Burst Fitness – A Little Goes a Long Way

Our understanding of fitness and nutrition has reached new heights in recent years, and there’s a lot of research that has gone into a particular type of fitness training called ‘Burst Fitness’ (a.k.a Short-burst Training or SBT). There is a lot of evidence pointing to the health benefits of this type of exercise, and incorporating it into your routine could allow you to profit in only a short amount of time. In fact, the feature of Burst Fitness that attracts so many people is how quickly you begin to see and feel the results.

What is Burst Fitness?

Burst Fitness is a type of workout where you exercise at 90% to 100% effort for thirty to sixty seconds at a time, followed by thirty to sixty seconds of low impact exercise while you recover. Exercising in short bursts using maximum effort causes your body to begin burning glycogen stores (sugar), leading to better blood sugar control. What happens for the 36 hours following exercise is that your body begins burning fat in order to replace the lost glycogen. This means that you can reap much greater benefits.

4 to 6 sets of 30 to 60 second bursts about three times a week is all you need to see marked improvements. More is not always better, so rest in between is very important.

Burst Fitness Combines Strength Training And Cardio

Exercise (and sleep) are essential for releasing a hormone called ‘Human Growth Hormone’. This hormone plays an essential role in the body, and is responsible for regulating metabolic function, and muscle, bone and collagen turnover. It is released by the pituitary gland, and it increases fat metabolism and is responsible for healthier body composition.

Strength training and cardio are essential for engaging the body’s growth hormone response. What’s more, strength training improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. This means that thanks to the increase in muscle mass from strength training, it makes your body more efficient at using and eliminating sugars in the blood. Strength training also allows a greater metabolic afterburn to occur, which means even after you finish exercising, your body is still burning an increased amount of calories.

The benefits associated with cardiovascular activity are lowered blood pressure and resting heart rate, and increased circulation in the body.

So, why should you begin a Burst Fitness Routine?

A mere 12 minutes of intense exercise four times a week will net you immense health and fitness benefits, such as more weight loss and lower cholesterol than other exercise forms.

It is a safe and effective alternative to traditional methods of exercise.
It removes the time-old excuse of not having enough time excuse.

It can be done without any equipment or planning, in both the workplace and the home. You can do it while you watch TV!

It is one of the best ways of getting in shape, because it stimulates the release of HGH.

It burns more calories in less time. 12 weeks of burst fitness or HIIT (high interval training) will already show a reduction in abdominal, trunk and visceral fat, in addition to providing the body with increased muscle mass and aerobic power.

Studies of HIIT and burst fitness training routines demonstrated that changes occur at the level of your DNA! Your body experiences genetic activation with leads to increased production of fat busting enzymes.

Where do I start?

Click on Dr. Axe’s website for Burst Training for Beginners.