Men could cut down their belly fat dramatically by following sprint training.
Researchers at the University of New South Wales(UNSW) recently 'discovered' that 20 minutes of sprinting exercise could be better for you than a one hour daily jog.
The most recent study by the UNSW was carried out on men who participated in a program designed by a company called Lifesprints. The basic system is a general sprint/rest programme intended to stimulate the anaerobic system. The idea is 8 seconds of sprints followed by 12 seconds rest repeated over 20 minutes. It has been suggested it is great for those who are short of time and can't fit long duration aerobic exercise into their life. They even claim that it could have similar benefits to running 7 hours a week.
This research reminds me of the study led by Izumi Tabata of Japan, who back in 1996 showed great results with this style of training for anaerobic and aerobic gains with Olympic Athletes. When it first came to light it was marvelled as being the 'best' way of training for those with limited time. Then the 'fat loss' faeries started to get hold of it and the science studies soon turned on this way of training when they realised it wasn't practical as just doing only this kind of training over time was less likely to burn more fat (in the long term). The previous report by the UNSW regarding female fat loss, following a similar programme 4 years ago, has already been flamed over the net due to it's fuzzy nature.
To sum up, you need to change things around. Interval training is actually really useful, I have seen some of the best gains from it. You do need to find time to do the long aerobic exercise also. If you are stuck with just one form of training you are losing out. Think also about what you need for your health and not just what popular opinion tells you to do. (For example, is fat loss what you need right now? You may need to do other things such as build muscle or work on your flexibility or gain better use of your lungs.)
Comments