovery.

Listen to your body. If you’re new to this type of workout, 2-3 sets may be plenty, and if you can do more than 8 sets of option #1 or 10 sets of option #2, you are not doing them with all out effort! Basically, you’re slackin!

Frequency. 2 to 3 times per week maximum on non-consecutive days

Cool Down. Static stretching or Self-myofascial Release using the Foam Roller

Post-Workout Nutrition: No workout is complete without post-exercise nutrition. Enhance the benefits of growth hormone after your workout by consuming a minimum of 25 grams of protein. Realize that processed sugary drinks are not optimal and will diminish growth hormone.

My recommended and favorite post workout nutrition consists of:

* 35 grams protein powder * 1 scoop Greens powder

* 10 grams BCAA powder * 12-16 ounces coconut water

* 10 grams L-glutamine Powder * Ice

What Works About This Program? Exercise induced growth hormone circulates in the body for up to 2 hours afterwards. In just 8 weeks, at a frequency of only 3 times per week, you can expect these profound changes:

Increases in:		Decreases in
* Human Growth Hormone	* Metabolism	* Body Fat
* Cardiovascular Health	* Fat Burning	* Adipose Fat
* Muscle Strength & Growth	* Oxygen Utilization	* Inflammation
* Tissue Repair	* Calcium Retention	* Cortisol and Insulin
* HDL cholesterol	* Mineralization of Bone	* Triglycerides & LDL Cholesterol

Remember…..to optimize fat burning, protein synthesis and muscle building benefits by consuming at least 25 grams of protein and BCAAs following your workout.

This program is motivating. You’ll experience increased levels of energy, greater fat loss and so much more! For more interval programs and an intelligently designed 12-week strength training program, see Chapter 11 – Fat Loss Revolution.

Thank you! Make it a Happy, Healthy Day! Red heart

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