Bodycomp News & Views Issue#13 March 2011

In this issue:

  1. Alcohol consumption

  2. Sprinting

Interval Sprinting

Interval sprinting has been found to produce highly effective fat loss, despite the relatively short duration of the work phase. Try the following protocol:

-2 minute warm-up of fast walk, slow jog

-30 seconds of maximal intensity sprinting

-90 seconds of slow jog recovery

-repeat for 8 rounds and then cool down

 

This protocol increases the release of HGH (human growth hormone) and has been demonstrated to be a highly effective fat metabolism boost. Avoid the urge to do more than 8 rounds. If you want a better burn, push harder during the 30 second sprint interval.

 

 

 

 

Alcohol Consumption - the effects upon sport performance and weight loss


As much as I am a fan of a tasty pint of lager on a hot summer day, I have been trying to keep the number of those pints under control. A small quantity of alcohol is not particularly harmful for the human body, however, the way that we tend to drink combined with the dietary choices we tend to make when under the influence can certainly add up.

First of all, there are the calories from the actual alcohol - 70 cal per ounce of 40% booze plus the sugars that are found in mix, liquors and garnishes. These are known as empty calories, due to the fact that they contain no vitamins or minerals as a trade-off for the rapidly absorbed liquid calories.

Once alcohol is consumed, the body will preferentially burn the alcohol metabolites over the fat stores in your body. Combine decreased fat metabolism, with a sharp increase in urges to eat foods belonging to the pizza variety, and one night out can produce a huge imbalance to the calories in/calories out equation.

Now, the morning after seems like a great time to make up for the poor decisions of the previous evening, but I'm sure most readers have experienced the poor motivation and energy levels associated with the day after a wild night out. This is due to a variety of factors such as dehydration, hangover and lack of sleep. Your muscles will also have decreased performance and sub optimal response to weight training after such events.

This leads me to suggest moderation when tempted to have a tasty alcoholic beverage this summer. Simply, try and be aware of the number of drinks that you consume and how this will effect your training. Remember to have a tall glass of water between drinks, and avoid sugary cocktails and coolers. Dry wine, vodka with citrus and light coloured beer tends to offer the least total calories and then best flavour tradeoff, but simply having less or passing completely is always the healthiest alternative.