Aerobic Exercise & Strength Training- Does It Help Or Hurt?

One of the greatest obstacles to the realization of our fullest potential in any field is the idea of convention. Convention can heartily sustain the life force of myths and concepts poorly understood by the public at large, even when confronted by volumes of well researched science that contradicts them. Nowhere is the hold of convention more pronounced than in the related fields of diet and exercise, where training protocols are often prescribed or implemented based on what is popular or what everyone has traditionally done. Not much thought is given to whether the programs are necessarily the best practices for the goals sought. The universal recommendation that aerobic exercise needs to be a part of everyone’s strength training regime is a case in point, as volumes of research highlight the negative impact of aerobic exercise on strength training, power development and muscle development. Not that there is anything wrong with aerobic and distance training, as it does indeed serve several purposes. Its health benefits are many and well documented. However, most employ aerobic exercise as a way of reducing body fat, building endurance or improving recovery time. All these benefits can be better achieved through other more anaerobic based and time efficient forms of conditioning such as high intensity training [1,2,3,4] and attention to dietary intake. More importantly numerous studies have shown that concurrent aerobic exercise can in many cases negatively impact strength and power gains as well as increase the likelihood of overtraining and bring about negative hormonal responses to exercise even when used in relatively small amounts. [1, 5,6,7,8] Such findings disqualify aerobics as a universal requirement for everyone, especially those interested in optimizing strength, power and or muscle mass to their fullest potential. A group that includes not only athletes whose disciplines require maximum strength and power output but also those seeking the toned, tight and sculpted body and those wishing to increase strength and skeletal muscle as a means of decreasing the motor related decline that comes with aging. [9]

The Impact of Aerobic Exercise on Adaptations For Power & Strength

The human body is a very specific machine, one that is individually adapted to the very stresses that it encounters throughout the course of everyday life. The process of increasing strength and muscle mass is in fact a stress response adaptation to a very specific form of overload. When lifting weights, for example, at a level of intensity or with a load sufficient enough to trigger a need for our body to adapt, a number of hormonal, neuromuscular and chemical events occur. Events that lead to an adaptive anabolic environment that can promote increases in muscle size and or increased ability to generate force. (See my Article on How Muscles Get Bigger & Stronger) By engaging in sustained steady state aerobic exercise such as distance running, our body is exposed to a very different form of stress-and the adaptations for this form of activity are far different than those required for increased power, strength and muscle mass. The physique of a sprinter is far different from that of a marathon runner as the two activities create different physical adaptations thus it should come as no surprise that many studies confirm that continued aerobic exercise can bring about decreases in muscle power. This may be due to neuromuscular and hormonal adaptations favorable for reducing the amount of energy expended while exercising- factors which would make an endurance athlete more efficient as opposed to maximizing mechanical power.[1] The sheer volume requirement of endurance type training as well may be a consideration as well as it appears to interfere with the recovery required for maximal results from strength and power training.[7]

The Impact Of Aerobic Training On Power and Rate Of Force Development

Explosive movements require great power or speed of execution

Repetitive activity associated with aerobic exercise has been shown to reduce the ability to generate force in the high velocity, low frequency region of the force velocity curve- in other words it makes our muscles less powerful.(30) Power and strength are closely related but not exactly the same thing. Strength is defined as the capacity for gross muscular effort. Power on the other hand refers to the speed at which effort can be performed. Its development is paramount for athletic performance since most movements in any sporting discipline are executed as forcefully and as quickly as possible.[1] Even in sports that one might consider primarily aerobic in nature such as basketball or soccer due their extended duration of play actually consist of repeated bouts of explosive movements that make up a very small proportion of playing time. [9,10] A good example of differences between power and strength would be a comparison between a powerlifter bench pressing 440lbs and an Olympic level 100m sprinter exploding out of the blocks. Both movements require the abilty to generate larger forces at high speeds, but the sprinter’s acceleration would be almost twice as powerful as the powerlifter. Contrast that with the amount of high speed force required by a baseball player to swing a bat from maximal backswing to contact with the ball where the baseball player generates just under ten times more force than the powerlifter bench pressing 440lbs. The baseball player would not likely be able to lift as much as the powerlifter, but he or she might be more powerful. That being said, you can be strong and not powerful but you can’t be powerful without a certain base of strength as the two are very directly related. (The most powerful athletes, Olympic lifters are indeed the strongest.) Now we have an understanding of the significance of strength and power, we can look at how it can be affected by distance type training.

While a heavy bench press requires great strength the movement does not require as much explosive power as a sprinter leaving the start line.

A study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology took an in-depth look at how power is affected when individuals do strength training concurrently with endurance training as opposed to strength training on its own. During the three week study, two groups of male participants were made to train twice a week doing the same program of resistance exercise with one group doing an additional two days of continuous aerobic exercise on a rowing machine with sessions lasting anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes in duration. At the end of the study there were similar increases in maximum one repetition lifts and isometric strength tests, but only the strength training group saw an increase in rate of force development (ROFD) and the associated rapid neural activation. No changes whatsoever were observed in the group doing both strength training and aerobic exercise.[12] Rate of force development refers to the speed at which force can be produced and a faster ROFD means you are able to do quicker and more explosive movements- qualities essential for strength increases as well as athletic performance. The study concluded that even small amounts of aerobic exercise can lead to interference in explosive strength development.[1]

How Aerobic Exercise Affects Muscle Development for Maximum Power & Muscle Mass

Other studies have demonstrate that sustained aerobic type exercise not only affects rate of force development, but also decreases peak power development through changes in the way muscles are recruited. There are basically two types of skeletal muscle fibers in our bodies Type I and Type II. (See the chart above for a detailed breakdown of the differences.) Type I fibers are what you would recruit primarily if you were running or doing any form of sustained aerobic activity for a considerable amount of time (usually longer than 30 minutes) and someone like a successful marathon runner would tend to have a fairly high distribution of them as an adaption to the sustained endurance training they undergo. Such fibers are highly resistant to fatigue, have a dense network amount of capillaries transporting oxygen rich blood to them and use triglycerides (fats) as their primary fuel source. (Thus the origin of the idea that aerobic activity is best for burning body fat- which it is not- See my article on Rethinking the Need for Aerobics) Not to get too technical but Type I fibers gain their resistance to fatigue from their ability to generate ATP (an important muscle fuel source) through the use of oxygen (aerobic metabolism) which is provided by the many blood vessels found in such muscle fibers.

Type II fibers are more efficient for short bursts of speed and power. These muscle fibers are not recruited to a significant extent during low intensity exercises such as endurance training.(13) Type II fibers have various sub divisions and use glycogen (and creatine phosphate) as their main fuel source and can use either anaerobic or aerobic oxidative metabolism to generate ATP. Type IIx and type IIb fibers are used primarily for explosive movement or any short term anaerobic activity. Generally, these muscle fibers are found in high distributions on more muscular athletes like bodybuilders, powerlifters and sprinters as an adaptation to the short high intensity training protocols that they regularly engage in. These fibers also produce more power than all the other fibers and rely on an anaerobic (without oxygen) metabolism to create ATP. Their development is an important part of any program where strength and power production is a primary goal, and is an important part of any regiment geared towards building lean muscle mass as other muscle fibers do not develop to the extent of these fibers. Type IIa fibers are a bit of a cross between Type II and Type I fibers as they have a fairly high resistance to fatigue and use both anaerobic and aerobic metabolism to operate. They act as a sort of a bridge between long term and short term activity and allow us to perform movements of moderate intensity for periods up to about 30 minutes.

How are muscle fibers affected by aerobic exercise? A decade long Canadian study found that subjects who regularly engaged in high intensity aerobic training verified the idea that our bodies do indeed adapt to the specific stresses it has to regularly undergo. The percentage of Type I fibers in those who regularly participated in distance training was 70.9% as opposed to 37.7 percent in the control group who did not exercise. Endurance training appeared to promote a transition from Type II to Type I fibers at the expense of the more powerful Type II fibers. Interestingly enough, Type IIa fibers in the endurance trained group members actually had a reduced aerobic capacity as a result of the years of training.[14] This decrease in percentage of fast twitch fibers significantly compromises strength and speed capabilities as high intensity conditioning requires an increase in the functional properties of fast twitch Type II fibers relative to slow twitch Type I fibers. Although in a large part individual proportions of muscle fiber types are genetically predetermined, what we do can make a large difference in how our body adapts. The more aerobic exercise you do, the greater promotion of Type I fiber -while the more explosive type anaerobic training you do can increase the proportions of Type II fibers.[15,16,17]

Effects Of Concurrent Aerobic Exercise & Strength Training On Cortisol & Testosterone Levels

Another area for concern is the impact of concurrent aerobic training with strength training on your hormone levels. Some studies have found that aerobics done in certain quantities can produce a net catabolic (breaking down) effect on muscle tissue.[1] This catabolic effect can be traced to either a decreased release of testosterone or an increase in the stress hormone cortisol from combining the two forms of training.[7] A study of US Army soldiers published in the Journal of Applied Physiology took 35 men and split them into four groups. The first group performed whole body high intensity strength training for four days a week focused on increasing muscle size and strength. The second group did upper body strength training only and the third group performed aerobic type endurance training only. A program consisting of two days of continuous aerobic exercise at 80-85% VO2max for 40 minutes and two days of interval training at 95-100% VO2max. The fourth group did a combination of both strength training and aerobic training protocols. Researchers found a significant increase in exercise induced and total cortisol response after in members of the strength & aerobics training group. Whereas those in the strength training only group saw a decrease in cortisol levels and an increase in testosterone levels. Changes that promote an anabolic environment favorable to increased muscle growth and strength increase. The study concluded that the catabolic effects noticed in the strength and aerobic trained group came as result of extreme stress placed on the adrenal glands which systematically lead to a form of overtraining.[7] Other studies of concurrent strength and aerobic type endurance training found similar increases in cortisol (a catabolic stress hormone) among those training in both modalities.[5,18]

The Role of Aerobics In Promoting Overtraining When Combined With Strength Training

Our muscles get stronger, bigger and more powerful as a direct response to the stress of exercise. However, it must be noted that these changes can only occur if the volume and or intensity of training is not so much that our bodies are unable to adapt to it. When we are unable to recover from exercise induced stress, we are said to be overtrained- and overtraining can bring about a long term decrease in performance and muscle related improvements. Recovery from overtraining can take several days to several weeks [19] and we know now that sustained aerobic exercise combined with strength training may result in less than optimal hormonal profiles and other factors associated with overtraining. (5,7,19)

The human body has a limited set of resources available to it to help recover from the stress of exercise. An insufficient recovery is the central causative factor of overtraining. That being said, given the large volume of exercise that accompanies conventional endurance based aerobic training, the amount of repetitive stress placed on joints during such forms of continuous exercise and the large amount of energy substrates consumed, it is not surprising that the stage is set for overtraining when it is combined with the rigors of high intensity anaerobic training.[1] The increase in oxidative stress during continued aerobic type training may also have a negative impact on net protein turnover. This impact can result in muscle fiber atrophy [20]. All of the aforementioned factors create an environment that prevents optimal adaptation to strength and power training.(1)

Inadequate recovery can also lead to a lasting fatigue that diminishes the ability to develop tension during power and strength movements. Reduction in power generation from overly high training volume then reduces your ability to learn and master power related skills [21,22,23] while also increasing your risk for injury. The common scenario for people starting an exercise program that includes both weight training and aerobics is that they tend to quit several weeks into the program after an enthusiastic start. Considering the amount of stress inflicted on the body by combining both modes of training it is no surprise that an otherwise untrained individual would experience fatigue and a psychological aversion to training over time. It wouldn’t be because of a lack of willpower or consistency but simply because they are overtrained.

Alternatives to Aerobic Exercise for Endurance Development

Aerobic fitness is indeed an important component for both health and athletic performance. However, prolonged aerobic exercise isn’t the only way to increase endurance and cardiovascular capacity nor is it the most efficient. High intensity training and high intensity interval training has been shown to produce metabolic endurance adaptations similar to and in some cases superior to aerobic exercise.[24, 25, 26] (Read my article here on high intensity training and endurance) Other studies found that similar increases in maximal aerobic capacity (VO2max) and improvements in 1 mile run times can occur not just as a result of high volume continuous endurance training but also from high intensity interval training as well. Interval training however takes less time to complete. It has the added benefits of improving anaerobic capacity and power output whereas conventional endurance training only positively affects the aerobic energy system. [25]

The Main Source Of Contention- Inclusion Of Aerobics For Body Fat Reduction

Perhaps the most common reason for employing aerobic exercise with strength training is for purposes of reducing body fat. Conventional thinking has long been that aerobics burn significant amounts of calories- enough to create a negative energy deficit that would bring about a reduction in body fat. For this reason, most employ aerobics into their training regime as a way to keep their body weight under control. Considering that aerobic exercise does indeed use fats as an energy source it is easy to see some logic to that approach. However, when compared to high intensity anaerobic training modalities, the idea of aerobics as the best way to lose body fat comes into question. Studies confirm that high intensity training methods create greater post exercise energy expenditure and fat utilization [62,63 64] and favor negative energy and lipid balance to a greater extent than low to moderate intensity aerobic type exercise.[1] That being said you don’t need aerobics to burn fat if the intensity of your anaerobic training is sufficient and if you maintain a sensible diet. (See my article on High Intensity Training & Weight Loss Here)

Are there benefits to aerobics? Absolutely. By no means should this article be construed as a negative hit against such forms of exercise. For many aerobics exercise offers not only numerous health and performance benefits but psychological ones as well. It can be an excellent tool for relieving symptoms of depression and elevating mood. Many people run or do aerobics not so much for a physical effect but for the high that comes with exercise. High intensity training has been shown to elicit similar psychological advantages as well in elevating mood and combating depression [27] but it would be unrealistic to expect everyone to gravitate towards that form of training. Thus, if your goals revolve around maximizing strength and power for athletic performance, the science of the matter would suggest that adding aerobics to a program of weight training could be counterproductive. Those seeking the toned and taut look that comes from building quality lean muscle mass while minimizing body fat levels should also note that aerobics isn’t the only way to shed body fat and that they might be better served avoiding it altogether and instead focus on high intensity training protocols and proper diet to reduce body fat and increase aerobic fitness levels. On the other hand, runners and endurance athletes as a whole would benefit greatly by adding strength training to their exercise programs as it may help maintain normal levels of testosterone. [5]

While some studies have found seemingly contradictory findings regarding concurrent strength and aerobics training, these differences appear mainly to be due to differences in protocols, exercises used, length of the studies and the age and fitness levels of the participants selected. Studies using high intensity strength training as a control however seem to confirm the effects of overtraining as a result of performing both training modalities concurrently as well as a decrease in power generation and strength friendly muscle fiber development. Also of importance is the increased cortisol production observed in those studies of concurrent aerobic and strength training protocols. In two decades of experience as a trainer, I have consistently seen significant increases in muscle mass, strength and power generation in endurance athletes I have worked with when they cease endurance training altogether in the offseason or as a result of injury. However, these increases occurred without any subsequent loss of aerobic fitness capacity when they eventually resumed distance based training. In the end, it is up to you to determine what your goals are and ensure that the program you use helps you attain those goals as opposed to being locked into the idea that aerobic exercise is a universal requirement for everyone.

Celebrity NYC personal trainer Kevin Richardson is an award wining health and fitness writer and the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training and one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City. Get a copy of his free weight loss e-book here.

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References

1. Marcus EC, Wagner PP, Chiu L. Power Athletes and Distance Training- Physiological and Biomechanical Rationale for Change. Sports Med 2007

2 Chen ZP, Stephens TJ, Murphy S et al. Effect of Exercise on skeletal muscle AMPK signaling in humans. Diabetes 2003

3 Tremblay A, Simoncau JA, Bouchard C. Impact of exercise intensity on energy expenditure, lipid oxidation and body fatness. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2001

4. Chilibeck PD, Bell GJ, Farrar RP, et al. Higher mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation following intermittent verseus continuous endurance exercise training. Can J Physiol Pharmacol 1998

5 Bell GJ, Syrtuik D, Martin TP et al. Effect of concurrent strength and endurance training on skeletal muscle properties and hormone concentrations in humans. Eur J Appl Physiol 2000

6. Hennessy LC, Watson AWS. The interference effects of training for strength and endurance simultaneously. J Strength Cond Res 1994

7. Kraemer WJ, Patton JF, Gordon SE, et al. Compatibility of high intensity training and endurance training on hormonal and skeletal muscle adaptations. J Appl Physiol 1995

8. Dudley GA, Djamil R. Incompatibility of endurance and strength training modes of exercise. J Appl Physiol 1985

9. Taylor J. Basketball: applying time motion data to conditioning. Strength Cond J 2003

10. Wisloff U, Helgerud J, Hoff J. Strength and endurance of elite soccer players. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1998

11. Beham DG, Sale DG. Intended rather than actual movement velocity determines velocity specific training response. J Appl Physiol

12. Hakkinen K, Alen M, Kramer WJ , et al. Neuromuscular adaptations during concurrent strength and endurance training versus strength training. Eur J Appl Physiol 2003

13. Casey A, Constantin-Teodousiu D, Howell Se, et al. Metabolic response of type I and II muscle fibers during repeated bouts of maximal exercise in humans. Am J Physiol 1996

14. Thayer R, Collins J, Noble EG, et al. A decade of aerobic endurance training: histological evidence for fiber type transformation. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 1994

15. Dawson B, Fitzsimons M, Green S, et al, Changes in performance, muscle metabolites, enzymes and fiber types after short sprint training. Euro J Appl Physiol 1998

16. Jacobs I, Esbjornsson M, Sylven C, et al. Sprint training effects on muscle myoglobin, enzymes, fiber types, and blood lactate. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1987

17. Jansson E, Esbjornsson M, Holm I, et al. Increase in the proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibers by sprint training in males. Acta Physiol Scand 1990

18. Bell GJ, Syrotuik D, Socha T, Maclean I, et al. Effect of strength training and concurrent strength and endurance training on strength, testosterone, and cortisol. J Strength Cond Res 1997

19. Kuipers H, Keizer HA. Overtraining in elite athletes: review and directions for the future. Sports Med 1988

20. Smith LL. Tissue trauma: the underlying cause of overtraining syndrome?  J Strength Cond Res 2004

21. Anshel MH, Novak J. Effects of different intensities of fatigue in performing a sport skill requiring explosive muscular effort: a test of the specificity of practice principle. Percept Mot Skills 1989

22. Arnett MG, DeLuccia D, Gilmartin K. Male and female differences and the specificity of fatigue on skill acquisition and transfer performance. Res Q Exerc Sport 2000

23. Williams LR, Daniel-Smith JH, Gunson LK. Specificity of training for motor skill under physical fatigue. Med Sci Sports 1976

24. Dolgener FA,Brooks WB. The effects of interval and continuous training on VO2max and performance in the mile run. J sports Med Phys Fitness 1978

25. Tabata I, Nishimura K, Kouzaki,  M, Hirai Y, Ogita F, Miyachi M, Yamamoto K Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1996

26. Burgomaster KA, Howarth KR, Phillips SM, Rakobowchuk M, MacDonald MJ, McGee SL, Gibala M. Similar metabolic adaptations during exercise after low volume sprint interval and traditional endurance training in humans. J App Physiol  586: 151-160, 2008

27. Singh NA, Stavrinos TM, Scarbeck Y, Galambos G, Liber C, Singh MA. A randomized controlled trial of high versus low intensity weight training versus general practitioner care for clinical depression in older adults. Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences

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Preface:

I grew up in Trinidad, an island in the West Indies were there was a significant number of homeless individuals living on the streets. So much so that they were a constant presence in the more urban areas of the island. As varied as they were in age and in circumstances which lead them to a life on the street, there was one striking physical aspect that they all shared- namely that almost every one of them had a remarkably defined six pack. They weren’t the only group of people who seemed somehow blessed with rippling midsections as those who chose to live off the land in the hills as a rule were similarly blessed with deeply etched abdominals. These people had never done a sit up, didn’t know what a crunch was, never used an Abdominizer or any other newfangled ab machine nor did they even know what a fat burner was. Perhaps, like the native people of everywhere from Papua, New Guinea to the Amazon Basin they didn’t realize that these things were a prerequisite to having a six pack. Or perhaps most of what you read about getting a six pack has little to do with actually achieving it.  In this updated article, I do my best to discount the myths surrounding getting a six pack- most of which revolve on making you buy a product or service of some sort or promote unhealthy eating practices that create temporary solutions at best. I will preface the article with a caveat that what it takes to get a six pack isn’t impossible nor does it have to cost you anything- but it does require commitment, dedication and time. Thanks as always for reading.

Six Pack Abs-Why What You Eat & How Much You Eat Is More Important Than The Exercises

Over the past two decades of my career as both a personal trainer and a natural bodybuilder the most common question that I have been asked is how do you go about getting a six pack. You can get many different answers from many different people but I have always found it interesting that many of the self appointed fitness gurus giving the advice don’t sport a six pack themselves. Some may have a picture or two of what they looked like when they did have a six pack, but the photos are usually pretty dated or document the way they looked for a very brief period of time when preparing for a bodybuilding contest or photo shoot. As great an accomplishment as this may be, it in no way reflects what they look like all year round and few members of the general public are interested in only having a six pack for two or three weeks out of the year. The popular ninety day extreme exercise and diet video series promise a six pack within a very short time period, but as those who have done such programs can attest- you’ll regain the weight and lose whatever semblance of a six pack you gained within an equally short period of time.

The widespread use of steroids, thyroid medications, insulin, human growth hormone and other such drugs also makes it hard to find credible role models. Non natural bodybuilders, fitness models, figure competitors, bikini competitors, celebrities and many personal trainers rely on drugs for their coveted washboard midsections and it is disturbing to note the number of recreational users who risk their health with these drugs simply to look good for the summer. It is a sad blow to the fitness industry as it creates a culture of trainers who have no experience getting into shape without using drugs and thus are unable to help anyone else do the same. Add to this the babel of infomercials hawking the latest ‘scientifically proven’ ab machines and exercises and you can easily find yourself lost, confused and someone lighter in the wallet in your quest to see your abdominal muscles. That being said, it is very possible to have a six pack and keep it all year round, regardless of body type but it does take work and it won’t happen overnight.

Six Pack Abs As An Effective Marketing Tool

The allure of six pack abs is a powerful tool for getting you to buy everything from supplements to exercise machinesstuff

You turn on the television and something in you wants to believe them. The well sculpted models using some new fangled invention that they swear will get you a six pack within a matter of weeks. Perhaps summer is coming or you are just tired of not seeing what you want in the mirror and so you buy the machine, using it faithfully just as they did on the infomercials- and yet nothing happens. Your belly remains just that- a belly. It doesn’t transform into a chiseled work of art and you can’t understand why. Undaunted, but a bit lighter in the purse, you go to the gym. You just want to get your abdominals looking sharp and all the gym advertisements are filled with beautifully built people with the midsections of a Greek gods. Given how great they look, it should only be a matter of time until that membership pays off and you’ll look just like them. You do everything you read about- thousands of crunches, sit ups and leg raises. You hit every ab machine in the gym every day you are there, take every ab class and put in your time doing cardio to burn off the fat. At first you fell that you are making progress, you feel the burn when you train and are confident that the six pack of your dreams are just around the bend. But nothing happens. All that has happened is that you have spent good money on machines you don’t use and a gym membership that is becoming more and more of a reminder of how hopeless your quest has become.

The weeks turn into months and the months turn into years, and still those blocks in your stomach remain elusive. So you decide to do more. You train longer and you do more exercises for your abdominal muscles, perhaps training them every day. Maybe even twice a day, yet your midsection still looks more like a spare tire rather than a carved piece of granite. What could be the problem? Why can’t you get the same abdominal definition as the people in the magazines? Why is there still a layer of fat where rippling muscles should be after all of your hard work? The answer has nothing to do with six packs and everything to do with economics.

Unless you were one of the fortunate few who had an accomplished mentor to steer you in the right direction from day one, you probably got most of your information on getting a six pack from television, books, magazines, or the Internet. However it is important to reflect on what these sources have to gain by your heeding their advice. From the eye catching before and after pictures to the authoritative pitches by celebrities and fitness gurus there is usually one common denominator behind it all and that is profit.

6 Pack Abs Are A Multi-Million Dollar Industry

The quest for six pack abs make people throw away significant sums of money on things that don't work or provide only fleeting results.

There is a very useful Latin phrase, ‘cui bono?’ which translates as ‘who stands to gain?’ – and this is precisely the question you should be asking when confronted by any information on how to get your abs to show. There are always new and improved machines and new and improved exercise programs, all sold by well muscled trainers, athletes and celebrities and there will always be new ones coming out of the woodwork. The math is pretty simple- these programs, routines, exercises, extreme diets and classes aren’t going to produce an army of six pack sporting citizens, but rather a slew of frustrated individuals. Individuals who are not going to lay the blame on the machine/diet/DVD or trainer for failing, but who instead will place the blame squarely on themselves. Disheartened and filled with a sense of failure, they thus become the perfect consumers for another round of products and services- in the hope that this one will finally help them break through and get them a six pack. It is a cyclic system that sells you hope but not much of anything else and it works as long as the general public remains confused and unsure about what they need to do to get into shape.

Today in our society people want results and they want it now- a microwave mentality that applies not only to how people approach matters of health and fitness, but also just about every facet of modern life. If people want something, they want it now and you are willing to pay for it, a weakness that the fitness industry and media use to their advantage. People will always buy that fitness magazine because they are certain that if you do the same ‘secret exercises’ that the celebrity/athlete/model/bodybuilder is doing, you will eventually look like them.

People will always tune in to that special report on the new way to lose inches off of your midsection. News programs have devolved mostly into thinly disguised forms of entertainment, where ratings take precedence over the reporting of credible information, ratings that help them sell advertisement time at higher prices, which thus net the networks higher profits. In the final analysis, most of the information you come across about getting a six pack comes with a vested interest in making a profit and not some altruistic and compassionate desire to help you realize your goal. Unfortunately you can’t make much in the way of profit with the principles that are really needed to get a six pack. There is no instant gratification and it doesn’t come with a need for fancy machines, DVDs, supplements, books or magazines. Most importantly, you can do it without spending the better part of your life doing abdominal exercises.

The Reality Of  Six Pack Abs- Proper Diet & Exercise

Everyone already has a six pack, it's simply a matter of reducing bodyfat to a point where it can be seen.

So how do you get abs? Well, for starters you already have them. Like the story of the fish that spends it’s life searching for water, most of us fail to realize that every human being already has a six pack- whether you can see them prominently or not. There are four main abdominal muscles, the transversus abdominus – which is the deepest muscle layer and it works to help stabilize the trunk and maintain internal abdominal pressure. The rectus abdominus – slung between the ribs and the pubic bone at the front of the pelvis. This muscle has the characteristic bumps and bulges that are commonly referred to as ‘the six pack’ and everyone has them. There is also the external oblique muscles which flank the rectus abdominus and allow the trunk to twist and then there are the internal oblique muscles which also flank the rectus abdominus and operate in the opposite way to the external oblique muscles.

So if everyone has these abdominal muscles, one might ask why some have a six pack that you can see and others do not- the answer is simply a matter of body fat. Most men have a body fat percentage of around 15% to 18% and most women have an average body fat level of about 22% to 25%. Now even at these levels (which are  quite low for most of the general population) most people would have a layer of fat around their midsection that would hide their abdominal muscles. The muscles are always there, and all you really need to do is to reduce your body fat to levels where you can see them. Athletes typically have lower body fat percentages due to their increased activity levels.

Where your fat stores are and how high your body fat percentage is will determine how long it will take you to have a six pack. Some people with relatively high body fat percentages but with naturally low fat deposits in the stomach area can have a fairly visible six packs, while others need to reduce their body fat percentages to the single digits before they can see theirs. So how do you go about reducing your body fat in a way that doesn’t yield only fleeting results? The natural way to do it is simply a combination of:
PROPER DIET, HIGH INTENSITY WEIGHT TRAINING AND TIME.

This six pack wasn't built overnight and it took serious weight training to acheive it.

That’s one tried and true way of doing it and one that I have seen work without fail. No magic machines, no magic pills, no DVD’s and most certainly no special exercises or even cardio. I can say so with some authority since for the past 23 years I haven’t done that much in the way of  crunches, sit ups and the like after my tenth year and I never did any cardio- nor did any of my clients. When I did train my abs in the early years of my career it was never more than two exercises for a total of six sets, which took no more than three to five minutes to complete. As a natural bodybuilder I was told very early on that you rely on diet only to get into shape and not cardio- as too much in the way of muscle mass is always lost in the process and because it doesn’t really work. (Read more about cardio as an ineffective method for fat loss here.) In fact during the height of my bodybuilding career I didn’t do anything for my abs and still won shows and almost every photograph of me in circulation is what I look like having not done any direct ab work for over a decade. I’m not a genetic freak by any stretch, I never used drugs, nor am I possessed of a special body type that allows me to get away with doing so little as I have been able to replicate the same results with my clients who competed successfully in fitness, figure and bodybuilding competitions- regardless of their initial body type- and without doing any cardio or hours of ab exercises. It’s not what the fitness industry wants you to hear, but it’s the truth and isn’t thanks to anything but a consistently clean diet and intense weight training.

Everyone Has Six Pack Abs- Somewhere

In my workout DVD which was filmed to document my training philosophy and show what you could do without having to resort to drugs or supplements, there are no shots of me training my abdominals. I was asked on many occasions why I didn’t include a segment on abdominal training and the reason that I didn’t is because I did not in any way want to mislead the public.  Throughout my career I have strived to be as honest and upfront as possible (sometimes to my detriment one might add) and the last thing that I wanted was for people to think that if they trained their abs the way I did that they would get similar results as nothing could be further from the truth. It’s a combination of my years of careful attention to what and how much I eat, the fat burning effect of the brief high intensity training routine that I have followed religiously for the past 21 years and the metabolically active muscle mass that I have gained over my 23 years of training. That’s what keeps me in shape all year round and nothing else.

If It Won’t Give Me Six Pack Abs Do You Need To Do Ab Exercises?

Do you need abdominal exercises for a six pack? Not exactly, but you should do them anyway.

Now make no mistake- there is indeed a need to train your abdominal muscles- as it helps stabilize your entire body and such exercises are indeed recommended for everyone starting a training routine. However, your abdominal muscles get a serious workout during almost any weight training exercise and very much so if you train as hard and as heavy as I do at this point in my career using primarily compound movements. Thus I don’t need to do much in the way of direct ab exercises as they are hit pretty hard as a result of my high intensity training routine. That being said, your abdominals are muscles like anything else and training them every day with hundreds of repetitions won’t do much in terms of getting them to be as strong as possible and can result in overdevelopment. Take a look at the bodybuilders who have blocky abdominal muscles as a result of years of weighted abdominal exercises and or drug use. It might look impressive when they flex them, but otherwise those muscles protrude and give a rather pot bellied appearance. Big and thick abs don’t look too great in a T-shirt, and doesn’t present much in the way of a balanced and aesthetically pleasing physique.
The problem is that once you over develop your abdominal muscles by doing too much, it isn’t that easy- if at all possible to reverse it and you are stuck with a thick waist- which I doubt is the goal of those who train their abs day in and day out. Now the muscle tension created by training your abs several times a week makes you FEEL like your abs are tighter- but like any muscle the more you train them won’t necessarily make them any stronger or better developed. If anything it can actually hinder your overall progress (read more about how muscles get stronger here). As for ‘core strength’- time spent on an exercise ball will never give you the strength you can gain from a high intensity training program. High intensity weight training can make your core muscles strong enough to enable you to lift a car- which is a far cry from what you could do on your best day if you relied only on the modern incarnation of ‘core exercises.’ It won’t give you a six pack either.

Six Pack Abs Comes From Diet & Exercise

Now training your abdominal muscles can help make them bigger- but it can’t burn off the layer of fat that obscures them. That comes from a clean diet and ensuring that you don’t overeat. Any exercise claiming that it can spot reduce the fat around your stomach is as credible as killing chickens and painting yourself blue under a full moon to make it rain the next day. Muscle and fat are two completely different types of tissue thus an abdominal exercise will do nothing to reduce your waistline.

One or no more than two abdominal exercises done once a week at reasonable intensity is more than enough for 99% of the general population. Nevertheless, you can do ab  exercises until the cows come home but  it won’t do anything if your diet isn’t on point. I would honestly say that diet is 80% of the equation if your goal of a six pack. How you train creates the potential for your body to change but it’s what you eat that will determine how much you will change.

The Importance Of Diet For Six Pack Abs

What type of diet do you need to follow if a six pack is your ultimate goal? It’s a diet consisting exclusively of foods that have been part of the human diet for the past 150,000 years and one where you don’t overeat. That means no processed foods, (and that includes protein shakes- which you should avoid if you seriously want a six pack- read my article here) no added salt or sugars, no alcohol, juices or junk food of any kind. It isn’t as Spartan as one might think as it is absurd to believe that you need processed foods and alcohol to enjoy life. Humans have done it for millennia and back then most of them had that same six pack that today so many struggle to attain. Your great-great grandparents enjoyed their food, and most likely ate far less than you do today. It didn’t kill them, but on the contrary probably allowed them a better quality of life in terms of robust health.

In terms of exercise- you need to also incorporate weight training of a sufficient intensity to both increase your muscle mass which will also help you burn off the excess body fat in a manner that leads to sustainable and lasting results. So forget about doing high reps in the hopes of doing anything but wasting your time. For your body to change their must be some degree of overload and you can learn more about how this mechanism works in my article here.

Now paying attention to your diet over a long period of time in combination with a sensible exercise regiment isn’t going to give you any instant gratification. Attention to diet requires a lifetime of consideration, patience and discipline. Traits that don’t lend themselves to today’s microwave mentality but are nonetheless very much what it takes to get in shape and stay in shape. After all, it’s only logical that if it took you years to put on that layer of fat that obscures your stomach, it wouldn’t be realistic to expect it to go away in a couple of weeks. There are legitimate reasons to work your abdominal muscles directly, and that is to strengthen the muscles that support the trunk and allow for movement. These muscles also help support your lower back, so training them is not just a cosmetic undertaking. I hope this article help clear up some of the misconceptions around abdominal training, and I wish you all the best in your quest for six pack abs!

Related Articles

Should Women Weight Train Like Men

Does Aerobics Work- Rethinking The Need For Cardio

How Muscles Get Bigger & Stronger

How To Build Your Lower Abs

High Intensity Workouts & Fat Loss

Kevin Richardson is an award winning fitness writer, one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City and the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training^TM. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here. If you live in the New York City metropolitan area and need help losing weight or getting into cover model shape, give Kevin and his team a call at 1-800-798-8420.

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Post tags: 10 minute workouts, abdominals, abs, diet, exercise, fat loss, flat stomach, high intensity training, junk foods, training, training tip, weight loss, weight training

Leg Day- A Personal Look At High Intensity Training

“No man has ever crossed the border of human suffering”- K. Wotija

I wrote ‘Leg Day’ several years ago after filming my workout DVD and it has since been published in print and praised online as one of  the most inspiring training accounts of all time. I am not sure I deserve that much praise for it, but I wanted to give the public some tangible insight into what my training is like as well as what drives me to take myself above and beyond my limits. I wrote it lying on the floor of the gym immediately after my training session so that I could capture as much as possible in terms of not only what I did, but what I was thinking and I hope it motivates you to higher levels of accomplishment as well.

Author's legs

Leg Day: 10 am

For me, my leg day starts the day before. I always train legs on Sunday but the mental preparation begins on Saturday night. By Sunday morning I have a clear vision of what is ahead and what I need to do to make it a reality. When I finally step into the gym, it is an act that I have rehearsed in my mind over and over again. There is always a certain queasiness in my stomach. A twinge of apprehension that I am not ashamed to admit. My workouts are brutal testaments to the upper limits of human strength and endurance, and just conjuring up images of what is to come, fills me with a sense of dread. But that is what makes it worthwhile. It isn’t ever a walk in the park, but still I do it, and with no one but my inner voice as a guide.

I look up at the clock after a long sip of water from the water cooler. It is exactly 10 am. My lips are pursed in a silent prayer as I make my way over to the leg section of the gym. I never pray for strength or anything so outwardly superficial, I pray instead that the work that I do today will be meaningful in some way. Today I start with stiff legged deadlifts, 135lbs, twenty times, 225lbs 15 times and 315 lbs 12 times, all in rapid, non stop succession, pausing only for as long as it takes to slap on another plate. I am alone today, so I am training fast. Already my breathing is labored and my hamstrings are on fire. But I have more in me and so I do one more set with four 45lb plates on each side.

I set myself over the bar, grab it as hard as I can and use the muscles in the back of my legs to lift it up. I pull, with every sinew straining with the enormous weight until reluctantly, it rises from the chalk dusted gym floor. It comes all the way up and then back down. Up and then down again for a total of six agonizing repetitions. I drop the bar on rep number six after barely getting the weight up and I feel my legs begin to buckle underneath me.

Leg Day- 10:05 am

“Not yet,” I say to myself, there is so much more to do. A quick trip to the water cooler and I am back. It is now 10:05 am. I go straight to the standing leg curl machine and rep out 12 reps with half the stack. With no rest, I do the same with the next leg and then the briefest of pauses to change the weight. Three quarters of the stack now, 12 more reps on each side, hamstrings feeling as if they are ready to snap, and again a weight increase to the entire stack.

Bodybuilding isn’t about lifting weights; it is about making lifting weights harder. An idea that is almost counter intuitive. The goal is to really dig in and squeeze the muscle against the resistance and forcing it to fail. I could easily add more weight to the full stack, but there is no need to, instead I just train faster and make every repetition harder than the last.

Leg Day-  10:09 am

I set myself on the machine and I go into myself to really feel the burn. At rep number 7 the pain is unbearable. My right leg biceps muscles cramping under the weight, but I will not stop. At rep number 10, the weight is barely moving, but I do not yield. Will supersedes the natural instinct to stop as the muscles begin to completely give out. But I want more and somehow, against all logic I get two more repetitions, and with no stop whatsoever, I inflict the same torture upon my left leg. I am back at the water cooler. It is 10:09 am and already the room is beginning to spin. With the hamstring muscles annihilated, it is time for the most painful part, the quadriceps.

Those beautiful muscles that surround the knee and extend all the way up to the hips. As beautiful as they are, there is a price to be paid for them. They are silent monuments to the countless moments of agony.

It starts with leg extensions- first set at 200 lbs for fifty repetitions. I don’t plan the numbers, I just figure out what will be hard and I do it. By number twenty the fire starts. A white, all consuming flame that starts at the teardrop over my knee and spreads throughout my body, searing my very soul. My teeth are clenched and tears begin to well in the corner of my eyes, but I will not stop. There is no one to shout encouragement, today is a lonely endeavor. There is only that inner voice, the one that seems almost older than I am, that gets louder and louder as the lactic acid builds in my legs. That voice that started as a whisper on Saturday night has now grown into an animalistic cry. A cry louder than the pain, with the voice claiming me. Embracing the pain and somehow  finding the strength not only to keep the weight moving, but to find ever fiber in my legs and force them against all that is rational, to contract even harder. At rep 49 I know that 50 is a near impossibility, but that voice just laughs and finds the strength somewhere within me to complete four more.

This is now the point of no return, the place where in order to carry on I have to live completely in the moment, forsaking all thoughts of success or failure or even what is to come next. Every repetition must become a world and a lifetime unto itself, if not I will not endure.  I place the pin at the bottom of the stack after a timed rest of exactly sixty seconds and I go again for my final set, still reeling from the last one.

With the full 250lb weight stack loaded I am a bit more controlled with my cadence. Not out of concern for myself, but for the machine. I have snapped the cable several times before after overloading it with additional dumbbells and losing myself in the intensity of my sets. And so I am a bit cautious. With a deep breath, I begin anew. Staying in the moment, flexing my quads with each painful rep as if it were my last. Somewhere along the way, I lose myself again and thirty-three excruciating reps go by. With a giant slam the weight stack falls to the floor and I heave myself off of the machine and begin falling to the floor, where at least for the briefest of minutes, I can catch my breath.

But I do not let myself fall. Instead I walk drunkenly, on legs made of rubber over to the relief of the water cooler. It is the only comfort I allow myself, as I drink deeply, holding on to the sides of the cooler to support myself, as my legs right now seem to be of little use. Enough water, and I lumber back to the leg press machine and load three 100lb plates and two 45lb plates on each side for my first set.

Without thinking I blast through twenty repetitions before racking the weight and adding four 45lb plates to each side. Loading the weight in it self is a Herculean task at this point. I can barely walk straight and my chest is heaving, my lungs struggling for air, and I have to load all the plates myself. It is all part of the process though, as it helps me focus on what needs to be done, and it keeps me moving, for at this point, if I stop, I shall not be able to continue. Another set of fifteen reps and I feel that my knees are warm enough for the real working set. To the weights already loaded I add another four 45lb plates on each side for a total of somewhere in the vicinity of 1,500lbs. The machine cannot hold any more plates, but to be honest, I don’t care at his point. I have a job to do.

I sit in the machine, set my feet against it and push with all that I have.  The strain of the weight is indescribable. For a second a pulse of fear grips me as I have a realization that there is the equivalent weight of half of a car over me. Any mishap would most likely result in my immediate demise, but I welcome the realization. It keeps me centered on the need for absolute clarity in focus, and the fear is only a passing pulse. Fear has no place where I am now. I lower the weight ever so slowly, knees coming down to almost meet my shoulders, with every muscle screaming as the burden becomes greater and greater. The weight stops for a second and then I explode it upwards. Once, twice, establishing an insane cadence as once again I am overtaken by the fire.

At rep eighteen the sled starts slowing down, as gravity and the laws of physics find their way back into my reality. Pain is all I feel, and yet I carry on. Eighteen is not a good enough number, so I must get to twenty. Holding the weight for a moment of relative calm, I steel myself and eek out two last punishing reps. I rack the weight and the whole machine sways. I pull myself up with my hands, my legs are not up to the task at this point, and I feel the beginnings of a cold sweat.

Out of the corner of my consciousness I see the other members of the gym staring over at me, perhaps wondering what demons drive me to do what it is that I do, but it is only a flicker, as I go back into myself and struggle for control so as not to pass out from the growing nausea and dizziness. I take the weights off- and it seems an age has passed before all the plates are removed. While I am putting them away I am concentrating on my breathing, regularizing it and consciously slowing the pounding in my chest. It is remarkable that no matter how many times I do this, it is always so much harder. Weights racked, I allow myself a minute to sit down before a much needed trip to the cooler, which is now several miles away. I decide against the water break and instead opt to grab the 100 lb plate and start doing vertical jumps. Going down slowly into a full squat position and then exploding upwards, leaving the ground with a terrifying force before falling back into the full squat position. The hundred pound weight helps me to not hit any of the lights overhead, as it has happened before in the past. It also makes it harder, much harder. I barely get twelve jumps before I freeze in the squat position for a count of ten then do a total of ten more jumps. Another full stop in the bottom position for a count of ten before doing eight more jumps.

Leg Day- 10:15 am

My legs are now beyond pain- there is only a numbing ache. I can hardly catch my breath, though and on the eighth jump I drop the hundred pound plate, which has now etched a groove into my upper arms and lower forearms. I try to stand and for a split second everything goes dark. I fight the darkness, not letting it hold me in its grasp, and instead make my way over to the water cooler, swaying as I walk. I make it and drink once again the coldest and most satisfying drink of my life. I stay there for a while, breathing in between sips, until my eyes can focus once again and the ringing in my ears begins to subside. I glance at the clock. It is 10:15 am, but for me an eternity has come and gone several times over.

I limp over to the donkey calf machine and groan as I bend to place the pin at the bottom of the stack. I set myself on the machine and without pause begin my first set of one hundred reps. The counting in my head is somewhere far away as the searing pain in my calves seem to almost fill my ears. Around number seventy I let out a growling scream that is long overdue (although I am told afterwards that I screamed quite more times than I realized). At one hundred there is the blissful relief of putting down the weight, but the bliss is short lived as I load four 45 lb plates on top of the machine for my next set which will be all the weight the machine can hold, plus 180 extra pounds. The second set of one hundred reps is almost unconscious and I do not recall much save the sweet sound of the weight slamming down as I finish the set. I add another two 45 lb plates and begin what looks to be my last set.

I never plan my last sets- they just happen when my body insists that it has had more than enough. This set is harder than all the others, and at my twenty-fifth rep I start to feel as though I am not going to make it. I am truly at the limit of my powers of endurance, and my legs begin to tremble with the strain, but I do not stop. Instead I think about why it really is that I do this to myself. I think of my family, and how very much what I do here serves to provide them with a better life. I think of my training partners, every one that has been here over the years shouting encouragement and believing in my ability to do what seems to be the impossible. I think of that wide eyed boy that I once was and how far I have come on my road. I think of my clients, my fans, well wishers and all those who I have inspired and who, one day I will inspire. I think of you, and in doing so, I find it. The will.

The nerve to keep on going through my own self inflicted hell. Almost magically the count reaches to one hundred and the weight slams to the floor. Gratitude flows over me, overwhelming even the unmentionable pain. Gratitude for being able to have survived yet another day of the impossible, and gratitude for all of you that are not here, but who helped me along the way. Through blurry eyes I look up at the clock from where I am, as I cannot possibly move for at least another five minutes or so and I note the time. It is 10:20 am.

Kevin Richardson is one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City a lifetime drug free bodybuilding champion and the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training. Get a copy of his natural bodybuilding DVD here.

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Kevin Richardson is a champion natural bodybuilder, one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City and the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training™

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Source: Solimena Lab and Review Suckale Solimena 2008 Frontiers in Bioscience

Short High Intensity Training Workouts (HIT) Can Help Regulate Blood Sugar

According to a recent study extremely short duration high intensity training significantly improves insulin action in young healthy males. Type 2 diabetes is a very health problem here in the United States and in developed countries- a veritable pandemic affecting millions of children and adults alike. While it has been conclusively established that the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes can be reduced by regular exercise [1]. It is also true that most people find it difficult to consistently follow a routine due to lack of time as conventional exercise guidelines call for at least an hour of aerobic type activity five times a week. The commitment required for such training protocols are beyond the means of most living within the constraints of the very hectic realities of modern life. As many experts in the field have noted, in order for an exercise protocol to as well as a health benefit for the individual, not only should the regime reliably modify key disease risk factors, it must also be plausible to implement.”[2]

Short high intensity training increases aerobic function and insulin action

Brief high intensity training workouts (HIT) have been demonstrated to produce improvements in aerobic function, but it was previously unknown whether high intensity training had the capacity to improve insulin action and hence glycemic control. The study, done published in BMC Endocrine Disorders proves that it does just that!

For the study 16 young men in their early twenties underwent a regime of 15 minute high intensity training type workouts for a period of two weeks. Aerobic performance testing as well as an oral glucose tolerance test were administered both before and after the training period. What researchers found after the two week period was that there was a significant increase in insulin action in addition to an increase in aerobic performance.

Notably the area under the plasma glucose, insulin and NEFA concentration-time curves were all reduced (12%, 37%, 26%), fasting plasma insulin and glucose concentrations were unchanged, but there was a tendency for reduced fasting plasma NEFA concentrations after training. Insulin sensitivity, as measured by the Cederholm index, was improved by an average of 23%, while aerobic cycling performance improved by 6%.

High intensity training is a realistic training paradigm to improve insulin action

The study concluded that: “the efficacy of a high intensity exercise protocol, involving only ~250 kcal of work each week, to substantially improve insulin action in young sedentary subjects is remarkable…This novel time-efficient training paradigm can be used as a strategy to reduce metabolic risk factors in young and middle aged sedentary populations who otherwise would not adhere to time consuming traditional aerobic exercise regimes.”[2]

References: 

1. Pedersen BK, Saltin B: Evidence for prescribing exercise as therapy in chronic disease. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2006

2. Extremely short duration high intensity interval training substantially improves insulin action in young healthy males- John A Babraj , Niels BJ Vollaard , Cameron Keast, Fergus M Guppy, Greg Cottrell and James A Timmons

Kevin Richardson is the creator of  Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts™  and one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City.

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Post tags: 10 minute workouts, exercise, health tips, high intensity training, training tip

Want To Try Out Our High Intensity 10 Minute Workouts? Here Is Your Chance!

As a way to help more and more people have a chance to experience the ten minute workouts that have been the cornerstone of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise™
for the past 19 years, we have set up a Meetup Group where as a group you can come in and see for yourself how effective our ten minute workouts can be at no cost!  Here is our 10 Minute Workout Meetup Information:

Get Better Results In Less Time With Effective 10 Minute Workouts!

Kevin Richardson is one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City a champion lifetime drug free bodybuilder and founder of the Naturally Intense System of Diet and Exercise. He has used his system of 10 minute workouts and holistic dietary approach to help hundreds get into the best shape of their lives over the past 19 years of his career as a personal trainer and is a living testimony himself to its effectiveness! Here is why you owe it to yourself to attend the Meetup:

Why You Should Try Our Naturally Intense™ 10 Minute Workouts:

• Experience An Exercise Program That Fits Into Everyone’s Schedule!
• Lose Weight With A Simple and Time Tested Program That Helps You Keep The Weight Off!
• Increase Your Endurance In A Fraction of the Time From Our High Intensity Workouts!
• Increase Your Strength & Muscle Mass!
• Long Term Weight Loss & Decreased Body Fat From Building Healthy and Natural Muscle!
• Safe For Everyone At Any Age Or Fitness Level!
• Have A Chance To Meet With Kevin & Get Hands On Help With Your Diet From One Of The Experts In The Field

You’ll have a chance to try out our Naturally Intense™ 10 Minute Workouts and see for yourself why people regularly commute from as far away as North Carolina on a weekly basis to train with Kevin and his team! The System works!

Note that there is no fee for this Meetup- we take care of all associated gym and training fees for the day!

Please come ready to workout, lockers and showers are available.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Kevin Richardson, NYC Personal Trainer
Founder, Naturally Intense System of Diet And Exercise™
Call for more information at 1-800-798-8420

See the full event details, including location, at http://www.meetup.com/10-minute-workouts-naturally-intense/calendar/12382309/.

Get a copy of Kevin’s free weight loss ebook here!

Kevin Richardson- celebrity Personal Trainer New York City is the creator of Naturally Intense™ High Intensity Training, a lifetime natural bodybuilder, head of Naturally Intense™ Personal Trainers NYC and one of the most sought after personal trainer in NYC.

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The end of the year is upon us, and I thought, what better way to recap all the great health and fitness related articles covered in the blog this year than by having a bit of a quiz. I invite everyone to take the fitness test and see just how much you know about health and fitness.

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Post tags: 10 minute workouts, diet, diet tips, eating tips, female bodybuilder, health tips, healthy eating, naturally intense, personal trainer nyc articles, training tip, weight loss

Most are frustrated by their lack of results on the treadmill- now we know why!

Aerobic Exercise Will Not Help You Lose Weight- High Intensity Workouts Will!

The party line for years has been that aerobic exercise will help you burn fat and increase your overall endurance, while brief high intensity workouts only work the muscles and have no bearing on fat loss or increasing cardiovascular capacity. Since the 1980′s this has been the gospel handed down from so many accedited organizations while real world results have done little to support it. More and more people are doing aerobic type exercise and yet few see truly significant results in the gym, while for almost two decades programs like the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise ™with its 10 minute workouts have helped literally hundreds of people from fitness models, bodybuilders, actors and performers to housewives and business people lose weight and get into cover model shape all while improving their endurance from only high intensity workouts with weights. Research has come a long way in validating what has been my life practice- namely the use of high intensity workouts to help build muscle, reduce fat and improve endurance and it has been a long and hard road over the years, but the success of all those that I have trained over the years in addition to my own success as a lifetime drug free bodybuilder and martial artist has always served as the incontovertible proof that 10 minute workouts do indeed work better than traditional programs. Now we have the science to prove it as well and it is my hope that it helps the general population begin to get real results from their fitness programs as so many fall short and are frustrated by their lack of success following traditional training protocols.- Kevin Richardson, NYC Personal Trainer and founder of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise™.

It’s a common cause of frustration, you go to the gym, sign up for an aerobics class or maybe hit the treadmill for an hour or so, and you feel really great about starting your weight loss program. However after a month of all that hard work and sweat, the results are less than spectacular. You love the way you feel during your workouts but the needle on the scale hasn’t really moved much. Maybe you aren’t doing enough, so you logically increase your efforts. Instead of going to the gym three times a week, now you are now going five days a week, maybe even six- but still to no avail. You are not looking anything like the models in the gym commercials and you can’t figure out for the life of you why it’s not working. Burnt out, over trained and fatigued from all that exercise (and more than a little frustrated), you give up after a few months and the gym membership that you had every intention of using goes to waste. Perhaps your body type is somehow resistant to losing weight, maybe it is just your genes, or maybe there is something wrong with your metabolism? Fortunately, none of these factors are to blame; the reality is simply that aerobic exercise isn’t exactly great for weight loss.

Studies Contradict The Fat Burning Effect Of Aerobics

A study published recently in The British Journal of Sports Medicine was the latest of a series of reputable research to come back with less than stellar results for the effectiveness of aerobic exercise as a weight loss tool. In this study 58 obese individuals went through 12 weeks of supervised steady state aerobic exercise without any change in their diets.  In spite of the exercise regime, the group average weight loss was only around seven pounds or so, with many losing three pounds or less. The author’s conclusion was “From a public health perspective, exercise should be encouraged and the emphasis on weight loss reduced.”1 Not a glowing endorsement for weight loss at all. True there is a calorie burning effect to any form of exercise, aerobics included, but an overwhelming body of research shows, achieve significant weight loss with exercise alone, without a major change in their eating habits- which right there casts doubts on whether aerobics are really needed in the first place. The going theory for many years has been that by doing aerobic exercise, there is an so called after burner effect- namely that your metabolism speeds up as a result for hours afterwards thus helping the body burn more calories. Sounds fantastic, and it helped sell a lot of equipment over the years, but it doesn’t hold water when held up to scientific scrutiny. In a study done at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, several groups were brought together to measure the fat burning effects of aerobic exercise, ranging from lean endurance athletes to sedentary and obese individuals. For the duration of the study, the subjects would spend 24 hours in a special laboratory configured as a calorimeter, designed to measure exactly how many calories they would burn during the period. Researchers could also tell from using several mathematical formulas whether calories burned were in the form of fat or carbohydrates. Each subject spent 24 hours in the calorimeter without doing anything whatsoever as a base reading and then another 24 hours period that included one hour of riding a stationary bicycle at an easy pace that supposedly makes the body burn fat rather than carbohydrates stored in the muscles. To the astonishment of the researchers, they found that none of the members of the groups, well trainer athletes included, experienced an increase in fat burning on the day that they performed the aerobic exercise. In fact, they found that most had actually burned slightly less fat during the period that they exercised as compared to the 24 hour period that they did nothing. Some other studies point the idea that the after burner effect of increased fat burning after exercise comes from short, high intensity resistance training and not from aerobic exercise.

High Intensity Workouts Compared To Aerobics For Fat Loss

A study of two groups of women conducted at the University of New South Wales in Australia is one of many to come to this conclusion. For this study women were split into two groups, one to perform brief high intensity exercise and one aerobic exercise to determine which type of exercise stimulated the most fat burning effect. After 15 weeks of performing high intensity resistance based workouts three times a week the women in the high intensity group lost an average of 5 ½ pounds of body fat-, which represented an impressive 11.2 percent decrease in their overall body fat percentage, whereas the women in the group that did three aerobic workouts per week for the same 15 week period, actually saw an increase in their overall body fat levels! All that time spent by most gym goers on the treadmill instead of hitting the weights hard and fast is a major factor in why few see significant weight loss today. (While the cry might be that you need aerobics for endurance purposes- the research contradicts this as well- see ‘The Science Behind 10 Minute Workouts)

The Inefficient  Practice Of Aerobics For Weight Loss Might Be The Reason Such Low Calorie Diets Are Used

 This just can’t be, you say to yourself, as there are individuals that slave away doing aerobics and get into great shape all the time- but they all reduce their calories to really low and unhealthy levels to do so. More importantly, they all exhibit a significant lack of energy during the period and are only able to maintain a lower body fat level for a very short period of time before they break down and regain the weight that they originally lost. While this may be common practice, it isn’t healthy, and we know from studies that the yo-yo effect of weight loss and weight gain increases your long term risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Besides, the research points out that the use of aerobics may be the reason why it is so hard for them to lose weight in the first place and why their calorie levels have to go down so low just to lose a few pounds. Aerobics simply are not the best route for weight loss, and while aerobics instructors and StairMaster manufacturers don’t want you to know this, it has been common knowledge for a number of us in the field of drug free bodybuilding.

The Key To Sustainable Low Body Fat Levels Comes From Low Volume High Intensity Workouts From Resistance Training & Proper Diet- Not Aerobics

The author- aerobics free since 1974!

From the very beginning of my career as a natural bodybuilder in Trinidad, all of my coaches strictly forbade me from doing aerobics of any kind. I found it rather odd at the time as all the magazines, books and even the personal trainer manuals advocated the importance of aerobic exercise as a fat burning tool. Yet here I was being told to avoid it like the plague if I really wanted to reduce my body fat levels to 5% or less. Given the number of successful athletes under their tutelage over the years, I heeded their advice, and sure enough I did end up with a body fat percentage under 5% for my first contest, and I have not doubted the soundness of that advice ever since. Over the years, I learned that with the use of brief and high intensity workouts (no more than 10 to 20 minutes of high intensity training three times a week) in addition to a natural based diet, (I call it the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise™) I could maintain a healthy body fat level of 5% and help others do the same. I have never done any form of steady state aerobics as part of my routine, and in eighteen years as personal trainer, I haven’t had any of my clients do it either. Having helped literally hundreds lose tremendous amounts of weight, (read this case study on a member of our 100 lb weight loss club) there must be something to not doing aerobics. Factor in as well the dozens of fitness models and bodybuilders that I am able to get into magazine cover shape using three 10 minute workouts a week and you might give the aerobics machines in your gym a pass.

Related Articles:

Aerobics A Bad Choice For Weight Loss

High Intensity Workouts- Better Results In Less Time From 10 Minute Workouts!

High Intensity Workouts & Endurance

High Intensity Workouts For Weight Loss & Muscle Building

NYC Personal Trainer Kevin Richardson is the most sought after personal trainers in New York City, a lifetime drug free bodybuilding champion and the founder of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise™. His high intensity 10 minute workouts have been helping people get better results in less time for the past 19 years! Get a copy of his free weight loss e-book here!

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Post tags: 10 minute workouts, aerobics, high intensity training, high intensity workouts, naturally intense

Jay relaxed and in shape backstage at the NPC Brooklyn Bodybuilding Championships.

What becomes a champion most? Is it the number of titles and accolades that adorn their mantles or is it their unwavering spirit of self improvement. To me only the latter is of any real tangibility and with that I would like to present my good friend and Naturally Intense client, Jay Larcher.

Jay started training with me about 6 months ago to get ready for the Eastern USA Bodybuilding Championships- a high caliber regional level contest that he had competed in last year and wanted to improve his showing. What makes Jay’s venture notable, however is that he wanted to do it drug free. Contests promoted by this organization are not tested for the use of anabolic steroids, diuretics and other performance enhancing drugs, in fact their use is strongly encouraged.

As a lifetime natural athlete myself, I was immediately impressed by Jay’s spirit. We shared a certain sense of integrity and he was not concerned about being anything but the best that he could be without the help of any artificial advantage. Preparing for a bodybuilding contest is no small undertaking, but readying to stand toe to toe with some of the top competitors on the East Coast powered only by old fashioned hard work and dedication makes it even more of a challenge.
Our challenge, though, was to make Jay the best that he had ever been, and I had full confidence that his best would allow him to hold his own against his competition, and he did just that. Having gained a full ten pounds of muscle and sporting striations that he had never seen before thanks to the brutally high intensity 10 minute workouts workouts and his customized diet. With no aerobics and following the principles of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise, Jay was not only able to be his best, but beat his best!

The Warm Up- The NPC Brooklyn Bodybuilding & Fitness Show

With all of my competitors, I always have them do a ‘warm up’ contest before their showing in a major contest, to help them get used to being onstage and also to let the judges have a first look at them as well. With my method, you are always contest ready at least 2 to 4 weeks before the actual show, so the NPC Brooklyn Bodybuilding and Fitness two weeks prior to the Easterns seemed a good choice. With nothing in terms of last minute carb depletion, water restrictions or fancy supplements, Jay walked onstage amazed by his new body, and moreover that he was able ot look better than he ever did without having to starve himself, or resort to any last minute manipulations. This new look was how he looked all the time, and as time goes on he would only get better and better. For the Brooklyn show, Jay placed a respectable 6th in the light heavyweight class- many had him much higher. With his lines, conditioning, overall symmetry and balance, several veterans in the audience placed him as high as third in their estimation, but as a judge said afterwards, it is all about being bigger. Our competition is an internal one, not a path based on the preferences of a judging panel, but more importantly a path where health comes first, and the compromises required to be bigger are not part of our program. 

The Moment of Truth- The Eastern USA Bodybuilding Championships 

Jay Larcher holding his own at the Eastern USA Bodybuilding Championships

On contest day, Jay stepped onstage with a confidence that can only be equaled by the pride that I, his girlfriend, Kimani and his family felt as we sat in the audience cheering him on. He looked very much like he belonged there and the victory that night was not in the form of a trophy, but in the realization of a personal best and a sense of accomplishment that can never be taken away. Immediately after coming off stage at the pre-judging, his first words to me were,
“Wait until they see what we are going to do next year!”

Such a spirit, such a passion and such determination cannot be stopped and I look forward to seeing him step onstage next year, no longer a light heavyweight, but a legitimate heavyweight contender. There is no off season for those of us who look to bodybuilding as a lifestyle, no pizza and junk food binges after months of deprivation. For us it is about health, balance and the understanding that such tools on your side do indeed make you unbeatable. Thank you, Jay, not only for helping inspire so many others but also for inspiring me as well.

NYC Personal Trainer Kevin Richardson is one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City, a lifetime drug free bodybuilding champion and the founder of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise™. His unorthodox 10 minute workouts have been helping people get get better results in less time for the past 19 years! Get a copy of his free weight loss e-book here!

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Post tags: 10 minute workouts, bodybuilding, naturally intense

Chi Kung teacher, Masahiro Ouchi with Kevin Richardson, Naturally Intense founder at 19th Street Gym

High Intensity Workouts of Naturally Intense™ Integrated Into Chi Kung Practice

When it comes to the principles of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise™, I can be very much the protective parent. Everything that I teach comes from decades of hard work on my part and is very much a part of my life, and with the impressive success rate that the system has in helping people realize their health and fitness goals, it is my obligation to ensure that all trainers in the system are living success stories as well. In today’s world where everything is fast and about making a quick dollar, it is important that certain traditions remain apart from such noise. To maintain a high level of quality requires a high level of quality candidates. Individuals that are focused on first making the system a part of their life and then passing on the knowledge to others. All of my trainers thus far have been rather exceptional people and Masahiro Ouchi certainly joins that list. As the second trainer in almost two decades to be officially certified as a Naturally Intense Personal Trainer, he creates a rather unique platform for the Naturally Intense 10 minute workouts- an integration into his chi kung and Tai Chi practice.

Masahiro Ouchi- Chi Kung Master &  Naturally Intense™ Certified Personal Trainer

With a thriving meditation practice here in New York and in Tokyo, Japan, Masahiro Ouchi is the founder and director of The Healing Tao Center of New York, founder of the TaoZen Association and Senior Instructor of Universal Healing Tao. He is a faculty member of the Healing Tao University, and has been chosen as their Teacher of the Year.  Masahiro has been teaching T’ai chi, Qigong and meditation for over 30 years and has taught Tao and Zen disciplines at everywhere from NYU to the Open Center to numerous prestigious venues in Asia, Europe, Central America and Africa.  His focus and purpose has always been to help teach others how to bring ancient spiritual and healing practices into their daily lives that they may live their lives as fully as possible.
Masahiro found, however that for all the benefits of the spiritual and mediation practices, there was not enough emphasis placed on practices that engaged the body.

“Everyone is so focused on the mind, that they forget that they even have a body, and that brings about imbalance.”- Masahiro Ouchi

The Spiritual Aspects Of Naturally Intense™ High Intensity Training

About two years ago, seeking to find a way to improve his physicality, he began training his training with the 10 minute high intensity workouts that are the core of the Naturally Intense System. Masahiro immediately fell in love with the idea of pushing the body literally to the limit and beyond. What was even more surprising was his realization that those 10 minute workouts were in fact based on the aspect of Shugyo, which formed a central part of my own training as a teacher of the martial tradition called ninpo/ninjutsu. Most of what I have presented over the years as the Naturally Intense System of Diet Of Exercise™ is related on some levels to this esoteric practice.  The end result of shugyo or any form of truly highly intense physical activity is a certain inner clarity and perspective. This comes when the attention of the mind and body focuses solely on the execution of a task that takes both aspects to their limits- the noise of unrelated thoughts falls away and what is left is a very direct body and mind communication. Many of my clients, from writers to musicians to yoga and meditation teachers have realized this inner side of high intensity training and use it very effectively as a means of improving their own focus. This was exactly what Masahiro was looking for, not only in terms of helping him lose a bit off his waistline and sculpt his body somewhat, but in terms of finding a vehicle that would allow him to truly experience and be aware of his physical form.

Masahiro Returns To New York To Bring Naturally Intense™ Back To Japan

After leaving for Japan for a while to tend to his large meditation practice in Tokyo, Masahiro returned to New York City, determined to learn the basic concepts of Naturally Intense™ and integrate them into his holistic practice. I can hardly say how honored I was to have him as a pupil and to have Naturally Intense integrated into a spiritual life practice, and during his tenure as an apprentice trainer, he truly distinguished himself as one able to make the Naturally Intense™ System a part of his life, and as one able to pass long that knowledge to others as well in a safe and compassionate manner. Yesterday was his last day of apprenticeship with me at the 19th Street Gym, and was awarded his level one certification. Today, Masahiro returns to Japan to bring the 10 minute workouts of the Naturally Intense™ System to a whole new continent. I wish him all the best and look forward to his return in March for his second round of certification.

Masahiro Ouchi’s TaoZen websites:

English

Japanese

NYC Personal Trainer Kevin Richardson is one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City, a lifetime drug free bodybuilding champion and the founder of the Naturally Intense System of Diet & Exercise™. His unorthodox 10 minute workouts and customized dietary plans have been helping people get better results in less time for the past 19 years! Get a free trial personal training session with Kevin here!

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Post tags: 10 minute workouts, chi kung, high intensity training, personal training, spirituality

Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts Will Increase Your Muscle Mass

The central point of the high intensity 10 minute workouts is that it is the most efficient and effective way of increasing muscle mass. To stimulate muscle mass there must be a stress strong enough to force your body to adapt. To do this we employ high intensity workouts that take you to the peak of your performance threshold, at times to the point of momentary muscle failure. To make it impossible for your muscles to get used to the stimulation and stop responding (the almost inevitable plateau that occurs in time from conventional training) each workout is radically different from the other, but designed specifically for you to ensure that your body responds and that you are able to achieve your goals in as safe a manner as possible. The workouts are of a short duration because I found over the years that few people could sustain the degree of intensity required to really bring about muscle growth for longer than 10 minutes. The fact that your muscles only grow while at rest accounts for the reason training sessions are done no more than three times a week. Since resistance training is essentially tearing down your muscles on a cellular level, and the process of getting those muscles stronger and larger occurs only when you are not training, it makes sense that you spend more time resting than training. If you train too often, your muscles never have a chance to rebuild themselves and so you don’t really make much progress, and in time you end up overtraining. (Which is when you feel tired, run down and no longer want to continue working out). The Naturally Intense™ System thus serves to increase your muscle mass and consequently, since muscle requires calories to be maintained, your body will burn more calories at rest and during your workouts to sustain your increased muscle. This increase in muscle mass will also go a long way in improving your physique with a more toned appearance. Equally important, the increased muscle means you’ll be able to do more now and as you get older.

Kevin Richardson is the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training™ a lifetime natural bodybuilder and founder of Naturally Intense Personal Training NYC. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here.

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Post tags: 10 minute, 10 minute workouts, build muscle, high intensity training, muscle mass