Here are the 5 Reasons to Start Interval Training

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Some say slow and steady winds the race. When it comes to cardio, the opposite is true.

The problem most people make with their cardio is that they place too much emphasis on the duration of their workout. Instead, they should focus on the one thing that really matters – intensity.

This is where interval training comes in.

Interval training alternates periods of sprinting (or close-to-sprinting) efforts followed by periods of rest, or easy movement. The beauty is you can choose whatever cardio tool you wish – cycling, running, boxing, even walking if you alternate the speed.

They can be tailored to any age and fitness level.

Here are 5 reasons to start interval training as part of your Paleo lifestyle.

1. Interval Training Is More Effective Than Continuous Cardio

The main goal of nearly all beginner exercisers is fat loss. Can you guess the main exercise people chose in their battle of the bulge?

Jogging or walking.

Whilst these are great choice for absolute beginners, they become ineffective for fat loss and cardiovascular fitness after 2-3 months.

Recent studies have shown that only three 27-min interval sessions burn a greater amount of fat compared to five 60-min continuous sessions!

So if your primary goal is fat loss, skip the long duration cardio workouts and focus instead on high intensity interval training.

2. Interval Training Creates The “After-burn”

Where interval training workouts are superior is the fact they keep burning calories after the workout. This is referred to as the “after-burn” effect.

In short, your body cannot supply enough oxygen during a hard sprint. So you create a “debt” of oxygen that needs to be repaid. During continuous cardio – such as the previous example of a walk or jog – there is a very small debt that is repaid virtually immediately. This results in no after-burn effect.

The debt achieved during high intensity interval training is much higher. Your metabolism is revved up for hours after your workout ends. Fitness professionals refer to this phenomenon as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC).

Basically this means your heart rate, oxygen consumption, and blood flow is increased. This requires more calories, and in turn means greater fat loss.

If you want to take advantage of EPOC and burn more calories after your gym workout, be sure to schedule regular interval sessions into your weekly schedule.

3. Interval Training Spares Muscle Tissue

Muscle tissue has an immediate impact on your metabolism; the more muscle you carry, the higher your resting metabolism.

This is why resistance training should be a priority every week. It will help you burn more fat, re-shape your body and increase your muscle tissue. All of which result in a leaner, stronger and better-looking body.

It’s worth noting that excessive cardio can actually deplete muscle tissue. This means that you could potentially sacrifice your metabolism permanently in an attempt to burn more fat.

Not good.

However recent studies have shown that if you start interval training, you can actually spare muscle tissue.

The studies demonstrated that the longer the cardio session was, the greater the impairment of muscle tissue.  However the studies found that short, high intensity bouts of cardio (such as repeated sprinting or cycling intervals) didn’t impact on strength or hypertrophy development.

Your goal is to maintain muscle, so that your metabolism can remain elevated. Interval training is perfect for this.

4. Interval Training Burns More Fat

What was also interested from the studies was that interval cardio was not just better for strength and hypertrophy; it was also superior for fat loss.

It was shown that subjects who performed four-to-six sets of 30-second sprints lost twice as much body fat as people who performed low intensity cardio for 30-60 minutes.

5. Interval Training Saves Time

Interval training will save you hours each week. Anything that saves time in today’s busy lifestyle is a bonus.

Interval training workouts are short, effective, and can completed in as little as 15-20 minutes. If you were to replace 4 x 60-minute continuous cardio workouts each week with 4 x 15-minute interval training workouts, you have effectively created 3 additional hours each week.

You can use this for meal preparation, spend it on important work tasks, or simply enjoy more time with your family.

The actual time spent on the workout is irrelevant. It is a matter of quality over quantity.

Watch this video – What is HIIT? 7 Proven HIIT Benefits and How to Do It Properly | The Health Nerd

Wrapping up

Don’t worry if you can’t find a gym – the beauty of interval training is that it can be done anywhere, anytime. You can run, walk, or even use body weight resistance exercises to create your interval training workout.

Interval training reigns supreme in the battle for a higher metabolism, improved aerobic fitness and increased fat burn.

To get started, here are 10 effective HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts to work you into shape.

Written by Pete Tansley

Author Bio:

Pete Tansley is a writer, personal trainer, business owner, proud dad and a horrible dancer. Tansley owns and operates PeteTansleyFitness.com, a training and online coaching company.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

What is Creatine and Why Your Body Need Creatine?

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Creatine – What It Is and Is It Right For You?

When most people hear the word creatine, they immediately think of high school or college-age jocks trying to get bigger and stronger. But this protein is far more than just a muscle-building supplement.

In fact, its benefits range from improved cognitive function, concussion prevention, autoimmune support and even improvement of some chronic degenerative conditions.

Not quite sure what creatine can do for you? Let’s take a closer look.

What is Creatine?

Creatine is a protein that is produced naturally in the body and is found in abundance in animal protein.

Creatine is a high-energy molecule made up of three amino acids – arginine, methionine and glycine – that helps to produce ATP, the energy currency of every cell in your body. Without ATP, your cells would have no fuel and you wouldn’t even survive!

Animal protein is the best food source of creatine, such as grass-fed beef, wild game meats, ocean-fresh fish and free-range poultry. So, if you’re already following a Paleo approach to eating, naturally rich in animal protein, why would you need to add more via a supplement?

Adding a creatine supplement allows your body to store greater than normal levels of it in the body, thereby providing an added source of ATP to support your muscles and your brain. While these supra-physiological doses may not be exactly Paleo, there could be certain scenarios where you can get significant benefits.

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Can Creatine Boost Your Performance In The Gym?

If you want to improve your performance in any sport, then improving your power, strength and lean muscle mass are key factors. Creatine significantly improves all of these areas, and then some.

Increasing your maximum strength is like adding more horsepower to your car’s engine; the stronger you are, the faster you run. Supplementing with creatine is proven to increase your max strength by 5-15%, which translates to more weight on your squat, deadlift or Olympic lifts.

If you want to add lean muscle, creatine has been proven to add 2-4 lb. of fat-free lean muscle in 4 to 12 weeks of training. The muscle growth comes from the body’s capacity to increase ATP production from this supplementation, allowing you to train harder and recover faster.

Creatine supplementation has also been shown to increase sprint performance, as well as endurance during repeated sprints.  This can help endurance athletes improve 5k, 10k and marathon times, cyclists upgrade time trial personal bests, and CrossFitters achieve superior WOD times.

If you’re not wanting bigger muscles, simply modifying the dose can mitigate these effects.

The benefits don’t stop there.

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Can Creatine Boost Performance at Work?

One of the most common questions I get asked by clients in clinical practice is, “How can I improve my mental focus and memory?” If you want to upgrade cognitive function, working memory and intelligence, then creatine may help unlock your true potential.

Creatine has shown significant promise as a potent brain-boosting nutrient. A study at the University of Sydney examined the effects of 6 weeks of supplementation (5g per day) on memory and intelligence. 

The researchers found those people supplementing with creatine had improved working memory, reduced mental fatigue and increased intelligence. That’s right, not only can you remember more details and maintain your focus for an increased number of hours, you actually get smarter, as well!

More and more research is coming down the pipeline uncovering creatine’s ability to boost brain function, focus and mental productivity. However, you can eat all the meat in the world, but your natural levels cannot reach these supra-physiological levels without added supplementation.

Tempted to start benefiting from higher creatine and ATP levels in your body? Let’s take a look at whether this stuff is really safe.

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Is Creatine Safe?

Anecdotal side effects of creatine often heard in the media include dehydration, cramping, musculoskeletal injury, gastrointestinal distress and kidney damage, yet the research does not support these claims.

While these side effects seem scary, none of this has been shown in the research studies. In fact, research on creatine supplementation of 10 months to 5 years found no negative effects on kidney function and has in fact been linked with improving medical conditions such as brain and spinal cord injuries, muscular dystrophy, diabetes and high cholesterol.

With all the fad supplements out there, creatine is a proven and safe strategy for upgrading your health and your performance. Let me walk you through the approach I typically recommend to my clients.

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How Much Should I Take?

If you want to boost your performance in the gym and at work and give creatine a try, here is the best way to start. For men, add a 5g serving every day with a meal; for women, 3g per day.

Creatine monohydrate is the most cost-effective form and actually the type they use in all the research studies, so save yourself a few dollars and forget the expensive stuff with supposed “bells and whistles”.

Giving creatine a try? For men, start with 5g serving every day with a meal; for women, 3g per day.

You can add a powder form (make sure it has no added sugar) into some water and drink it; just be sure to eat a meal at the same time, as elevated blood sugars and insulin help improve absorption. You can also opt for capsules, but it’s a lot of pills to take on a daily basis (typically 6 x 500mg for women and 10 x 500mg for men).

Continue for 8-12 weeks and see for yourself how you look, feel and perform. If you’re satisfied with your results, you can discontinue it. The washout period for creatine levels to return to pre-supplement baseline is about 30 days.

If you want to continue, the research shows you can maintain your dose for 6-12 months, if desired. However, periodic tapers of 2-3 weeks is recommended every 3 months.

Just remember that creatine isn’t a quick fix. You still need to eat real, whole food, train properly and get quality sleep if you want to improve brain function and body composition. If your diet and lifestyle are junk, supplementing isn’t going to help much.

Watch this video – 8 Questions About Creatine Answered | Jose Antonio, Ph.D.

Written by Dr. Marc Bubbs

Author Bio:

Dr. Marc Bubbs, ND is a Naturopathic Doctor, Strength Coach, Author, Speaker, and Blogger practicing in Toronto, Canada. He believes that diet, exercise, and lifestyle factors have the most profound impact on your overall health and performance. Marc is the author of The Paleo Project – A 21st Guide to Looking Leaner, Getting Stronger, & Living Longer and currently serves as the Sports Nutrition Lead for Canadian Men’s Olympic Basketball Team.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook