Get Ripped - Intermediate Metabolic Training

In a previous Blog entry I gave an example of how you might use 'Metabolic Resistance Training' with a beginner using exercises that might be suitable for the skill level and training age of your client.

Today I'm going to continue this theme, and provide a video showing how you might design a metabolic workout for an intermediate client in the gym so we can really fire up the calorie burning and maximise EPOC. I personally think this type of training is ideal for a time efficient but effective workout. It's probably best used as part of a "split" program - this workout targets primarily the upper back  so an intermediate client might train like this using 3-4 different sessions per week, covering all the major muscle groups over a one week cycle.

In my previous Blog entry I also provided some broad guidelines that you could download for how you might use Metabolic training with clients at different training ages. The workout in my video clip might be suitable for a client who has been training regularly for 6-12 months, and has achieved a reasonable level of overall strength & fitness.

 The video illustrates a possible approach for intermediate clients, but a few important guidelines include:

1. No rest between exercises - at the end of a set, have a timed rest of around 1-2 minutes before repeating.

2. Stick primarily to compound movements, this workout contains 4 x compound upper back movements and one isolation exercise.

3. Intermediate trainers are ready for the introduction of more challenging exercises. Note the full body pull-ups here - you could use a powerband to modify the pull-up if required.

4. You should not feel fully recovered before beginning the next set. This type of training is designed to achieve high levels of fatigue at force you to failure.

I hope you take some ideas away from the video, happy training!

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Acknowledgement to Vubui on Flickr for the pics I have used in this Blog entry. You can see his pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/vubui/

Get Ripped - Metabolic Resistance Training

'Metabolic Training' is one of the new buzz phrases in fitness. In a previous blog entry I outlined the type of exercise that we can do to maximise calorie burn for fat loss, not only during workouts but also maximising afterburn (EPOC) following a workout. This week I'm getting more specific and providing a sample workout (and video) to show what could be done with a beginner client.


Basically, metabolic resistance training is performing a number of resistance training exercises with little or no rest in between - it's very similar to a "circuit" style workout. It's a very intense way to train, and also very time efficient - workouts tend to be shorter because most of the rest periods are eliminated. We are trying to achieve a very high level of fatigue so we can maximise calorie burn during the workout and metabolic rate (afterburn) following the workout.

Metabolic training is for advanced clients, right? Sure, the principles of metabolic training are ideal for challenging advanced clients and reaching new heights (or depths) of fatigue using higher intensities and less rest. But like most things in the gym we can take the basic principles and modify them for the beginner client. In my experience most clients want to be challenged and they want to feel like they are being progressed to more "advanced" exercise, plus clients generally love the euphoric feeling of completing a really tough workout. The tricky part is handling your clients with enough care and using your professional judgement to get what I call the "Goldilocks" workout - not too hard, not too easy... but just right.

So... Metabolic training is all about resistance training? No. You can achieve excellent metabolic stimulus from doing the right type of cardio, especially from High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). But for today I'm only outlining a metabolic resistance training workout suitable for a beginner.

Metabolic Resistance Training - The Guidelines:

1. Use multiple resistance training exercises - for beginners I recommend 4-5 exercises in the set.
2. Complete your 4-5 exercises in a "circuit" style workout - i.e. no rest in between each exercise. When you have completed one complete set, have a restricted (timed) rest before repeating.
3. Use primarily large muscle groups, compound movements. For beginners, you might modify this by using 2-3 compound movements and 1-2 isolation exercises during the working set.

Check out my basic guidelines for progressing metabolic resistance training workouts here or click on the link below this screenshot.

Click here to view the full downloadable version

So... What does a metabolic resistance training workout for a beginner look like? Click on the video below to view a simple metabolic training set suitable for a beginner. It is intended to target primarily chest and shoulders, it combines four exercises that are suited to the client's level of skill and fitness level.

Training in this way is extremely time efficient, it allows the client to achieve a level of fatigue (i.e. overload) using 12-15 minutes of exercise that would take much longer doing a traditional resistance training program. For the personal trainer, this frees up time for some cardio or perhaps core conditioning but still able to have a short, sharp 30-40 minute session with a client rather than a longer one hour session.

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Calorie Afterburn - What is EPOC?

How many calories do we burn after (rather than during) a workout? The afterburn effect is called EPOC (Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption) and the name alone confuses people - what the hell has oxygen consumption got to do with calorie burning? Well... Those nerdy guys in labs measure calorie expenditure by measuring oxygen consumption. They will hook you up to some breathing apparatus and if you had an elevated metabolism (e.g. after a workout) you would be consuming more oxygen than if you had a lower metabolism (e.g. after 9 hrs sleep).

There is lots of scientific information and research available on this topic, I'll link you to a few things that you might like to check out but generally I'm going to try and cut through the science and summarise it all for you.

Lower intensity exercise gives minimal afterburn: Most research shows that low-moderate intensity exercise has a minimal afterburn effect, and you need to work at around 70% of your maximal effort (as a minimum) to generate a decent afterburn. In fact EPOC doesn't really take hold until you are training at 85%-100% of your maximal effort.
To be clear - low intensity exercise (e.g. walking) is still beneficial, and is worth keeping in your weekly training regime. You can't train at 85%-100% every day, so lower intensity exercise is important to keep you active and has some health benefits.
In terms of calorie burning, one hour of brisk walking might burn around 350 Cal and would have very little afterburn effect. So walking is useful for staying active & burning some calories, but isn't intense enough to fire up a big EPOC response. Even moderate exercise like continuous jogging is found to deliver minimal afterburn.

Resistance exercise works, but... Lifting weights gives a strong afterburn effect if you follow these simple rules:
1. Big muscle groups, compound movements... Bicep curls and other isolation exercises are out!
2. You must work to failure, or at least very close to failure.
3. Minimal rest times between exercises, and between sets. In fact a circuit style workout with no rest between exercises will probably give the greatest afterburn effect.

An investigation into afterburn following resistance training also showed that the majority of afterburn calories were in fact coming from fat burning. The study showed that fat burning was 75%-105% higher than normal resting levels.
I highly recommend dynamic/plyometric exercises to get maximum muscle recruitment and fatigue. For this reason I like kettle bell swings, box jumps, jumping lunge, sprints, stair running, power cleans etc. although for beginners perhaps stick to compound free-weight exercises.

When doing cardio, stick to intervals. Most studies indicate that High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) gives a stronger afterburn effect than traditional running or cycling.
The mistake most people make here is not working hard enough during the intervals. HIIT training should be incredibly hard, it makes you feel sick, you want to give up, it hurts. This is where the PT earns their money because very few clients would have the motivation to do intervals on their own and thus they could never achieve great fitness and/or fat loss results on their own.
HIIT should involve a 30sec-2min gut-busting (near maximal) effort, followed by a low intensity "recovery" period (traditionally this is called 'Fartlek'). Beginners should start with short efforts. It's also important to set the right work:rest ratio for clients, beginners will work at around 1:3 whilst more advanced trainers will work at 1:1 or perhaps even harder. Beginners might start with only two or three intervals, but gradually build up to an advanced volume of around ten intervals. HIIT can be done on a treadmill, bike, rower or at the local park so it's easy to mix it up for variety.

How big is the EPOC effect? Each study is slightly different and reports different results. One recent study conducted on men in a metabolic chamber (so it should be very accurate) shows that participants burned 519 Cal during a high intensity 45 minute cycling workout. Following the workout, on average metabolic rates stayed elevated for 14hrs, giving an afterburn of 190 Cal above normal resting levels.
These numbers are significant, remembering that you have to walk briskly for one hour to burn about 350 Cal. Compare that to the high intensity cycling workout - 519 Cal plus a bonus afterburn of 190 Cal, you get a total benefit of 709 Cal from just 45 mins of exercise - more than double the one hour walk.

Another study focussing on resistance training in women showed that metabolic rate was elevated by 13% above resting levels for three hours following a high intensity workout, and was still 4% above resting levels 16 hours after the workout.
Just think about how an extra 100-200 Cal from afterburn will add up if you train clients like this three times per week over a 3-6 month period.

So... How does it work? For those interested in the science of how this works, I recommend you read this article which gives a nice overview of the mechanisms behind EPOC.
In a nutshell, training at very high intensities causes a massive metabolic and cellular disruption to our body. It freaks out our systems, muscles and cells. In particular the hormonal response from HIIT and intense resistance training sparks a stronger afterburn effect - studies appear to indicate higher release of epinephrine, norepinephrine and growth hormone (all fat burning hormones) which gives fat burning a real kick-along following an intense workout.

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Get toned & ripped - Breakfast nutrition

How do you turn the body into a fat-burning machine? Start with exercise, sure - but if you are feeding the machine a bunch of crappy foods high in fats or just too many calories, you will never get ripped because the energy balance is all wrong.

As a PT, you should be spending lots of time talking to clients about eating habits, ask them to keep food diaries for a few days at a time to get an accurate idea of what they are consuming. Lots of people skip breakfast - leaving their metabolism stuck in the mud all morning. Others eat cereals filled with sugar or toast with big chunks of butter on top... Ouch.

Changing client eating habits is incredibly challenging - it takes more than talk. You need to support clients with any strategy that might help kick them along. Try taking pics of foods with a mobile phone & SMS them to clients - gently suggest they pick it up next time they are shopping.

So... what does a fat-burning machine eat for breakfast? We want something with carbs for energy, we want fibre for intestinal health, and we want something slow to digest - it needs to be low GI so it gives slow release energy and the client is not going to feel full for a few hours.

I highly recommend you simply eyeball some breakfast cereals and pick one with unprocessed whole grains. Many "whole grain" cereals are processed into flakes or shapes - pick a cereal which actually has the original grain in it's unprocessed form. Lots of muesli brands have whole grains but beware you need to read the label of your muesli and avoid the brands that are high in fat.

OK... Once you've picked your whole grain cereal, walk to the health food aisle and buy a packet of psyllium husk. This is an ultra-high fibre supplement with wide ranging health (and fat-loss) benefits, if you've never heard of it check out this link and start reading. Adding fibre to your breakfast "bulks up" the meal (you tend to eat less calories) and it also slows down digestion, which leaves you feeling fuller for longer after you eat.

It will take some hunting around to find a whole grain breakfast cereal that has everything you want, tastes OK and is also affordable. My experience tells me that many of them taste like cardboard and some can be very expensive so you will need to experiment yourself with different products and you can then give advice to clients based on your own experience & with confidence.

Once you've chosen your cereal, you can add a table spoon of psyllium husk to the mix. Beware psyllium can have a laxative effect so perhaps start with a small amount & gradually increase as your body gets used to this massive fibre dose at breakfast. Psyllium as linked to all sorts of health benefits so it's well worth a try, stick with it for a few weeks and see how it makes you feel.