Effective, less dangerous and less time consuming fitness program

Thursday, July 28, 2011 by: Paul Fassa

(NaturalNews) A new approach to exercise has been recently developed and endorsed by some holistic MDs and other medical practitioners. They invalidate the old approach of jogging for miles or doing aerobics for over 15 minutes. They say long duration aerobic exercise can weaken the lungs and invite cardiac arrest. The high energy output system they endorse takes only ten to twelve minutes a day. Yet it builds energy, helps you feel younger, burns fat away, and enhances your immune system.

Short Intense Bursts of Energy with Short Rests

Anyone familiar with that football training event called wind sprints? Those are 40 yard all out sprints with short recovery times or rest periods. This could go on for several minutes or more.

This is perfect aerobic conditioning for American football. The game itself is played with an all out burst of energy, then the players recover shortly for another all out energy burst. Dr. Al Sears writes about early man's necessity to run all out from or after prey for short distances. This lifestyle, according to Sears, helped early man increase physical energy.

The new approach is not as grueling or dangerous. It doesn't go on as long as wind sprints, and there are no Saber Tooth tigers involved. But there is a similarity. The similarity is all out exertion for short periods with similar amounts of rest time between each short burst. This approach allows you to choose your aerobic exercise.

Basic Technique

Extended periods of exercise actually create more oxidative stress and inflammation. The inflammation is not just with muscles and joints. The heart and lungs suffer as well. The high energy output system is designed to use “fast twitch” muscles intensely. The recovery periods flush out the lactic acid from those exercised muscles.

Unlike prolonged aerobics that burn fat and encourage the body to replace that fat, a high energy output system workout burns carbohydrates directly. Then for a full day after the workout, those carbs are replaced by the liver's conversion of fats to carbs or metabolic sugars. After the workout is when fat gets burned up.

The approach is gradual, adding more intensity to each output of shorter and shorter bursts of energy followed by shorter recovery periods. For example, week one employs a two minute easy warm up with a five minute intense output, then three minutes of recovery. That's a set. It should be repeated at least three times during the first week.

Each week adds different sets with shorter high outputs and shorter recovery periods covering the same amount of total time. By the fourth week you should be doing four sets totaling 10 to 12 minutes with one minute high intensity bursts followed by two minute recovery periods. There is a diagram charting the four sets in source link (1) below.

You may have to start out walking (source 3 below). The warm up should be a moderate intensity of the exercise you choose. Then follow with that intense energy burst and short recovery period. You can come to a complete stop or slow down a lot for each recovery period.

This approach actually builds stronger lung and pulmonary capacity and increases energy quickly.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/033156_fitness_exercise.html#ixzz1Txm5rzKe