Exercise: Which Type and How Much?

If I had a pound for every time I have seen people at the gym slogging away on a treadmill, I would be a millionaire!

Ever wondered why the distance runner is usually built like a stick insect and the sprinter is mostly defined muscle. This is because chronic cardio over stresses the adrenal glands, which secrete excess cortisol in turn leading to muscle breakdown in contrast to high intensity training which builds muscle mass, provided you don’t train too much.

For overweight people who are also dealing with insulin resistance, will have to deal with excess glucose that is released from the liver due to the presence of excess cortisol, in turn making it harder to lose fat and even cause fat storage when doing the wrong training like cardio.

High intensity training forces the muscles to adapt by becoming bigger and stronger and more efficient at using glucose for fuel.

Burning calories through cardio is not the best way to burn fat because the actual caloric burn of aerobic exercise is minimal, coupled with the fact that there is no growth hormone, fat burning and muscle building effect that you get with high intensity training.

How exactly should people be training?
Short bursts of intense exercise like sprints and lifting heavy things like weights otherwise known as resistance training.

Why is less is more when it comes to high intensity? Read here