Getting fit is a long game. But hours running or months dieting can be a slog. What if you could take small, strong doses of each? That is where High-Impact Interval Training (HIIT) and Intermittent Fasting (IF) come in: quicker hacks to get your body stronger, slimmer, and healthier. And, they work better!
HIIT
Rather than long bouts of heart-strengthening, fat burning jogging, how about getting it all done quickly with HIIT? There is some debate as to the pros and cons of HIIT (High Impact Interval Training). This article summarizes it nicely. For me, I’ve always hated running since high school with a white-hot passion. It feels like torture to me. Your mileage, literally, may vary. The basic idea is quick stretches of intense work, spaced-out with “active recovery.” Still moving but cooling down.
But I’ve always been fond of the idea of the Italian Tune-up. The (slightly racist) joke is that if you take your high-performance European engine out to empty roads and run it at maximum speed and revs, it will clean-up the accumulated gunk and run better. As it turns out, the metaphor may not be too far off for the body. The basic principle of sports physiology is SAID – Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands. That is, you get what you ask for from your body.
Low-speed long-distance walking or jogging mainly taps-in to your slow-burning fat reserves, which is good. As you increase demand, more glycogen (carbohydrates stored in your muscle and liver) gets used. Being an unreformed Star Trek geek, I think of them as impulse and warp drive, respectively. The thing is, you don’t stop burning fat as you run, you burn even more along with the warp-drive carbs.
For Me, It’s a No-Brainer: HIIT Wins
Before you begin HIIT Training, you should do what’s called Establishing an Aerobic Base. That means, you have to teach your muscles, lungs and heart that you’re going to be asking more of them. You don’t need any special gear, just walk. Walking briskly (not meandering or sauntering) gives you about 50% of the benefits of jogging, and 1/20th the risk of injury. If you don’t get much exercise, start with just a brisk 20 minute walk, right out your front door.
Walk like you are late for something. Push yourself a little. Go 10 minutes in any direction, then turn around and go back. It’s that easy. Do this 3 times a week, then work up to 4 or 5 times a week. Up your time to 30-40 minutes. Your heart starts pumping more each beat, and your muscles get more efficient at using oxygen. Do this for a couple or 3 weeks and some things will happen: it gets easier, you’ll have more energy and you’ll get bored with it. You’ve established your aerobic base.
Now the HIIT Fun Begins
Walk for 5-10 minutes to get ready, then find a hill. Jog (yes jog) up the hill for about 30-60 seconds, then when you’re out of breath, walk back down. It should take you about 3 minutes while you gasp for air. Back up the hill jogging, then walk back down 2-3 more times. In fifteen minutes you’ve gotten the benefits of at least a one hour brisk walk! Do this 2-3 times a week (less if you are also doing strength training). Thats it! Revving your heart up and down like this has huge benefits to your health.
It will be rough while your body adapts, but adapt it will. It will get easier, and you will feel more awake and alive. Soon you might find yourself running up the hill, and jogging back down. Beats the heck out of a long drawn-out run for me. You will increase your body’s ability to use oxygen (measured as VO2 max) which is, according to science, correlated with an overall decrease in death. Small price to pay for living longer and healthier! It also improves a number of other health markers, and cognitive function and mood also! And, I cannot emphasize enough, involves less running!
Intermittent Fasting
Long term calorie reduction, whether it’s eliminating carbohydrates (Keto) or whatever doesn’t work. Why? Because when your body detects a calorie reduction from what it has gotten used to, it does two things: crank-up the hunger hormones so you crave food, and then it dials-back your metabolism just in case there is a famine coming. Your basic metabolism is about 2/3rds of the calories you burn every day. I’ve written about this before. Your body does this regardless of whether or not you’re getting too many calories. It doesn’t know better. It’s the ultimate hoarder.
In order to beat this system, you have to be fast! (See what I did there?) Intermittently fast. Our bodies pretty much ignore missing a meal or two, or even days without eating. It uses the time to start digesting junk that’s been laying around. (True story — it’s called autophagy). So yes, the best way to reduce caloric intake is, surprise! Just don’t eat. Not eating is actually easier than eating just a little, as this amazing video from “What I’ve Learned” explains:
Flavors of No Flavors
Intermittent fasting as it’s practiced, comes several numeric short-hands: 16/8 is also called using a “feeding window” of 8 hours, and taking no food during 16 hours. That gives your blood insulin level time to drop so that your body can use fat for fuel. Your pancreas pumps out insulin every time you eat, and goes into overdrive when you eat sugary or starchy foods. When insulin is around, fat stays locked up. Since 8 of those 16 hours are in bed (or should be) its pretty easy to only eat, say, from 11am to 7pm. Just skip “the most important meal of the day” (insert eye-roll emoji.) Congratulations, you’ve just cut 25-30% of your caloric intake with hardly any downsides.
Better yet is the 5/2. Pick two days a week, and just don’t eat. Water, black tea or coffee. Maybe a multivitamin, and a bit of salt (part of hunger is craving salt). A full 24 hours really gives your body time to re-arrange. You’ll get hungry during your usual meal times, but just wait it out an it goes away. Congrats, you’ve just cut your caloric intake by 40%, and your body didn’t have time to lower your metabolism. As a matter of fact, the body thinks you need energy to go find food, so your metabolism and growth hormones crank up a bit for your hunting and gathering.
Getting Real About Weight Loss
The grandaddy of intermittent fasting is ADF, or alternate day fasting. Just skip eating every other day. The most inspirational video I’ve seen for this method is Rachel Sharp. She’s not selling anything, just talking about how nothing else worked for losing weight for her, until she did ADF. BTW, someone reading this might be horrified, thinking this is extreme or unhealthy. Quite the opposite. Humans a clearly not designed for a continual intake of food, and the it’s making us sick and fat. Having said that, you shouldn’t fast if you are pregnant or breast-feeding, or have a history of severe eating disorders. I’m not a doctor, as I say in my disclaimer.
I must add for your reading pleasure, “Top Ten Fasting Myths Debunked” on the LeanGains blog by the absolute King, Martin Berkhan. It makes sense, doesn’t it? Most of our evolution was spent somewhat food-insecure. At the mercy of Nature, it was never certain where your next meal would come from. So our bodies are well adapted to missing meals — or days — without food. What we are NOT adapted for is a continual stream of tasty non-nutritious food, high insulin levels and low activity.
Crunch Your Movement and Dieting Time
There you have it! Two ways of getting big healthy hits in less time. I don’t want to hear, “But I don’t have time to get healthy!” You have time for a shower every day, so you have time to walk, then trot up a hill a few times. “But I don’t want to count my calories.” Then just count to zero a few hours or better yet, days per week. You can count to zero, can’t you?
It’s hard to stick to changes like this without someone in your corner cheering you on. Let’s talk. Book a FREE Discovery Consult to explore what is possible in your transformation.
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