When Will The Interval Train Stop For More Than A Rest Period?

I'm not disregarding interval training. I think it's an integral part of a balanced training program. But, isn't this like beating Barbaro?

When I first started reading Men's Health and other publications, HIIT was the rage, as people were in love with (and apparently overestimating) EPOC and the benefits of interval training instead of boring steady-state cardio sessions.

And it's still the rage now.

Yes, intervals are great for sports like basketball. Yes, you can get a lot accomplished in 15 minutes with intervals. Yes, they're hard as fuck if you do them properly.

And yes, they require more fuel and tax your body more than lower-intensity forms of cardio do.

That last point is indirectly mentioned in Lesson 2, but let me jump to conclusions for a second.

I'm going to assume that the majority of people who would read this article and implement it's techniques are moderately out of shape and overweight. And I'm going to assume that the majority of that majority are going to be in some sort of significant caloric deficit when they start interval training (and the others are eating 4,000 calories of pepperoni and cheese a day).

Interval training requires resources to recover.

Recovery is inhibited by a caloric deficit.

Anyone else see an unaddressed problem?

Isn't There A Better Way?

Jeff Withey transferred from Arizona to Kansas. He's a 7 foot center who needs to put on weight so he can hold his own in the post.

So how much does the KU athletic staff have him eating?

Well, it's less than you'd think. Withey has to eat "at least" 3500 calories a day.

That's it.

Of course, this is also with the caveat that Withey isn't supposed to do any running--something that even in the offseason seems vital to a basketball player's conditioning--so that he doesn't burn any extra calories. And the staff wants him above what they perceive his ideal weight to be when the season starts so that when he does start running, he doesn't go below the target weight.

Any of that make sense?

Wouldn't the smart approach be to up Withey's calories to 5000 or so--after all, he has to gain 35 pounds--and let him do some conditioning exercises along with weight training? It seems pointless to decondition an athlete to gain weight, only to have him lose some of it when he starts conditioning. That way, Withey, who is sitting out the upcoming season because of transfer rules, won't get his ass chewed out for wanting to collapse to his knees after the third set of wind sprints, even though he was following orders by not doing any running.

But, what do I know. Maybe there's a method to their madness. I sure hope not. With the firepower that Kansas has for foreseeable future, Missouri needs all the help they can get.

Ridiculous Picture of the Day

This "featured gallery" woman--who I've never heard of before--has done her neck mobility drills...

And make sure to check Men's Fitness every Friday for their wingman tips, which are conveniently provided at the end of the week so that the wannabes don't forget what to do while choosing which Affliction shirt they'll wear that evening.

VOLUME!!!!

Courtesy of Men's Health:

Ditch the Heavier-is-Better Mindset

Want a guaranteed beach-ready body? Do more total-body work with your muscles. "Our armed forces look awesome because they're doing 150 pushups a day," Sam Iannetta, C.P.T., owner of Functional Fitness and Wellness Centers in Boulder, Colorado says. "Volume ultimately gives you better size and shape than going heavy."

Yes, boys and girls, lots of reps with the pink dumbbells will get you looking better than the dumbbells on the other side of the rack. Lots of reps. Lots of them. Preferably while standing on the BOSU ball. Gotta activate that core.

And don't worry about your diet either. Ever see a skinny powerlifter? Right, you don't, because they're all going heavy.