Mundane training becomes more fun and challenging as you track your distances and times for each training run, and incorporate indoor and outdoor runs, sprints, and hills while also noticing your progress. When designing a training routine be sure to include resistance training, and especially core strength training to strengthen the entire body as opposed to focusing only on your legs. Since the running motion incorporates upper body, lower body, and core muscle groups taking a full body strength training approach is the best way to get maximum performance.

I found two studies that talked about strength training and running being used together in a training program. In the first study, it was found that explosive strength training improved the 5K time endurance athletes [1]. The second study indicated that endurance athletes could benefit from strength training if they were doing certain activities that required fast-twitch muscle fibers [2].

These studies were done on trained endurance athletes and indicated some positive correlations between strength training and running. Most athletes, beginners and advanced, should benefit from strength training as a cross-training activity to improve 5K time [1], although endurance runners who run 4-6 days per week may not see notable improvement in running performance for longer races [2].

If you have just signed up for one of your first races or you haven’t raced in a long time, you definitely want to start training runs at least 4 weeks before race day (for a 5K). If the race you’ve chosen is a longer than 5K, plan on training at least 8 weeks prior to the race.

You can design your own race training program with a simple calendar and a few ideas. As a beginner in moderate physical condition, running a 5K, you can run twice per week and strength train twice per week for the first four weeks. For the second four weeks, include 3 runs in your training regimen and strength train twice per week. If you are a more experienced runner, incorporating strength training workouts into your training could be the key to improved performance.

…

_______________________________________________________________

About Author

Jes Reynolds has a B.S. in Kinesiology, is a personal trainer, online fitness teacher, and local news contributor who is passionate about health, fitness, human performance, and making her clients suffer.

Stay in touch with Jes by subscribing to Jes Reynolds Fitness or contact Jes directly at: Jes@JesReynolds.com

_______________________________________________________________

References

1. Leena Paavolainen1, Keijo Häkkinen2, Ismo Hämäläinen1, Ari Nummela1, and Heikki Rusko Journal of Applied Physiology Vol. 86, Issue 5, 1527-1533, May 1999 Explosive-strength training improves 5-km running time by improving running economy and muscle power

2. R. C. Hickson, B. A. Dvorak, E. M. Gorostiaga, T. T. Kurowski, and C. FosterJ Appl Physiol, Nov 1988; 65: 2285 – 2290 Potential for strength and endurance training to amplify endurance performance

_______________________________________________________________

Just last week I spent a few days with UFC World Welterweight Champion, Georges St-Pierre, and his most excellent coaching team of Firas Zahabi, Jon Chaimberg, and Phil Nurse. And while some might say I was lucky enough to sit in on a sparring session and a conditioning session, my lungs might beg to differ.

One afternoon in particular, Jon, GSP’s strength coach, lead a group of us through one pretty intense workout.  Indeed, if you think you’re working your intervals hard, try this one on for size.

…

The Circuit
After a strength training session, finish off with the following circuit of exercises:

20 air squats
20 lunges each leg
20 jump squats
20 split jumps each leg
6 burpees

Note: You’re going to perform this circuit all the way through with no rest.  Then, at the end, take about 2 minutes to recover.  It won’t be enough.  But that’s all you get.  Next, repeat the entire thing a second time.

The Sprints
Gasping for air, head over to the treadmill.  Set the treadmill at an incline of 15% and a speed of between 6.0 mph and 7.0 mph, depending on your level of fitness.

Sprint for 20 seconds…then…Rest for 10 seconds

Note: you’re going to hop off the treadmill for the rest period and then back on for the next sprint.  Repeat this 8 total times for a grand total of 4 minutes of exercise.

The Cab
At the end of your sprints, cry, do everything you can not to vomit, call out for your mommy, call a cab, have someone drive you home.  You’re done.  And you’ll feel like it.

A Note From Mike Boyle

Interestingly, after getting a good lesson in interval training from Chaimberg, the very next day I received the following note from another world-class strength coach, Mike Boyle. (Geez, I’m hooked up, aren’t I?)

Mike’s note was all about interval training. Uh, not having done intervals in a while, I think the universe might be reaching out to me.  And here I was thinking I was in pretty good shape.  Now, thanks to Jon and Mike, I know there’s some work to do.

Check out what Mike had to say.

All About Intervals by Mike Boyle

I think every fat loss article we read espouses the value of interval training for fat loss. In fact the term HIIT ( for High Intensity Interval Training) is thrown around so much that many people just assume they know what it is. However among all the recommendations I see to perform HIIT, very few articles contain any practical information as to what to do or how to do it.

I have to confess that I stumbled into this area somewhat accidentally. Two different processes converged to make me understand that I might be a fat loss expert and not know it. In my normal process of professional reading I read both Alwyn Cosgrove’s Afterburn and Craig Ballantyne’s Turbo Training. What struck me immediately was that what these experts were recommending for fat loss looked remarkably like the programs we used for conditioning.

At the time I was reading these programs I was also training members of the US Women’s Olympic Ice Hockey team. It seemed all of the female athletes I worked with attempted to use steady state cardio work as a weight loss or weight maintenance vehicle. I was diametrically opposed to this idea as I felt that steady state cardiovascular work undermined the strength and power work we were doing in the weightroom. My policy became “intervals only” if you wanted to do extra work. I did not do this as a fat loss strategy but rather as a “slowness prevention” strategy. However, a funny thing happened. The female athletes that we prevented from doing steady state cardiovascular work also began to get remarkably leaner. I was not bright enough to put two and two together until I read the above-mentioned manuals and realized that I was doing exactly what the fat loss experts recommended. We were on a vigorous strength program and we were doing lots of intervals.

With that said, the focus of this article will be not why, as we have already heard the why over and over, but how.

How do I actually perform HIIT?

To begin we need to understand exactly what interval training is? In the simplest sense, interval training is nothing more than a method of exercise that uses alternating periods of work and rest. The complicated part of interval training may be figuring out how to use it.  How much work do I do? How hard should I do it? How long should I rest before I do it again?

Interval training has been around for decades. However, only recently have fitness enthusiasts around the world been awakened to the value. The recent popularity of interval training has even given it a new name in the literature. Interval training is often referred to as High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), and it is now the darling of the fat loss and conditioning worlds. Truth is, you can also do low intensity interval training. In fact most people should not start with HIIT but LIIT. HIIT may make you vomit if you don’t work into it.

Research Background

In case you have been in a cave for the last decade let’s quickly review some research. A recent study, done in Canada at McMaster University and often referenced as the Gibala Study after lead researcher Martin Gibala, compared 20 minutes of high intensity interval training, consisting of a 30 second sprint followed by a four minute rest, with 90 to 120 minutes in the target heart rate zone. The result was amazing. Subjects got the same improvement in oxygen utilization from both programs. What is more amazing is that the 20 minute program only requires about two minutes and 30 seconds of actual work.

A second study that has become known as the Tabata study again shows the extreme benefits of interval training. Tabata compared moderate intensity endurance training at about 70 percent of VO2 max to high intensity intervals done at 170 percent of VO2 max. Tabata used a unique protocol of 20 seconds work to 10 seconds rest done in seven to eight bouts. This was basically a series of 20 second intervals performed during a four minute span. Again, the results were nothing short of amazing. The 20/10 protocol improved the VO2 max and the anaerobic capabilities more than the steady state program.

Further evidence for the superiority of higher intensity work can be found in the September/October 2006 issue of the ACSM Journal. Dr. David Swain stated “running burns twice as many calories as walking.” This is great news for those who want to lose body fat. I am not a running advocate, but we can put to rest another high intensity (running) versus low intensity (walking) debate.

Do the math. Swain states that a 136 pound person walking will burn 50 cal/mile and proportionally more as the subject’s weight increases. In other words, a 163 pound person would weigh 20 percent more and, as a result, burn 20 percent more calories. This means that expenditure goes from 50 to 60 calories, also a 20 percent increase. Swain goes on to state that running at seven mph burns twice as many calories as walking at four mph. This means a runner would burn 100 calories in roughly eight and one half minutes or about 11 calories a minute. The walker at four miles per hour would burn 50 calories in 15 minutes (the time it would take to walk a mile at four MPH). That’s less than four calories per minute of exercise. Please understand that this is less a testament for running and more a testament for high intensity work versus low intensity work. More intensity equals greater expenditure per minute.

Interval Training Methods

There are two primary ways to performing interval training. The first is the conventional Work to Rest method. This is the tried and true method most people are familiar with. The Work to Rest method uses a set time interval for the work period and a set time interval for the rest period. Ratios are determined, and the athlete or client rests for generally one, two or three times the length of the work interval before repeating the next bout. The big drawback to the Work to Rest method is that time is arbitrary. We have no idea what is actually happening inside the body. We simply guess. In fact, for many years, we have always guessed as we had no other “measuring stick.”

Heart Rate Method

With the mass production of low cost heart rate monitors, we are no longer required to guess. The future of interval training lies with accurate, low cost heart rate monitors. We are no longer looking at time as a measure of recovery, as we formerly did in our rest to work ratios. We are now looking at physiology. What is important to understand is that heart rate and intensity are closely related. Although heart rate is not a direct and flawless measure of either intensity or recovery status, it is far better than simply choosing a time interval to rest. To use the heart rate method, simply choose an appropriate recovery heart rate. In our case, we use 60 percent of theoretical max heart rate. After a work interval of a predetermined time or distance is completed, the recovery is simply set by the time it takes to return to the recovery heart rate. When using HR response, the whole picture changes. Initial recovery in well conditioned athletes and clients is often rapid and shorter than initially thought. In fact, rest to work ratios may be less than 1-1 in the initial few intervals. An example of a sample workout using the heartrate method for a well-conditioned athlete or client is show below.

Interval 1 – Work 60 sec rest 45 sec
Interval 2 – Work 60 sec rest 60 sec
Interval 3 – Work 60 sec rest 75 sec
Interval 4 – Work 60 sec rest 90 sec

*In a conventional 2-1, time based program the rest period would have been too long for the first three intervals, rendering them potentially less effective. The reverse may be true in a de-conditioned athlete or client. I have seen young, de-conditioned athletes need rest up to eight times as long as the work interval. In fact, we have seen athletes who need two minutes rest after a 15 second interval. In the heartrate method the rest times gradually get longer. Th first interval is 1-.75 while the last interval is 1 to 1.5,

The Problem with Formulas

At least 70 percent of the population does not fit into our age-old theoretical formulas. The 220 minus age formula is flawed on two key points: it doesn’t fit a significant portion of the population, and it is not based on research. Even the developer of the now-famous formula admits that his thoughts were taken out of context. The more accurate method is called the Heart Rate Reserve Method or Karvonen formula.

Karvonen Formula
(Max HR- Resting HR) x %+ RHR= THR
Ex- (200-60) x.8 +60 = 172

The key to the Karvonen formula is that it looks at larger measures of fitness by incorporating the resting heart rate and is therefore less arbitrary. However, the two twenty minus age formula will suffice for establishing recovery hearrates.

Interval Training Basics

The longer the interval, the shorter the rest period as a percentage of the interval. In other words, short intervals have a high muscular demand and will require longer rests when viewed as a percentage of the interval. Fifteen second intervals will need at least a 2-1 rest to work ration. Three to one will work better for beginners.

Interval Rest Recommendations ( Work to Rest Based)
15 sec. Beginners at least 45 sec (3-1), more advanced 30 sec (2-1)
30 sec. Rest 1:00 to 1:30 (3-1 or 2-1)
1:00. Rest 1:00- 2:00 (2-1 or 1-1)

Just remember, as the intervals get longer, the recovery time, as it relates to the interval, may not need to be as long. In other words, a fifteen second sprint may require 30-45 seconds rest but a two minute interval may only need to be followed by a two minute rest.

Aerobic Intervals?

The biggest benefit of interval training is that you can get a tremendous aerobic workout without the boredom of long steady state bouts of exercises. In fact as the Gibala study demonstrated, you can get superior benefits for both fitness and fat loss by incorporating interval training. If the heart rate is maintained above the theoretical 60 percent threshold proposed for aerobic training, then the entire session is both aerobic and anaerobic. This is why my athletes do almost no “conventional” aerobic training. All of our aerobic work is a by-product of our anaerobic work. My athletes or clients can get their heart rate in the recommended aerobic range for 15 to 20 minutes, yet in some cases, they do only three to minutes minutes of actual work.

Modes of Interval Training

Although most people visualize interval training as a track and field concept, our preferred method of interval training is the stationary bike. Although I think running is the theoretical “best” mode of training, the facts are clear. Most Americans are not fit enough to run. In fact, statistics estimate that 60 percent of those who begin a running program will be injured. In a fitness or personal training setting, that is entirely unacceptable. Females, based on the genetics of the female body (wider hips, narrower knees) are at potentially even greater risk. Physical therapist Diane Lee says it best in her statement, “You can’t run to get fit. You need to be fit to run.”

Interval training can be done on any piece of equipment. However, the most expeditious choice in my opinion will be a dual action bike like the Schwinn AirDyne. The bike allows, in the words of performance enhancement expert Alwyn Cosgrove, “maximum metabolic disturbance with minimal muscular disruption.” In other words, you can work really hard and not injure yourself on a stationary bike.

Fit individuals can choose any mode they like. However, the bike is the best and safest choice. In my mind, the worst choice might be the elliptical trainers. Charles Staley, another noted training expert, has a concept I believe he calls the 180 Principle. Staley advocates doing exactly the opposite of what you see everyone else in the gym doing. I’m in agreement. Walking on a treadmill and using an elliptical trainer seem to be the two most popular modes of training in a gym. My conclusion, supported by Staley’s 180 Principle, is that neither is of much use.

Interval Training Modes in Detail

Running

• Maybe the most effective method but also most likely to cause injury.
• Shuttle runs ( running to a line and back repeatedly) have both high muscular demand (acceleration and deceleration) and high metabolic demand.
• Running is relative. Running straight ahead for 30 seconds is significantly easier than a 30 second shuttle.
• Shuttle runs produce more muscular discomfort due to the repeated acceleration and deceleration.
• Running for the average gym-goers is impractical as a fairly large area is needed.

Treadmill Running

• A close second to ground based running in both effectiveness and unfortunately injury potential.
• Getting on and off a moving treadmill is an athletic skill and can result in serious injury. Therefore, treadmill interval running is probably not for the average personal training client.
• Treadmill speeds are deceiving. For example, 10 MPH is only a six minute mile yet can feel very fast. However, 10 MPH is not a difficult pace for intervals for a well conditioned athlete.
• High quality interval treadmills should be able to go to 15 MPH.
• For treadmill running, first practice the skill of getting on and off the moving treadmill ( author assumes no responsibility for those thrown on the floor attempting this. Do not try this in a normal health club where the treadmills are packed in like sardines. You must have room to fall off without striking an immovable object).

Additional Treadmill Drawbacks

• Lack of true active hip extension may under train the hamstrings.
• In treadmill running, the belt moves, you just stay airborne. Treadmill times do not translate well to running on the ground. This may be due to lack of ground contact time.

Treadmill Recommendations

• Time based. Try 15 seconds on with 45 seconds off at 7 MPH and 5% incline. For safety, decrease speed and increase incline.
• Heartrate based ( max HR of 200 used for example). Try a 15 second sprint at 7/5 and simply rest until the heartrate returns to 120 beats per minute. Rest is rest, don’t walk or jog or your heartrate will lower slowly.

Stationary Bike

• Dual action bikes like the Airdyne produces a higher HR. This is due to the combined action of the arms and legs. There is no better affordable option than the AirDyne. Although they require periodic maintenance they are the perfect interval tool as they do not need any adjustments to belts or knobs when interval training. The fan is an accommodating resistance device. This means that the harder you push the more resistance you get back. If you have large fan AirDynes ( insert photo and link) purchase and install windscreens. Most athletes and clients dislike the large fan AirDynes as they are unable to work up a sweat without a windscreen.
• This is probably the best “safe” tool.
• Requires limited skill.
• Limited potential for overuse injury.

Stationary Bike Recommendations

• Same time recommendations as for the treadmill. For the AirDyne, set the top display to Level. For a well-conditioned male a 15 second sprint should be level 12-15. Do not go all out as this will seriously undermine the ability to repeat additional intervals. Well-conditioned female athletes will be Level 8-10 for 15 seconds. Levels should be adjusted down for fitness level and up for body size. Larger athletes or clients will find the bike easier. Large fan AirDynes ( older models) will have slightly different work levels than the newer smaller fan models ( insert photo and link).

Slideboard

• Slideboards ( add link) provide the best “bang for the buck” after the AirDyne. However, in a fitness setting there is a skill requirement. Clients must be warned that they may fall and potentially be injured. This may sound stupid but be sure to inform the client that the board is slippery. I can’t tell you how many clients have stepped on a slideboard and remarked “this is slippery”. Remember what they say about assuming.
• The slideboard provides added the benefits of a standing position and getting hip ab and adductor work.
• Slideboards are also great for groups. No adjustment are needed, you just need extra booties. We order 4 pair for every board.
• Safe in spite of “experts.” Some so-called experts have questioned the effect of the slideboard on the knees however, there is nothing more than the anecdotal evidence of a few writers to support this theory.

Climbers and Ellipticals

• The key to using any climbing device is to keep the hands and arms off of the equipment. This is critical. Just put a heartrate monitor on and keep the hands of and watch the heartrate skyrocket. If clients complain about lack of balance, slow down the machine and develop the balance but, don’t allow them to hold on.
• The StepMill is the least popular, and as Staley points out, the most effective. Think 180 again. If it’s popular, it’s probably not good.
• Conventional Stairclimbers are easier to abuse than the StepMill. Many users ramp up the speed while allowing the arms to do the majority of the work. As we mentioned before, keep your hands off the rails.
• The elliptical machine is most popular because it is easiest. This is nothing more than human nature at work. Discourage your clients from using an elliptical trainer. If they insist, let them do it on their off days.

Research continues to mount that interval training may improve fitness better than steady state work. The big key is not what to do any more but, how to do it. For maximum effect, get a hearrate monitor and go to work.

One warning. Deconditioned clients may need three weeks to a month of steady work to get ready to do intervals. This is OK. Don’t kill a beginner with interval training. Begin with a quality strength program and some steady state cardiovascular work. The only good use for steady state work in my mind is preparing an athlete or client for the intervals to come.

References

1. Resistance Exercise Reverses Aging in Human Skeletal Muscle.” Simon Melov, Mark Tarnopolsky, Kenneth Beckman, Krysta Felkey and Alan Hubbard PLoS ONE 2(5): e465. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.
2. “Short Term Sprint Interval Versus Traditional Endurance Training: Similar Initial Adaptations in Human Skeletal Muscle and Exercise Performance Journal of Physiology Sept 2006, Vol 575 Issue 3.
3. Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max. Tabata I, Nishimura K, Kouzaki M, Hirai Y, Ogita F, Miyachi M, Yamamoto K. Department of Physiology and Biomechanics, National Institute of Fitness and Sports, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.
4. September/October ACSM Health and Fitness Journal. Dr. David Swain Moderate or Vigorous Intensity Exercise: What Should We Prescribe?

…

_______________________________________________________________

About the Author

John M Berardi, Ph.D. is the founder and chief scientific officer of Precision Nutrition. PN started with a single question: what exactly should people eat to: 1.) look fit, 2.) be healthy, and 3.) perform to their highest potential?

To answer that question, we condensed 8 years of research, both from the lab and from the field, and the experiences of nearly 50,000 PN members from around the world, including both everyday folk and Olympic gold medalists, all into one system — the Precision Nutrition System.

_______________________________________________________________

Exercise doesn’t work.

Now that might sound shocking coming from a guy with big biceps and 8% body fat; from a guy that recommends lots of exercise, at least 5 hours per week. So if this all seems incongruent, I guess I should qualify the statement above. I guess I should have probably said:

Exercise, ALONE, doesn’t work.

My Wake-Up Call
My coming to this realization wasn’t an easy process. I’ve been working with clients for over 15 years now and although I always knew that diet was an important part of the training equation, I also always harbored some subconscious notion that if I worked my clients hard enough, their lack of dietary effort would be overcome by my super-effective training programs. Sure, I wanted them to eat well. But if they didn’t (more like, wouldn’t), somewhere deep inside it seemed ok. I figured in the battle of training vs. diet, training would win. Now, I never said this aloud. However, somewhere I’m sure I felt it. So it wasn’t until I was slapped in the face with some cold, hard, objective data that I realized how wrong I’d been.

The Texas Study These data came in the form of a study I recently worked on at the University of Texas. In this study, nearly 100 initially sedentary participants either stayed sedentary (about half of them) OR began exercising (the other half). They exercisers were given a program to follow that added up to about 5 1/2 to 6 hours of activity per week and that lasted for a total of 12 weeks. The non-exercisers did nothing for the 12 weeks except show up for measurement sessions. These individuals, as stated above, did no exercise before the study began. As a result of this sedentary lifestyle, they averaged between 35% and 40% body fat (according to DEXA scans). Once the study began, the training group gathered together for 3 weight training sessions per week and 2 group exercise / interval sessions per week. All the training was designed by myself and overseen by a weightlifting coach and group exercise coach. So there was a pretty high level of quality control there. Now, it’s important to note that we didn’t alter the participant’s eating at all. And we did this on purpose. We wanted to test the effects of exercise alone – without diet. In other words, the question became:

“Without a dietary intervention, can exercise alone reshape a person’s body?”

At the end of the 12 week study, we got our answer:

“Not so much…”

That’s right, when analyzing the data, I was shocked to find that even with 3+ hours of training per week with a weightlifting coach and 2+ hours of training per week with a body-weight circuit instructor didn’t really work. The formerly sedentary participants didn’t do much better than their couch-sitting counterparts. Without dietary control, 12 weeks of high intensity training produced a fairly disappointing 1% loss of body fat. In terms of raw data, the participants lost only 1 pound of fat and gained 2 pounds of lean vs. the placebo group. Frankly, that sucks. The Machete Perspective Now, imagine you’re overweight (about 38% body fat) and you decide to take the plunge, to hire a personal trainer, and to get in shape for perhaps the first time in your life. So, you decide to buy a training package, one that contains 60 sessions (5 sessions per week for 12 weeks). The cost, per session, is 50 bucks, the going rate. So you plunk down 3 grand and start your initial 12 week fitness journey. You don’t expect big things…you just expect to start moving in the right direction. So you’re patient. You attend all your training sessions, you get to know your trainer really well, spending over 60 hours with him or her. You stay off the scale, not wanting to jinx yourself. Then, at the end of the 12 weeks, you weigh-in.

Body weight – You were overweight, obese in fact, to start with. Well, if you simply exercised (without changing your diet and following the protocol above) you now weigh one pound more! About to go crazy, your trainer talks you down off the cliff. You probably gained a lot of muscle while losing a lot of fat, he or she says. So it’s time to do a body comp test.

Fat weight – Ok, here’s the moment of truth. You’re sure there must have been some fat loss. Drumroll please…If you followed the protocol from above, you’re down one, uninspiring, unnoticable pound of fat. “What the heck!? Can I NOW be pissed?”

Lean weight – Because you weigh one pound more, and lost one pound of fat, that means that your formerly sedentary butt put on 2 lbs of lean mass. That’s nice and all. But that wasn’t the goal! You wanted to lose fat. This is when your anger kicks in.

So, you spent 3000 bucks and 60 hours working your ass off in the gym. And your ass didn’t change one bit! Is it time to grab a machete and take that good for nothing trainer’s head clean off? It’s Not A Fluke Now, when I first saw these data, I thought they were a fluke. I got the research team together on the phone and chewed them out. There must have been a data mix-up. I mean, seriously, 12 weeks of hard training and only one pound of fat lost vs. no training at all. Was this some sort joke? Did they screw up the data collection? Did the research participants skip out on sessions? What was the deal?!? Despite my insistence, there were no errors. The participants showed up. They trained hard. The data were collected properly. The participants just didn’t progress. And, for the first time, I started asking the question honestly.

Can a solid training program alone get people into great shape?

Note I said “solid” training program. In the past I figured people weren’t getting results because their training program was awful and perhaps so was their diet. But, as a result of this new study, a study in which the training protocol was solid, the answer appeared to be no. A solid training program alone wasn’t enough to get people into great shape. Other Research Support With a new sense of purpose, I started digging around in the research. And I quickly found another recent study suggesting the exact same thing. This study, published in the April 2008 issue of Nutrition and Metabolism, demonstrated that after 10 weeks of training (3 endurance sessions and 2 strength sessions per week – the flip flop of our study), 38 previously overweight, sedentary subjects also saw minimal changes in body composition with training.

Body Weight – In this study, neither the control (no exercise) group or the exercise group significantly changed their body weight. Both groups saw about a 0.6lb loss in body weight on average. But again, neither change was significant. Fat Mass - When it came to fat mass, the exercise group lost 2.4lbs while the control group lost 0.9lbs. This means that the 50 exercise sessions lead to a mere 1.5lb fat loss vs doing nothing. Better than a kick in the teeth, I guess. But not all that stellar. Lean Mass - The exercise group grained 1.7lbs of lean mass while the control group gained 0.2lbs of lean mass. This means that the 50 exercise sessions led to a 1.5lb gain in lean mass vs doing nothing at all. Again, not bad. But not great either.

Different vs. Important Sure, in both studies, the changes were “statistically significant.” In other words, participants did lose more fat and gain more lean mass when training vs. not training. However, let’s not confuse different with important. After all, these changes are small, really small. And I would suggest, unimportant. I mean, come on now, people exercise to actually change their bodies in noticeable, measurable ways. They want to fit better into their clothes. They want to go from overweight to normal weight. They want to be able to walk up the stairs without getting winded. They want to lower their cholesterol. In my estimation, and it might just be me, they’re just not all that interested in dumping big dollars and lots of time into something that leads to a one pound fat loss. Seriously, that’s not all that good. The Lesson – No, It’s Not To Stop Exercising! At this point you might be wondering if it’s my advice to stop exercising. Of course not! Exercise is critically important to looking better, feeling better, and performing better every single day. And don’t you forget it! However, my point is that exercise ALONE just doesn’t cut it. What you really need is exercise PLUS a sound nutritional program. Now that’s just what the doctor ordered. Consider what happens when people actually eat well… In our recent Precision Nutrition Body Transformation Challenge, the average fat loss for all of our participants was 1/2% (or 1lb) lost per week! Remember, in the studies above, they lost about 1 to 1.5lbs in 10-12 weeks! That’s almost at 10-fold increase in effectiveness when people added the Precision Nutrition plan to their training system. Further, our finalists (the top performers) saw the following results:

• Finalist #1 lost about 30lbs in 16 weeks – losing 23lbs of fat, or about 1.4lbs of fat per week.

• Finalist #2 – lost about 16lbs in 16 weeks – losing 23lbs of fat, or about 1.4lbs of fat per week.

• Finalist #3 – lost 37lbs in 16 weeks – losing 27lbs of fat, or about 1.7 lbs of fat per week.

• Finalist #4 – lost 25lbs during 16 weeks – losing 35lbs of fat, or about 2.2lbs of fat per week.

• Finalist #5 – lost 37lbs during 16 weeks – losing 31lbs of fat, or about 1.9lbs of fat.

Note: each of our finalists followed one of the training programs and our nutritional guidelines outlined in the Precision Nutrition System.

Also consider the research study discussed above, the one published in Nutrition and Metabolism. In this study, there was actually a 3rd group. And this group, in addition to exercising, supplemented each day with 2 nutrient-dense meal replacement supplements. Each supplement contained 300 calories, 5g fat, 25g carbs, and 40g protein and a host of vitamins and minerals. And while the exercise-only group saw small fat losses and muscle gains, the exercise plus supplement group, was a different story.

Body Weight – The exercise+supplement group lost 4lbs of total body weight. This compared to the 0.6lbs lost in the exercise alone group. Fat Mass - The exercise+supplement group also lost 6lbs of total body fat. This compared to the 2.4lbs lost in the exercise alone group. Lean Mass - The exercise+supplement group gained about 1.8lbs of total lean body mass. This compared to the 1.7lb gained in the exercise alone group.

So, as you can see, even something as simple as adding a high quality protein drink or MRP can improve fat loss vs. exercise alone. But, again, nothing is as effective as following a solid nutrition program while exercising properly. Trainers Take Note At this point, I’ve gotta serve notice to trainers. Folks, if you’re not providing nutrition advice to your clients, that’s a real problem. A trainer selling a client exercise alone is equivalent to a car salesman selling a car with no engine. As you’ve already seen, the thing just won’t go. Now, I don’t want to seem as if I’m taking shots at ALL trainers because I love the service many of them provide. However, I do have something to say to those trainers who don’t have a nutrition system in place. Take my advice…incorporating nutrition isn’t a “nice to have,” it’s a “need to have”. So don’t miss the boat. Start thinking about how you can get your clients training hard AND eating better right away. Exercisers, Also Take Note For you folks who aren’t trainers yet who are looking to look better, feel better, and perform at the top of your game, the lesson should be obvious. You can train as hard as you want. However, without some attention to your nutritional intake, you simply can’t expect inspiring, noticeable results.

To get your nutrition program straight, click here…

…

_______________________________________________________________

About Author

John M Berardi, Ph.D. is the founder and chief scientific officer of Precision Nutrition. PN started with a single question: what exactly should people eat to: 1.) look fit, 2.) be healthy, and 3.) perform to their highest potential?

To answer that question, we condensed 8 years of research, both from the lab and from the field, and the experiences of nearly 50,000 PN members from around the world, including both everyday folk and Olympic gold medalists, all into one system — the Precision Nutrition System.

_______________________________________________________________