Try these four strategies to get more from your high-intensity workout.
A low-carb diet can help you lose weight quickly, but one downfall is its ability to drain your body of metabolism-revving muscle. Luckily, new research reveals that there is something you can do to combat this side effect.
A new study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology found that high-intensity training reduces the muscle loss usually related to a calorie- and carb-reduced diet. Researchers found that four-minute intervals of intense exercise (10 in total, with several minutes of rest between) helped maintain lean muscle – allowing the study’s subjects to hang on to more of their muscle than those who were only on a diet. Learn these key points before tackling your own high-intensity routine:
- Go at your own pace. High-intensity to you may not be high-intensity to your neighbor. Listen to your body – are you barely able to get out a few words at a time due to heavy breathing? You are likely reaching your maximum exertion level. Start with small intervals: Going all-out for four minutes at a time is tough for even the strongest athlete. Start with 20-second intervals and work your way up from there.
- Don’t overdo it. The best part about high-intensity training is dramatically reducing your exercise time. But you need to allot yourself adequate rest periods. The participants in this study rested for up to three minutes after every four minutes of work. The good news: As you get stronger you will be able to recover quicker, shortening rest time between sets.
