2441: Fact or Fiction: Fat Burning Exercise by Rachel Trotta on HIIT & Weight Loss Plateau

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[00:01:09] Fact or Fiction, Fat Burning Exercise by Rachel Trotta of rachletrotta.com and I'm Dr. Neal. Welcome back to Optimal Health Daily or welcome for the first time if you're new here. This is the podcast where I act as your very own personal narrator and read to

[00:01:24] you from some of the most popular health and fitness blogs online. And with that, let's keep this intro nice and short and get right to it as we optimize your life. Fact or Fiction, Fat Burning Exercise by Rachel Trotta of rachletrotta.com

[00:01:45] In a previous post from November I explained how spot toning isn't really possible. Here's a snippet. Quote, what does exercise really do? It builds muscles and burns calories. It does not sculpt. Increased lean muscle mass typically increases your metabolism and if you pair a consistent

[00:02:05] exercise with a healthy way of eating, your body composition will gradually transform. However, you lose fat all over your body consistently with variables due to genetics and gender. For example, doing lots of squats and other effective lower body exercises under the

[00:02:22] best of circumstances will contribute to fat loss and possibly weight loss. However, what many find is that the secret angel leg workout can sometimes result in a thinner face or a smaller waistline before any transformation is visible in the thighs.

[00:02:40] This is because the rate at which you lose fat from various parts of your body is not dependent on what kind of exercise you do. The results instead hinge largely on genetics and where you tend to store body fat.

[00:02:54] This doesn't mean that you won't ever see slimmer, more muscular legs if you are consistent with your lower body exercises. It simply means that you are building muscle beneath fat that is going to take longer to disappear than fat on other parts of your body perhaps. End quote.

[00:03:10] However, I received lots of email feedback from that article that I could summarize in one legitimate question. If spot toning isn't possible, how do I lose fat all over my body as recommended? This is a great question.

[00:03:25] The main purpose of the original article was to debunk silly, ineffective, targeted exercise to which many are especially vulnerable. However, I didn't go into great detail explaining the workout that would provide real solutions. I gave some general guidelines including healthy eating that would help men and women

[00:03:43] transform body composition in the long haul. I'm ready to dish more specifics this time around. My secret weapon fat burning exercise to help you build a trim physique is sprinting. As I often say, the solutions to complex problems are often simple but not easy.

[00:04:02] This is true of sprinting as well. It is a simple answer, but it requires the person to stir up the motivation to run all out with maximum effort for at least 10 seconds at least 8-10 times in a workout.

[00:04:16] Here's an example sprint workout on a treadmill or on the track which I do all the time. Warm up. 3 minutes. Walk at a pace of about 4 miles per hour. Sprints. 30-60 seconds. Sprinting at 8-9 miles per hour. 30-60 seconds. Walk at around 4 miles per hour.

[00:04:37] Repeat sprints 8-10 times. Cool down. 5 minutes. Walking at 2-3 miles per hour. Why is sprinting so effective as a fat burning exercise? Sprinting burns fat like no other type of exercise because it increases the release of natural human growth hormone or HGH.

[00:04:58] A short description of HGH's function is that it prevents glucose from being absorbed by cells for energy, so the body uses more fat for energy instead of glucose. For those who are extremely fit but still have areas of stubborn fat, developing

[00:05:13] higher levels of HGH in the body can help to address these hard-to-burn areas by kicking the body into a higher level of fat burn than normally accessible through typical weight training. If it's so simple, why isn't it easy?

[00:05:28] The bottom line is that most adults do not like the way sprinting feels. The all-out maximum effort causes shortness of breath, muscle burn, increase in body temperature, nausea and general discomfort in the moment. I have had clients discontinue training when I began to incorporate sprints into their workouts,

[00:05:47] even though they would have reaped the benefits of this had they stuck to them for at least six weeks. Sprinting on a treadmill or a track is more effective than using the elliptical or the bike because you are propelling your entire body weight forwards not resting a large

[00:06:02] part of your body weight on a machine. Sprinting isn't for everyone. If you are recovering from an injury or have joint issues, you will want to check with your doctor first. However, if you are a healthy, active adult, you can begin to incorporate sprints into

[00:06:18] your workout gradually by sprinting short portions of your typical cardio workouts. If you are already extremely active, you can probably transition immediately into the sprint workout that I outlined before. Summary Sprints are my secret, but there's nothing I would change about the original article.

[00:06:37] The bottom line is that consistent, balanced exercise and healthy eating are the keys to fat loss. Adding sprints will simply kick your overall fitness routine into overdrive even if you're already in good shape. Finally, if you are experiencing shame or discomfort about your body and are scouring

[00:06:54] the internet for solutions for your thighs, remember that life and exercise involve a lot more than the size of your thighs. Don't miss out on 95% of life to lose 5% of your body fat. End quote. There's nothing wrong with wanting to improve your physique, but don't let it subtract

[00:07:14] from who you are as a person. A few simple exercise habits in a healthy, balanced diet will give you the results you want, but don't forget to live life in the meantime. You just listened to the post titled Fact or Fiction.

[00:07:32] That's Burning Exercise by Rachel Trotta of racheltrotta.com and I'll be right back with my commentary. Dr. Neal here for my commentary. Rachel is basically advocating for a type of high intensity interval training. This is often referred to by its common acronym, H-I-I-T or HIT.

[00:07:52] Remember the sprinting workout she recommended? She said to start the workout by walking then sprint for 30 to 60 seconds. After those 30 to 60 seconds of all out effort, you slow things down by walking again. Then repeat. So you're performing exercises in intervals.

[00:08:10] Sprinting for a set period of time, which is an interval, then walking for a set period of time, another interval. It's considered high intensity because sprinting requires a lot of effort. What we're learning is that this type of high intensity interval training may help individuals

[00:08:26] break through their weight loss plateaus. That may help burn more body fat. Now this doesn't mean that all of your workouts should incorporate sprinting or high intensity interval training. All of your workouts do not need to be high intensity. Instead, sprinkle in this training into your routine.

[00:08:45] Incorporate days where you still go for a long walk or a light jog because just like with our diets, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Too much high intensity interval training can be exhausting, which can increase our risk for injury.

[00:08:59] So again, if you're new to high intensity interval training, start by sprinkling it in with your doctor's permission of course. Maybe incorporate it once a week at first. Then you can gradually increase how often you incorporate this type of training each week.

[00:09:15] Alright, that'll do it for the Tuesday episode if you're listening in real time and I'll be back here tomorrow as usual where your optimal life awaits.