What is Burst Training, Why You Should Be Doing It, And Other “Important Stuff” You Need To Know About Getting Fit…

Watch this short video to learn more…

If you have already seen this video, great! Please read the following…

What is Burst Training?

Burst Training is short bursts of vigorous movement followed by brief periods of rest. A typical burst training workout can consist of 6,8,10,or 12 rounds of on/off exercise activity. Total time to complete a Burst Training workout is often 12-15 minutes. Burst Training can be performed by anyone, from the elderly to the elite athlete. Burst Training can be done with or without equipment. It can utilize resistance-based exercises, traditional cardio-based exercises, or a combination thereof.

With Burst Training you strategically manipulate exercise intensity to strategically manipulate your entire physiology including, but not limited to: fat burning and muscle building potential.

What If I Am A Little Scared of “Intense” Exercise?

Intensity level is relative to the individual. Simply move faster or more vigorously than you normally would. By increasing intensity level you increase the benefits and results of exercise in general.

It is the intensity level that will get you results – not the duration!

Studies have already been done to show that even the elderly can do Burst Training. And, perhaps even more interesting, their bodies responded to it like that of the younger individuals. What should that tell you? We are designed to do this type of exercise! When we do, our body responds in marvelous fashion.

I Thought Getting Into The “Fat Burning” Zone Is Where The Results Come From?

This is “old-school” thinking. The sooner you overcome this mentality, the better.

Remember, your body responds more to quality than quantity when it comes to exercise – that’s the beauty of Burst Training. We take the focus off of duration and put it where it belongs, intensity of movement.

As you will read below, you can get in the fat burning zone, and yes, you will burns fat calories – but, only when you are exercising. I would rather trigger my body to burn fat more efficiently ALL DAY LONG. Traditional cardio and exercise routines will not trigger this type of metabolic activity. However, with Burst Training you can!

What About Doing Cardio For a Healthy Heart?

Research is showing that when the intensity of the exercise is sufficient, cardiovascular condition can be doubled in just 8 minutes of Burst Training per week.

I know, it’s hard to believe, right? This is because you have been conditioned to think that duration is so important. However, Burst Training is becoming a more obvious, more effective solution to maintaing heart health than traditional cardio exercise.

What We Really Need To Understand Is…

How Exactly Does Burst Training Affect My Body And My Metabolism?

Burst Training works because it changes your hormones and it does so in two extremely powerful ways.

First, everyone is either a “sugar burner” or a “fat burner” physiologically. Traditional aerobic exercise promotes getting into your “fat burning zone,” then staying there for a set period of time. Although you may burn fat while you are in that zone, your body then responds by burning sugar for the rest of the day. When you are burning sugar you aren’t burning fat. Would you rather burn fat for 30 minutes a day or 24 hours a day? This means that you can literally burst for minutes a day and burn fat for the rest of the day!

Secondly, bursting releases exponentially more Human Growth Hormone and Testosterone than traditional exercise. These hormones are the ones responsible for toning and creating muscle. Therefore the more HGH you release, the more fit and healthy you are.

Why Are We Talking About Hormones Instead Of Burning Calories?

If you want to learn how to burn more calories in a more effective manner than ever before, you MUST understand how different types of exercise affect your hormones.

For instance, cortisol is the primary hormone released during long duration, low intensity exercise. This hormone, called the stress hormone, inhibits both muscle growth and fat metabolism. Yep, I said it… doing the wrong type of exercise can actually keep you from achieving any real, tangible results.

On the other hand, Burst Training significantly increases the release of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and testosterone, two primary muscle and fat burning hormones.

The 3 Biggest Reasons I Prefer Burst Training Over Anything Else

Reason #1

Burst Training is perfect for anyone that feels time crunched for fitness, which is pretty much everyone nowadays. In fact, the average Burst training workout is only 12-15 minutes long. You can choose to go longer or do additional exercise routines in conjunction with Burst Training, but it’s actually not necessary – if you do it properly.

Reason #2

Burst training has been show to burn up to 3X more calories than traditional exercise, i.e. steady state cardio or conventional weight lifting routines. Why? This type of exercise stimulates muscular, hormonal and energy production systems in a way that other programs or routines rarely do. The net result is a state of enhanced metabolic activity. This is when things start to get really interesting.

Reason #3

Burst Training workouts are designed to move the body the way it was designed to move. Therefore, when you do this, the body does what it is designed to do… THRIVE! You can take this point either way you like, to the spiritual side of things or to the scientific side of things. Either way, you will be using and moving your body in a way that is more congruent with its God-given, scientifically supported design. When you do this, only the best outcome is possible.

So, Here Is The Real Question…

Do you want to learn how to exercise smarter than ever before, get far better results with fitness, and do it all in a fraction of the time you think it should take?

If so, please read on…

What Does a Burst Training Workout Look Like?

An example of a “cardio-based” Burst Training workout using a piece of cardio equipment (treadmill, stair climber, elliptical, etc.) might look like this:

8 rounds of bursting activity (on/off interval)
30 seconds on = exertion level equals 80-100% maximum effort
30 seconds off = resting or moving at 20% maximum effort
*** short warm up and cool down period

You could choose to do only 6 rounds just as you could choose to do 10-12 rounds. The choice is yours. the point is this… most people exercise at a far lesser pace or INTENSITY level than is required for Burst Training. Therefore, they only stimulate certain elements of their physiology.

When you increase your pace and intensity levels you begin to stimulate other key elements of your physiology, as mentioned above. Again, remember, intensity is more important than duration. Therefore, the key is increased INTENSITY of movement!

Another example of a “resistance-based” Burst Training workout using body weight movements (with or without added resistance, i.e. weights or bands) might look like this:

6 rounds of bursting activity (on/off interval)
20 seconds on = exertion level equals 80-90% maximum effort
20 seconds off = rest
*** short warm up and cool down period

THE LINE UP – 6 LOWER BODY EXERCISES:

Perform each exercise 3 times prior to moving to the next movement. For example, run in place at 80-100% maximum effort for 20 seconds, rest for 20 sends, then repeat 2 more rounds in similar fashion. When done properly, and at the right intensity level: round 1 of every exercise isn’t too bad, round 2 gets hard to complete, and round 3 fully exhausts you. This is how you stimulate your body at its deepest level in a very short period of time!

Run in place (harder than you think)
Squat
Toe-taps
Static lunge
3-way calf raise
Hamstring curl with ball

Another example of an upper body routine…

THE LINE UP – 6 UPPER BODY EXERCISES (using resistance bands):

Shoulder press
Speed curls
Pushup (on knees as needed or standing)
Seated rows
Tricep chair dips
Upright row

Why Should You Do Burst Training?

By moving faster you engage different muscle fibers (fast twith muscle fibers), as well as different engy production systems (the anaerobic pathways). By doing so, you stimulate hormone and metabolic changes not otherwise experienced.

This is the key to unlocking your body’s potential for significant improvements in the following areas:

Metabolic activity
Hormone production and regulation
Energy production
Fat burning capacity
Muscle building capacity

“Burst Training is my favorite approach to fitness. Teach yourself what I have taught myself, and you will end up doing it for the rest of your life.” – Dr. Craig Burns

Additional Resources:

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Fitness equipment we use and recommend – click here

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