
pork belly wrapped venison leg, mustard spaetzle, brussels, ginger bread & red wine reduction
pork belly wrapped venison leg, mustard spaetzle, brussels, ginger bread & red wine reduction
Do sprint interval training to lose fat fast and improve conditioning. Research shows that sprint interval training is the best conditioning method for fat loss, but you have to use a precise interval program in order to get results—haphazardly making up intervals is not the best way to go.
Body composition wasn’t measured, but there was no change in muscle pump activity, indicating that although the program improved performance and health, it wasn’t metabolically taxing enough to produce significant fat loss or muscle development.
In comparison, a 20-minute sprint interval program that used 60 intervals of all-out 8-second sprints followed by 12 seconds recovery on a ergometer cycle resulted in 2 kg fat loss and 1 kg muscle development in untrained men. The same program produced 2.5 kg fat loss in women. Note that the difference between this program and the 30-20-10 method is that for each minute trained, trainees sprint all out for a total of 24 seconds, compared to only 10 seconds with 30-20-10. The greater time spent working at maximal intensity is the difference in metabolic stress for fat loss.
For trained individuals or athletes, more demanding programs may be necessary. Studies suggest longer all-out intervals will elevate growth hormone to produce fat burning.
For instance a very demanding 1 to 1 interval-to-rest program has produced significant fat loss and performance enhancement in trained athletes. This program used four 4-minute intervals with a 30-second sprint and 30-second jogging recovery.
Another model that allowed participants to lose 9 times more body fat than a steady-state aerobic program used 10 sprints of 15 seconds each increasing to 15 sprints of 30 seconds each as trainees began to adapt. The recovery period was based on heart rate—once it returned to 120 beats per minute the next interval was performed.
A third model that produced a significant 2 kg loss of body fat in trained runners included two interval protocols alternated for four sprint sessions a week: Ten intervals of 30-second all-out sprints with 90-seconds active rest and 6 intervals of 2-mintue maximal intensity sprints followed by 90 second active rest. The maximal intensity sprints were performed at the maximal running speed achieved during a treadmill stage test to exhaustion, so they weren’t at the maximal speed that the trainees could run.
The take away is that you must program interval training to reach your goal and if that goal is fat loss, near maximal intensity sprints in the 30 second range to produce lactate buildup are ideal. Rest periods should be active rather than passive, and 1 to 2 or 1 to 3 work-to-rest intervals have proven effective for eliciting a growth hormone response for fat loss.