Growth Hormone.
It all starts with the protocol below that’s been shown to create a HUGE surge of natural Growth Hormone in as little as 5 minutes, using a specific weight training protocol.
When performed properly, this type of approach has also been shown in a few studies to create a MASSIVE 38 hour “after burn.”
Ok, here it is.
A simple 5 minute protocol you can use on any body part to burn more fat and FLOOD your body with a natural surge of Growth Hormone.
Youth Enhancing 4X Method: A Different Approach to Burning Fat
By: Steve Holman
Editor in Chief Iron Man Magazine
Did you know that when you train with weights correctly, you won’t need to do boring cardio nearly as often to keep your abs sharp and your stomach flat?
It’s called the 4X method, which is moderate-weight, high- fatigue training — with short rests between sets.
Here’s the drill:
– You take a weight with which you can get 15 reps with good form, but you only do 10 reps.
– Rest 30 seconds, and then perform 10 reps again.
– Rinse and repeat for a total of four sets in a row (using the same weight and same exercise).
Sounds simple enough, but here’s where it gets interesting and the magic occurs…
– On the fourth set, you go to failure, where you can no longer perform another repetition with good form (usually in the 6-8 rep range).
This is how you can release massive amounts of natural Growth Hormone through 3 different pathways:
Fat-burning pathway 1: While this training style does great things for muscle growth, via myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic expansion (ie: muscle stimulation), you also get loads of muscle burn.
This lactic acid pooling has a very aggressive spiking effect on your growth hormone output-and as you may already know-GH is a potent fat burner.
Fat-burning pathway 2: If you do the reps correctly on every set, you’ll also get myofibrillar trauma.
By “damaging” the myofibrils with slower, controlled negative repetitions, you force the need for extra energy during recovery.
In other words, your body runs “hotter” while you’re out of the gym, as it revs up to repair the micro-tears.
Bonus GH Releasing Tip: Try your last set using this method with one-second positives (lifting of the weight) and six-second negatives (lowering of the weight).
Your muscles will be aching, but it’s a good indication that fat is baking 🙂
It’s one of the closest things we have to the fountain of youth without drugs.
Train hard and train smart,
Steve
———————–
Dan Long’s pretty keen on this method, but I’d like to hear from readers what they think…
Anyway, here’s some evidence to support this protocol :
In the late 90’s, a Japanese researcher discovered the many benefits of short duration, high intensity exercise bouts, and the controversy of high intensity VS old-school, slow-go cardio began.
Call it what you will: Tabatas, Metabolic Bursting, Metabolic Stacking, HIIT, or the newest F4X Protocol…
These short bouts of exercise have a huge list of benefits.
For example:
– Three 10-minute workouts have been proven BETTER than one long 30-minute session because the shorter routines increase extra flexibility in your arteries.
(Study at Capital University of Physical Education and Sports in Beijing).
– According to Japanese research, a mere 4 minutes of exercise performed at extreme intensity, just 4 times a week, can improve your anaerobic capacity by 28%, your VO2 max and maximal aerobic power by 15% — in as little as 6 weeks.
(2011 study conducted by the American College of Sport Medicine).
But even more surprising…
– Just ONE single weekly session of high-intensity exercise had a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease over a 16-year span.
(2006 epidemiological study in Norway)
– Shorter bouts of exercise improve insulin sensitivity:
3 months of interval training, performed only two times per week, reduced fasting glucose levels in obese teenagers more than any other exercise type.
This increased benefit was still there 9 months later. Impressive.
(2009 study in the Journal Clinical Science)
– Research also shows that performing 3 minutes of high intensity interval sessions just a few times per week, for just 4 short weeks, improved insulin sensitivity by an average of 24%.
In other words: Your muscles will more readily take in glucose, instead of the glucose contributing to fat storage.
Other documented benefits of high intensity training include:
*Increase in production of HGH (growth hormones) can increase as much as 450% (not a typo) during 24 hours after short bouts of intense exercise.
*And let’s not forget the good ole’ “after-burn” effect known as EPOC (excess post exercise oxygen consumption), where you can increase your metabolism and burn more calories for 24 to 48 hours after ONE 12 minute session.
However, there are a few cons to the High Intensity Workouts.
The biggest issue with short bouts of high intensity exercise is that most people starting out are too out-of-shape for this kind of training…
Mainly, because it requires an all-out effort for short periods.
But, with this proper setup, (rest periods, exercises, sequence, etc.), you can get all the benefits listed above in as little as 90 minutes per week, no matter what condition you’re currently in.
Speak Your Mind