Friday, April 26, 2013

Aerobic Exercise + Strength Training = Optimum Body Composition Changes


Written and posted April 19, 2013 by Jeff Pruitt, CrossFit 316

There are a lot of women out there that think that aerobic exercise alone will produce the kind of changes in body composition they want to see. Images of bodybuilders and other strength athletes have them worried that lifting weights will make them too big and bulky. The study we’ll look at this week shows that lifting weights alone will not decrease fat mass and that aerobics alone will decrease fat mass but not increase lean body mass – not exactly new science here. However, a combination of the two led to greater increases in fat loss, lean muscle mass and a substantial decrease in waist circumference, and I think those are all things that women and men would be interested in.

The paper is a relatively controversial study entitled “Effects of aerobic and/or resistance training on body mass and fat mass in overweight or obese adults.” I say controversial because some of the conclusions drawn by the authors have sparked debate but are really immaterial to our review – we’ll simply look at the data and draw our own conclusions!

In this trial the authors randomly placed participants into 3 categories:

Resistance Training (RT) – 3 days/wk; 3×8-12 rep scheme
Aerobic Training (AT) – 12 miles/wk @ 65-80% VO2 max
Resistance Training + Aerobic Training (RT/AT) – combination of both of the above

The following chart shows data from each of these 3 categories. The measured data were weight and fat percent change, lean body mass and waist circumference change and thigh muscle area and fat mass change. This chart reminds me of the Verizon “Easy Choice” commercial where the Verizon rep presents a bunch of different charts to a focus group and they laugh because it’s obvious that Verizon is the best choice given the data presented.



It’s pretty obvious here which protocol is better. RT alone adds muscle mass but does very little for losing fat mass. Conversely AT alone produces fat loss but actually causes a loss in lean body mass which is kind of obvious if you look at the body composition of endurance athletes. The AT/RT group excels in every category – essentially it is a combination of the benefits of both types of training as one might expect.

Now the authors, instead of drawing the obvious conclusion that AT/RT is the optimal choice, argue that AT is better if you balance time commitments vs health benefits since AT/RT involves more workout time per week. This conclusion has been debated ad nauseum on the interwebs so I won’t rehash all those arguments but I will say that scientifically one must define and measure “health benefits” before drawing such a conclusion.

The authors failed to mention that despite the time commitment for AT/RT being 3hrs/week more than AT alone, the dropout rate for the AT/RT group was only 23% compared to 34% for the AT. And guess what the #1 reason for AT dropout was? Yup, time commitment, despite the fact that they were exercising significantly less each week than the AT/RT group. Could it be the monotony of AT training was the cause of the higher dropout rate? That would be my hypothesis given my own personal experience and from coaching others.

Conclusion: Weight training combined with resistance training produces superior body composition changes when compared to doing either mode of exercise by itself. Despite more than double the time exercising the dropout rate for those combining weight training with aerobic training is less than those doing only aerobic exercise. Constantly varied works after all – go figure. Get stronger, get more fit, look better – that’s our goal at CrossFit 316 and that’s why we lift weights AND perform aerobic conditioning…

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Double Unders, Box Jumps and Deadlift Fitness Workout #77

crossfit pistol squat
Christmas Abbott, CrossFitter and NASCAR Pit Crewmember
Day 107/112

INTENSITY:
For Time
50 Double Unders
21 Weighted Box Jumps (20/12, 1p / .5p)
9 Deadlift (185/135)
50 Double Unders
15 Weighted Box Jumps
15 Deadlift
50 Double Unders
9 Weighted Box Jumps
21 Deadlift

RESET:
2 Rounds of:
50m HEAVY BB Shoulder carry
20 GHD Back Extensions
10 KB Windmill total (either side)


KB WINDMILL LINK

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Cindy Fitness Workout #76


Day 106/112

INTENSITY:

Cindy
Max rounds in 20 minutes
5x Pull-ups
10x Push-ups
15x Squats


RESET:
Stretch and Roll-Out Work, 10 minutes

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Rowing and Thrusters Fitness Workout #75

crossfit games svg fit wichita kansas Day 105/112 

INTENSITY:
Row 1k
50' Handstand Walk*
30 Toes to Bar
15 Thrusters (115/85)

*Sub is 200' bear crawl

RESET:
Each Direction, 10 Landmine Bus Drivers (45/25)
30 Leg Lifts
60s Squat Bridge
10 Iron Crossovers (each leg)


Endurance is Coming!


Hello, Savages! We have just over one week left in the Alpha mesocycle! It's almost time to switch it up for the summer and move to a more endurance-centric program!

I will be programming endurance workouts for two months starting on May 6th, 2013. Once that's completed, we'll switch back over to the second heavy mesocycle of the year and finish out the year!

Be ready, Endurance is coming!

Monday, April 22, 2013

Ring Dip, Pull-Up and Cleans AMRAP Fitness Workout #74



Day 104/112

INTENSITY:
AMRAP 12 Minutes
6 Ring Dips
4 Strict Pull-Ups
2 Cleans (155 / 115)

RESET:
2 Rounds of:
Max Wall Walk-ups and 10s Hold*
4 Man-Makers
10 Around the Worlds each direction

*Max without dropping push-up position or resting.

Muscle Fatigue and the SVG FIT Couplet


CrossFit Games Sledgehammer
Good morning, Savages!


Before diving into the meat of this article, it's worth caveating ALL of this with the following: you are not going to see ANY results worth the effort you are putting into this program if you are not also modifying your diet to compensate both for your weight (if you are trying to shed pounds) and for the amount of work you're doing. The NUMBER ONE biggest mistake I see people make is assuming, because they've made it through a brutal workout, that gives them carte blanche to eat whatever the hell they want. NO!

Your body is a machine - when you fuel it correctly and adequately, it performs like a monster. When you pour sugar in the tank and eat like crap, your performance suffers and you will not lose the weight you want to lose. It's just that simple.

Whew! With that being said - two things:

1) This is not necessarily a weight-loss post!

2) I LOVE questions - keep them coming.


A question was posed to me today:

Why do the Couplets for the Heavy portion of the workout?.

I realized this probably hadn't been addressed; at least not adequately. So I thought I would do a little write-up on it for everyone. It important to note that CrossFit, while a terrific program and ultimate ass-kicker, is not the only program competitive athletes train to. The MetCon is only a part of their daily routine, and it is with a similar mindset to which I approach the programming at SVG FIT. Strict CrossFit programming will undoubtedly produce an increased capacity over time, but it will not inherently create a stronger athlete with random 7x1 strength training.

Regular participation in weightlifting will result in increased strength, an increase in definition and size of muscles and, overall, a generally trim figure over time. We all know this! Running miles at a time or going to that Supreme Cardio Extreme 200 Ninja X (patent pending) workout will not have the same effect!

Lifting weights, even body weight HIIT stresses the body and is far more beneficial for weight loss over time than running or ANY strictly cardio workout. Aside from the simple fact that you are creating muscle which is much more beneficial than fat when it comes to efficiency at consuming calories, you are also engaging in a greater EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) effect than cardio. The EPOC is the phenomenon where the body continues to run along in an advanced state for many hours after the conclusion of an anaerobic workout involving external stiumuli (in our case - weights). In order for the body to fully appreciate the benefits of a weightlifting session, however, we have to stress it. We have to put the body in a state uncertainty that elicits a response - that response, over time, is muscle growth, heart conditioning and an increase in overall capacity.

CrossFit Handstand Walk

From a capacity-building standpoint, take the following excerpt from Alwyn Cosgrove:
Overweight subjects were assigned to three groups: diet-only, diet plus aerobics, diet plus aerobics plus weights. The diet group lost 14.6 pounds of fat in 12 weeks. The aerobic group lost only one more pound (15.6 pounds) than the diet group (training was three times a week starting at 30 minutes and progressing to 50 minutes over the 12 weeks).
The weight training group lost 21.1 pounds of fat (44% and 35% more than diet and aerobic only groups respectively). Basically, the addition of aerobic training didn’t result in any real world significant fat loss over dieting alone.
Thirty-six sessions of up to 50 minutes is a lot of work for one additional pound of fat loss. However, the addition of resistance training greatly accelerated fat loss results.
CrossFit Front Squat

So, to come back around to original question - why the couplet? - we look at the single lift we do daily and quickly come to the conclusion that the solitary movement, despite being multi-functional in its mechanics, may not be enough of a stressor for the body to which it feels the need to respond. By creating the couplet, the intent is to add a layer of uncertainty for the body to deal with. This additional level of fatigue-inducing exercise forces the body to compensate and ensures a greater response (i.e. musculoskeletal growth) in a shorter amount of time.

In-short, it is critical that each session (with the exception of the Deload weeks) be an overload of the muscle groups being targeted. Creating the couplet ensures the desired response.

Stay Savage, My Friends!
Matt Everhart

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Running, Swinging, Slamming Fitness Workout #73



Day 103/112

INTENSITY:
3 Rounds for Time of:
800m Run
21 KB Swings (1.5p / 1p)
15 Ball Slams

RESET:
Skill Check
One-Arm Barbell Press (Spear Press)
Work for 10 minutes, increasing the weight up from 45# as necessary
http://www.weighttraining.com/exercises/one-arm-barbell-military-press

Alpha Series - Week 2, Phase 4 MAXES

Phase Length: 2 Weeks
Sets: 3
Rep Range: 1-2
Load: 95-100% 1RM (1 Rep Max) / Find new max

Monday: OHS / 4 Pull-Ups
Tuesday: DL / 10 Hollow Rocks
Wednesday: Press / 8 Push-Ups
Thursday: Clean / 6 Jump Squats
Friday: Intensity Only
Saturday: Ruck March - 90 minutes, 30lbs
Sunday: 2 Rounds, Max Reps Pull-Ups

The exercises listed after the lift are to be done between each set.

Rest no less than 2 and NO MORE THAN 3 minutes following the LIFT.

OLY LIFT KEY:
BP - Bench Press
BSQT - Back Squat
C&J - Clean and Jerk
DL - Dead Lift
FSQT - Front Squat
HPC - Hang Power Clean
OHS - Overhead Squat
PC - Power Clean
 PJ - Push Jerk
PP - Push Press
SDHP - Sumo Deadlift, High Pull