HIIT Economy: 30s Intervals + 2:1 Work-To-Recovery Ratio Allow For Maximal Peak Oxygen Uptake at Minimal Power Output During HIIT Exercises in Advanced Trainees

We all know and follow the fundamental rules of the marketplace, but when we are in the gym we tend to forget about profit maximization and the minimal investment, maximal returns principle.

It is quite funny that our gyms are among the few places in our economy-driven society where people tend to forget about the fundamental rules of the marketplace. The way many of weekend-warriors and fitness junkies train is in fact the exact opposite of the all-governing principle of profiteering. In their desperate and in many cases misinformed efforts to maximize their muscle gains, fat loss or overall fitness, many of them fail to realize that the "optimal" training strategy is not the one that leads to suboptimal results at a maximal level of exhaustion. Think about the 2h cardio sessions in the non-existent fat burning zone, for example, or the two hour resistance training workout with 10 different exercises per body part.

Even if you don't belong to this group of miserably misguided souls, I believe there is this innate masochistic side in all of us that makes us believe that the degree of post-workout exhaustion is an adequate measure of the efficacy of a given workout. It does not matter if we are talking about classic cardio training, weight lifting or the high intensity interval training - all of them could benefit from goal-specific modifications, such as those that researchers from the Lillehammer University College in Norway have recently tested in a small scale intervention trial involving 13 well-trained male cyclists (Rønnestad. 2013).

Note: Your Tmax is the time to exhaustion during continuously cycling to exhaustion at the minimal power output (MAP) that elicits peak oxygen uptake (VO2max).

The goal Rønnestad and Hansen had had in mind, when they came up with the study design  was to investigate the effect of interval durations of 30s, 50% of Tmax [Tmax = ], and 80% of Tmax on the corresponding time-periods the athletes would exercise at ≥90% of their peak oxygen uptake. The three workouts that were performed on three different occasions had a work-to-rest ratio 2:1 and the intensity during the active recovery periods was 50% of the minimal power output (MAP) that elicits peak oxygen uptake (VO2max).

The latter, i.e. the time spent at a minimal power output that elicits peak oxygen uptake, was obviously also the criteria to define the "optimal" HIIT workout. After all, it can be expected that the "cardiovascular" (=fitness) benefits and the corresponding increases in the max. VO2 will be most pronounced, when you work out close to your individual VO2max without subjecting yourself to a potentially detrimental strain.

Figure 1: Maximal rate of perceived exertion, lactate levels and rtime at >90% heart rate in % of the total exercise time (left); VO2 levels at different timepoints expressed as percentage of time to exhaustion (Rønnestad. 2013)

As the scientists point out, their observation that their interval protocol using 30 s work periods induced a longer time ≥90% of VO2peak, longer time ≥90% of HR peak, and longer work durations at MAP intensity than the interval protocols using work periods of 50% of Tmax and 80% of Tmax

"diverge somewhat from the findings of Millet et al. (2003) [who] compared, amongst others, intermittent runs at MAP with a work duration of 30 s and 50% of Tmax with a 1:1 work:recovery ratio and a recovery intensity of 50% of MAP [and] found that work intervals lasting 50% of Tmax resulted in greater time ≥ 90% of VO2peak than work intervals of 30 s (~ 8 min vs. ~ 2.5 min, respectively)." (Rønnestad. 2013)

According to the authors this difference is probably a direct consequence of the extended active rest periods in the Millet trial. While the study at hand used rest periods of 15s (50% of the time spent ad MAP intensity), the participants in Millet's study rested for 30s. Enough time for the heart rate to recover and the "workout economy to decline".

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Suggested read: "Eight HIIT Sessions on the Rowing Ergometer Cut Body Fat, Increase Adiponectin, VO2Max & Performance in National Level Rowers - Workmatched Classic "Cardio" Does Nothing" | read more

Bottom line: "Cardio" as in "cardiovascular exercise" is supposed to be a form of training that is challenging enough to elicit beneficial adaptation processes that will results in increased exercise performance and/or VO2max. For most advanced trainees, a conventional "cardiovascular training" at say 70-80% of the individual VO2max is not going to deliver the stimulus that would be necessary to elicit significant adaptation processes.

For the advanced trainee looking to increase his cardiovascular capacity, high intensity interval training should thus be the training method of choice and as the study at hand confirms, the most economic form of HIIT is one that maximizes the time spent in the magic >90% of your HR peak training zone, at minimal intensities.

References:

• Millet, GP, Candau, R, Fattori, P, Bignet, F, and Varray, A. VO2 responses to different intermittent runs at velocity associated with VO2max. Can J Appl Physiol 28: 410-423, 2003.  
• Rønnestad BR, Hansen J. Optimizing interval training at power output associated with peak oxygen uptake in well-trained cyclists. J Strength Cond Res. 2013 Aug 12. [Epub ahead of print] 

Adelfo Cerame Road to Wheelchair Championships: Enough of This Bulking, It's About Time to Peal the Skin!

Image 1: One thing Adelfo shares with many other trainees of his caliber is his desire to be in contest shape 365, 24/7 - but let's face it, if he looked like on this picture (4-days out before Florida), now,  he would be in serious trouble.

One of the most difficult decisions, when it comes to dieting is to determine the timepoint, when one cycle ends and another begins. It is simply not possible to build the superhuman physique, so many of us are striving for, without cycling your energy intake in one way or another. And what is true for the average physical culturist like you or me is all the more the case for such unique specimen like our common friend Adelfo Cerame, whose conditioning oscillates between "pretty impressive", "freaking awesome" and "simply jaw-dropping" - with the latter two being more appropriately than the former, as of late.

And thus he is probably right to stick to his plan to gradually cut back on his food intake from now on to be in absolute peak condition at the Wheelchair Championships eight weeks from now - and that despite the fact that, as you will probably agree once you see his latest progress picture (see image 3)- his "mini-bulk" has (at worst) lead to a minor amount of water retention, the intra-muscular part of which does  yet make Adelfo look bigger and stronger than ever. But you may want to read his take on that before you make up your mind. So, here you go...

Operation Mini Bulk: Mission Accomplished! – Time to taper down

Regardless of how I look, what my abs are telling me or my brain is saying, the calender tells me that it is about time to really start dialing it in for June 23’s USA wheelchair championships. For the past couple of weeks, I was on a mini bulk, trying to take advantage of the small window I had in between shows to try and put on a little bit more size; but as my next show comes closer; it’s getting high time to start tightening things up, and to buckle down.

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Plug-alert ;-) I expect that some of you will already have noticed that my sponsor, Myotropics Nutrition is currently running an awesome promotion. 20% off on their new total milk protein + hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate waxy maize, ... ah, let's just stick to WM HPD meal supplement product for anyone who is willing to participate in the official "Testdrive". All you have to do is to use the discount code "testdrive" at the checkout and submit your honest testimonial... ah, and did I mention that we will be going through the testimonials looking for future sponsored athletes? No? Well, you did not hear that from me, right ;-)

It is, to be precise, less than 8 weeks out,  now. And as you can imagine, I won't contend myself with just bringing the same conditioning as last show - I am determined to outdo myself and hoping that this mini bulk that I played around with in between shows will not have taken away precious time that I may need to really bring in the conditioning that I want. But as scary as it may sound, a major part of any contest prep is simply trial and error - I believe it even has to be, because if as you progress - and that is what bodybuilding is all about, right ? - your body changes, so that it would be a happy, and I should say, were unlikely coincidence if what worked optimally for you in your last prep, will work the similarly well in the next one.

There is always some trial and error involved, the goal is thus to minimize the "error"

In order not to be totally at fortune's mercy, it is all the more important to constantly evaluate your physique and to compare your look and conditioning to similar stages in previous contest preps. So, I dug up a couple of pictures from the weeks before the Florida show and compared those to how I look now, 8 weeks before the New Orleans show:

Image 2 [comment Dr. Andro]: I am scrutinizing, but all I can see here is a bigger and more impressive look, and certainly nothing to be afraid of "not being able to dial it down to contest day" - what do you say, folks? Give Adelfo your honest opinion in the comments section of this blog - does a "mistake" or an "experiment go wrong" produce these results?

I guess, objectively speaking, I didn’t veer too far off from my conditioning. It’s still not to my satisfaction, or as where I should be at this point, but I believe that’s the give and take, when you try to play around with stuff. And from looking at the pictures, you can also say that I was able to accomplish my goal in trying to put on a little bit more size. I am still hesitant to say that it's all real muscle mass, and not just an increase in muscle glycogen and water, but once I start peeling off the skin, we will see much of this "size" I will be able to retain.

Planning ahea: The next 5 weeks

The goal for the next 5 weeks is to really push the envelope with my nutrition and training regimen – Start to gradually add HIIT cardio back into my regimen and take up the caloric zigzagging again. I want to be ready at least 4-3 weeks out, so I can just cruise from there, and maybe start to gradually increase my food, of which I hope that it will do me some good, as far as a slightly fuller more muscular, yet similarly ripped look on the day of the contest is concerned.

Adelfo Cerame: Wheelchair Nationals Wrap-Up. Plus: Blueprint to Look Your Best on a "Big Day" in Your Life

Image 1: Adelfo Cerame Jr, 2nd at the Wheelchair Nationals in West Palm Beach, Florida, doing his posing routine.

For most of you it is not really news that other than his prep, the contest in Florida did not really work out the way, Adelfo (I and everyone else!) had imagined. Adelfo took 2nd, certainly a good placing, but... ah, I'll just let Adelfo tell you the whole story and leave it up to you to take a closer look at the pictures (gallery 1,  gallery 2) and let me and our common friend know, which number you would have had written on the score card, if it had been your decision as a judge. Personally I feel like there are one, maybe two poses (both from the back, cf. image 6), where you could arguably have him second, that's it... and yes, I know that I am biased ;-)

Back from Florida and more motivated than ever!

Before I begin with my write-up on the contest-prep, the traveling and the events at the show, I want to give thanks to the Lord for blessing me with the strength and ability to be able to do what I do.Win or lose, I always give thanks to the Lord for what he has blessed me with. I would also like to thank Dr. Andro, Rob Regish, Skip Hill (the skipload guy!) and my new Sponsor, Myotropics Physique Nutrition for all their support. But most of all, I would like to express my gratitude for you, the SuppVersity readers and everyone else who followed me these past 4 months through my journey to the Wheelchair Nationals. All the love and support I have been getting from all of you, was simply amazing! And if you have enjoyed my posts as much as I have enjoyed your comments and facebook posts, I guess that you don't mind that you will have to "endure" another 15 of those "terribly boring" blogposts ;-)

Another 15 posts? Every Thursday? What is that supposed to mean?

As some of you may already know, I fell short of my goal this past weekend and placed 2nd in the middleweight class. I was up against a very tough competitor, who eventually took the overall and won his pro card, but I am not going to lie: When they called out the 2nd place, and I eventually realized that they had just called out my name, it was as if a snowball of emotion got jammed down my throat and choked me up inside... all the hard work and it had still not been enough!? I felt like breaking out in tears, but I knew I had to keep a smile and let no one see the disappointment in my face...

Image 2: Athletes don't compete to be part of the show. They compete to win! For men like LeBron James and Adelfo Cerame a 2nd place feels like a defeat.

The compliments, all the kind words on how much progress I had made, how great I looked... all that, I heard it, but still, it did not really reach my heart. It probably is my competitive nature, my upbringing from my days of playing football. You know, like Ricky Bobby says, "If you ain’t first, your last!" I know, it sounds stupid, but if you are a competitive athlete, I guess you know these "stupidities" ... Do you think Tom Brady was satisfied with placing second in the Superbowl to the New York Giants? Do you think LeBron James was satisfied with placing 2nd to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA finals? Well, that’s the same way I felt placing 2nd at the wheelchair nationals.

But I am not bitter about it. It's part of the sport and though I was disappointed with my placing, I was not disappointed with my conditioning, my shape and the progress I have made over the past couple of weeks. I have never been in better shape, I have left no if's, no and's and no but's during my prep and I am sure there is still room for improvements in the future.

A brief review of my traveling and how I kept form from Wednesday on till’ Saturday.

Although I know that probably only few of you are actually going to step on stage one day, I believe that even the "average gymrat" as Dr. Andro usually writes, can learn one thing or another from the way a bodybuilder attacks the last 72h before a show - after all, we all have our days, when we want to make sure that we are in the best shape possible, right? Therefore I will briefly take you through the details of my pre-contest regimen and leave it up to you to decide if and which of these tactics may be worth trying for you ;-)

• Wednesday, re-feeding: After carefully monitoring my body's reaction to my Sunday re-feeds throughout the whole prep, I had figured out that I look my best on Wednesdays. So the last week before show time (peak week) I skipped my Sunday re-feed and did it on a Wednesday, instead - why? If I look best on Wednesday, when I re-feed on Sunday this means that I will look best on Saturday when I re-feed on Wednesday, right? Well and Saturday was the day of the show ;-)
  

  

  Image 3: Not exactly the "Last Supper", but an ideal last re-feed on Wednesday before the show.

  So, I loaded or re-fed on Wednesday for about 8 hours, following my intermittent fasting feeding protocol hours. Wednesday was also my last training day, on which I did a light full body circuit training early in the am (fasted). I didn’t train intense but just to slightly stimulate the muscles, get a decent pump and to prime the muscle fibers for maximal glucose uptake in the subsequent re-feed.
   

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  Image 4: The timing obviously worked out for Adelfo.

  Thursday, traveling: I had a 10 hr + flight from California, to New York, then to Palm Beach, Fl., so that I would be up in the air all Thursday, crossing a few timezones and programming a profound jet-lag. Luckily, I had already done my re-feed on Wednesday, so that I did not have to do that while I was traveling - let alone on the plane! I was however uncertain, whether or not the hours sitting in the plane would make me hold water and decided that I would try to counter that by sticking to light foods and avoiding carbs all together... a couple boiled chicken breasts, cans of tuna, cucumbers, zucchinis, sweet peppers and my jar of coconut oil for the trip and 1x sweet potato, a bag of rice cakes and a candy bar to make sure I would not lose too much glycogen from my muscles.
  
  Luckily, the flight went pretty smoothly, I got a few hours of sleep and was able to eat my meals within my 8 hour feeding window of my intermittent fasting protocol. That did get somewhat tricky, though, because I tried to stick to the Californian time and had to break my fast at 3pm California time in the air. That postponed my latter meals to 9pm (NY time), so that I actually had to try to fit in another meal right after because of the time zone difference... in retrospect, I must yet say that despite the fact that it worked out this time, I would guess it would not have been all too detrimental if I had had to modify / shift my regular feeding hours - but, who knows ;-)
   
• Friday, Palm Beach: I touched down in Palm Beach around 1am and arrived at my room in the hotel at 1:30am. The first thing I did when I got into my room was to take off my shirt and check the mirror! *lol* I was pleased to see that I had no water retention issues, but actually looked better and felt harder. After I evaluated myself, I slept like a baby - actually till about 9am. The moment I woke up, I started pounding water and began practicing my posing routine. After each cycle, I did some mental exercises like meditation and prayer. Since I still stuck to my regular meal plans, all my meals were exclusively protein + fat (just like on a regular rest day). After pounding 2 gallons of water over the day, I cut my water intake to a few sips every hour at 8pm and kept it that low until the show on Saturday.



Image 5: You know who Adelfo is, Neil Picone, the winner is #3 (from the left)

• Saturday, Showtime: I woke up feeling great! My body felt nice and tight and the contractions, when I hit a couple of poses in front of the mirror were awesome. I began to apply my tan and get my stuff ready. While waiting for the cab to pick me up, I ate a quick protein + fat meal with an added sweet potato to help fill me out some more. I had decided in advance that it would not make sense to try to stick to the IF feeding window on contest day, to make sure that I would hit the stage as "gull" as possible. So, I had my last two meals three hours before the pre-judging and 30 minutes before I got on stage. After I got to the venue, registered, and weighed in, I found a corner, where I pumped up and zoned my focus in on what was about to come. 30 minutes before I hit the stage I ate a nice small meal, which has a nice combination of fast digesting carbs, fats, and pretty huge amount of salt to fill out a bit more, and get the blood pumping to increase vascularity. And let me tell you, the two cupcakes, and the candy bar did an awesome job!

Image 6: This is the shot, where I can see Adelfo in 2nd place - check out the rest on Adelfo's Facebook.

As I said, I am not sure, which of these "tricks" will actually be useful for you, but let me warn you, you cannot just stick to the following last part of "peaking" without getting in good shape in weeks before and making sure that your body is primed to make good use of the most pleasant part of every contest day - the "EAT WHATEVER YOU WANT" part - for me that meant going to the next best diner to grab a burger and fries and indulging just to the point where the greasy combination of carbs and salt had maxed out my vascularity - in that, it is important not to eat so much that it causes your stomach to distend or bloat. As long as you still keep an eye on your water intake, the results will be staggering (if that would just work this way on a daily basis ;-)

Inside the mind of a competitor… A competitor’s mentality… My mentality 

Image 7: I (Dr. Andro) am sure, next time there won't be another stumbling block standing in Adelfo's way.

Everything went just the way I had planned it, ... well, until the very moment, I mentioned earlier. "2nd place, Adelfo Cerame Jr" - certainly not something someone with my competitive nature likes to hear. The second place just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, and I wasn’t bred to be satisfied with something less than what was the goal at hand. So, I decided that the only way to rinse that bad taste out of my mouth was to get right back into the trenches... or, as Rob Regish told me "re-trench, re-load and persevere".

So the next stop on the road to my NPC procard, will be New Orleans, on June 23, for the USA Wheelchair Championships. My prep starts next week and I would be thrilled if you would be willing to follow my progress for another 15 weeks. I hope to see you all back here next Thursday, then!