Burst training is an effective approach to fitness and fat burning similar to High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) or Tabata training. Burst training or “surge” training involves short intense “bursts” of intense training lasting 30 to 60 seconds and then 30 to 60 seconds of low impact or “active” recovery exercise.
Benefits of Burst Training:
Burst training burns your body’s glycogen stores
And the body then burns more calories to replenish these stores. Intense burst training burns fat for the nearly 36 hours after your training session to replace the glycogen stores. All of this is accomplished in as few as 4–6 sets of 30–60 second bursts 3 times a week to see measurable improvement – visible results exercising only 15 to 20 minutes a day!
Human Growth Hormone
Unlike endurance or long distance training, short intense training releases lactate and lactate is directly related to the production of human growth hormone. The more lactate you produce the more growth hormone you produce and HGH metabolizes body fat.
Sugar burning versus fat burning
Strength and weight training improves glucose tolerance and increases insulin receptor sensitivity, making your body more efficient in its use of sugar and insulin. By increasing your use of weight training, your body will become more of a fat burner, instead of strictly sugar burner. More metabolic afterburn is generated from resistance exercise compared to aerobic training, and the addition of weights will also increase fat-free muscle, strength, bone density and metabolism.
Improved cardio training
Traditional cardio training will improve resting heart rate, reduce blood pressure, even increase the circulation to your brain, keeping your brain young. Unfortunately, long slow distance training may also decrease your testosterone levels, your immune system, and increases your stress hormone levels, especially cortisol which will stimulate appetite, increase storing of fat and slow down exercise recovery.
No gym required
You can burst train in the gym, use your bodyweight in your office, your kettlebells or dumbbells in your home gym, patio or garage, virtually any time or place. The positive effects are not exercise specific, they are intensity specific, the more intense your “intervals”, the more fat you will burn as fuel. Any multi-joint, multi-muscle exercise performed while maintaining proper form will achieve the goal.
Burst training saves time
Once you adopt this style of fitness and calorie burning, your “no time to exercise” excuse will no longer apply. Burst training requires only 20 to 30 minutes max, which even the busiest of us can schedule into our busy day.
Image Source – jjvirgin