Training

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) - repeated bouts of high-intensity exercise followed by breaks - builds fitness quickly.

Canadian scientists have found that six sessions of high-intensity interval training on a cycle ergometer increased muscle oxidative capacity (citrate synthase) by almost 50 percent, muscle glycogen by 20 percent and cycling endurance by 100 percent. The test subjects made this astonishing progress with just 15 minutes of training within two weeks. This study caused quite a stir in the fitness industry, changing the way many people exercise. Does HIIT offer the same health benefits as traditional moderate intensity training?

A study conducted by Gordon Fischer of the Department of Human Studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham concluded that HIIT and moderate-intensity exercise have similar effects on aerobic capacity, body composition, insulin sensitivity, blood pressure and blood lipids. 28 physically inactive overweight men trained for 6 weeks with either HIIT or moderate intensity training. The HIIT program consisted of 30-second sprints on a cycle ergometer at 85 percent of maximum effort, while the moderate-intensity training consisted of 45 to 60 minutes of cycling at 55 to 65 percent of maximum effort.

HIIT produced the same changes within one hour per week as moderate-intensity training at five hours per week.

(PLoS ONE, 10(10): e0138853, 2015)

Here's what you need to know...

1. Studies have shown that the use of completion sets leads to dramatic fat loss without a loss of muscle mass.
2. One study found that people who used high-intensity interval training lost nine times more fat than subjects who did traditional endurance training.
3. Another study found that subjects who used a high-intensity exercise program with weights burned 450% more calories than subjects who used a standard program.
4. Ways to extend the last set and burn fat include rest-pause training, cluster sets, back-off sets, descending sets and sets of 50 reps.

Destroy your last set, destroy fat

The last set of an exercise can make or break your training session. These last sets, or finishing sets, have always been a staple in bodybuilding as they allow you to perform more repetitions than a traditional set. In addition, they give you the feeling of having completed a good workout. Studies have shown that this technique (and others) also leads to dramatic fat loss while fully maintaining muscle mass.

450% more calories burned

One study compared the effects of 20 weeks of HIIT (high-intensity interval training) with 20 weeks of endurance training in young adults. Surprisingly, the HIIT group lost nine times as much fat as the endurance training group.
Another study compared a traditional training program with weights to a higher intensity resistance training program. The traditional training program consisted of 8 exercises with 4 sets per exercise and 8 to 12 repetitions per set, with the last set of each exercise being performed to muscle failure.

The more intensive training program consisted of 3 exercises with 3 sets per exercise and 6 repetitions per set, as well as an additional set performed in rest-pause fashion.

The traditional program lasted 62 minutes and the total volume of the training session was approximately 17,000 pounds. The group that completed the more intense workout finished their training session within 32 minutes and moved only 8,500 pounds, but showed an afterburn effect the next day that was 450% higher than the traditional training group. These studies confirm that performing the last set to muscle failure using the aforementioned techniques results in dramatic fat loss. And this can be achieved without any additional work simply by optimizing your last sets.

Here's what it looks like in practice!

Here are some ways to extend the last set and burn pounds of fat as part of the process.

1. rest-pause

This is the technique used in the study mentioned above and is quite popular in the bodybuilding realm due to its ability to allow you to get more reps out with the same weight on your last set.

Execution:

On your last set, go to technical muscle failure - the point at which you can't perform another repetition without faking out. Pause for 15 seconds or the duration of 10 breaths. Then perform further repetitions with the same weight up to the point of technical muscle failure.
Then put the weight down again for 15 seconds, followed by the last set until technical failure.
If you can do 10 repetitions on your regular set, try to do 5 repetitions on the first rest-pause set and 3 repetitions on the second rest-pause set. Rest-pause sets are best for assistance exercises and not basic exercises, as your training form may diminish on the heavier basic exercises such as squats and deadlifts.

2. cluster sets.

Cluster sets are similar to rest-pause sets, but the repetitions and pause intervals are predetermined.

Execution:

On the last set of your main exercise, instead of 10 repetitions, perform as many sets of 3 repetitions as you can, pausing for 20 seconds between each of these sets of 3 repetitions.
Resting for 15 to 20 seconds between sets allows your muscles to regenerate a small amount of phosphocreatine and continue training. This system is great for the heavy barbell basic exercises of your workouts as it never takes you to complete muscle failure, but still allows you to use a heavier weight.

So if you can do 10 reps with 200 pounds (2,000 pounds total), you can instead use 225 pounds for 4 "sets" of 3 reps (2,700 pounds total) and increase your total volume on your main exercise by 25%. Keep the reps at 2 to 3 per cluster when using cluster sets on your main exercises. If you are using this technique with support exercises, then you can start with 5 reps per cluster. For the ultimate painful muscle-building experience, start a timer for 5 minutes and perform clusters for the entire 5 minutes, reducing reps as needed as fatigue accumulates.

3. back-off sets

Back-off sets can be used with both main exercises and support exercises and are a great way to use solid technique while pushing your muscular system and cardiovascular system to the limit.

Execution:

Immediately after finishing the execution of your last set, reduce the weight by 30 to 50% and perform as many repetitions as possible with that weight, aiming for 15 to 25 repetitions.

As you should already be somewhat exhausted from the previous sets, you will not be able to perform as many repetitions as when you are rested. So in many ways, this technique works almost like a pre-fatigue technique.
This technique can be used on almost any exercise with good results as you will be using less weight and the muscles are already fatigued so you won't be taxing your nervous system as much as with rest-pause sets or descending sets.

4. descending sets

Descending sets are one of the basic techniques used by bodybuilders and have enjoyed consistent popularity for a long time due to the massive amount of muscle trauma they can induce within a short period of time. A descending set is performed by going to muscle failure on your last working set before reducing the weight by approximately 25% and going to muscle failure again. This process can be repeated as many times as you like, but I like to use 3 weight reduction sets for the best results.

One of the limiting factors of a descending set is the rapid reduction of weights. So unless you have two training partners to help you remove weight plates, descending sets are best performed on machines where the weight can be reduced by moving a peg in the weight stack. Of course, you can perform descending sets without a training partner on a leg press machine by simply standing up quickly and removing the necessary weights. This is harder, but has the added benefit of pushing you even harder.

The execution:

Start with a weight that you have been using for your working sets and perform as many repetitions as you can until you almost reach technical muscle failure. You should stop one repetition before reaching muscle failure to get the most out of this technique, immediately reduce the weight by 20 to 25% and continue the exercise until you stop again just before the point of muscle failure. Three reductions in weight are ideal, with the last set performed at 50% of the starting weight until muscle failure.

5. the 50 repetition challenge

This technique used to be a training staple for old school bodybuilders, but is rarely used today, possibly due to the fact that it is quite brutal.

The execution:

Simply reduce the weight of your last working set by 30 to 40% - a percentage that should allow you to perform 20 to 25 reps. After performing the 20th or 25th repetition, pause for 15 seconds. Then perform a few more repetitions until muscle failure and pause again for 15 seconds. Continue in this way until you have performed a total of 50 repetitions. Your repetition patterns could look like this: 20, 10, 8, 6, 3 and 3 = 50.

References

1. Tremblay et al. "Impact of Exercise Intensity on Body Fatness and Skeletal Muscle Metabolism." Metabolism 1994 Jul;43(7):814-8
2. Paoli et al. "High-Intensity Interval Resistance Training (HIRT) influences resting energy expenditure and respiratory ratio in non-dieting individuals." Lipids in Health and Disease 2013, 12:131 (September 3, 2013)

By Nate Palmer | 06/24/15
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/burn-450-more-calories-without-cardio