Stop HIITing Yourself
“I played High School Football. I once scored four touchdowns in one game.” – Al Bundy
I’m showing my age with this quote. But if you’re old enough to remember Al Bundy reliving his glory days, and you’re getting back into or are just starting out in training, keep reading. Even if you don’t get the cultural reference, keep reading, because nobody wants to be the kid that peaked in high school.
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about training with recovery in mind – Train to Recover. Check it out if you haven’t already. Today, I want to expand on that with the training methodology Anti-Glycolytic Training or AGT.
You’re likely familiar with HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). Just about every gym has some variation of a HIIT class running. Some organizations, that’s their whole shtick. It’s so prevalent that you may have been fooled into thinking that redlining your heart rate for 40 mins multiple days a week is somehow going to make you, better?
It's cool, I’ve been there. It feels good getting a good burner session in. It also feels good to smash a pint of Caribbean Coconut gelato in one sitting. But just like that gelato, there’s a time and a place for it in your life if your health and performance is of any concern.
There’s a better way. AGT. What is AGT? Simply put, a method of training that keeps your glycolytic system “in check” by using your a-lactic and aerobic systems to power your training. The A-lactic fuels the work the Aerobic system recovers. Some results of this partnership, to name a few, are:
· Increased power
· Increased muscle (hypertrophy)
· Fat loss
· Better functioning mitochondria
· Faster, stronger, healthier You.
The best part is that you still get to enjoy that metaphorical gelato. But timing is everything.
First, let’s get familiar with your body’s three energy systems so you can better understand what I mean. The first two systems are anaerobic, meaning they produce energy without oxygen. The third is aerobic, meaning it produces energy with oxygen.
The CP system is the first to deploy and powers your Type II muscle fibers (the ones used for moving fast and heavy). This funds the bulk of your efforts for about the first 5 seconds. Then your Glycolytic system begins to take the reins. And by 10 seconds, it’s running the show. Left unchecked, it will continue to dominate the energy production until your aerobic system fires up at about 2 minutes. HIIT lives in this glycolytic-oxidative abyss.
Head Energy System In Charge - H.E.S.I.C
Problem is, once your glycolytic system gets going in its quest to become the H.E.S.I.C. it begins to produce more lactic acid than your body can effectively manage. The point right before this is called The Lactate Threshold
The heavy breathing that’s happening with your mouth a-gape like a basking shark is a part of the effort to restore pH.
The body begins to buffer this rising acid level by producing its equivalent of baking soda (bicarbonate). The reaction between the bicarbonate and lactic acid is like that of baking soda and vinegar. All those CO2 gas bubbles gotta go somewhere. Hence the fish face breathing strategy. Your lungs are now tasked with exhaling this excess CO2 on top of the usual, useful, metabolic CO2 from the gas exchange during cellular respiration.
The burn, and jelly leg feeling you get after a HIIT style workout is a result of all that lactic acid. The HIIT model is one of building up a tolerance for suffering. Enduring the burn. Funny thing is you can get some quick results training this way. Due to hormesis, what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger. Or if I suffer this much today, I’ll suffer this much less tomorrow.
That is, if you don’t injure yourself in the process. Excessive lactic acid also inhibits the signal from nerves to muscle. Your coordination and form goes south putting you at greater risk of injury.
Let’s say you manage to avoid injury from repeated poor form. You’re still over stressing your mitochondria which eventually leads to its impaired ability to do what it’s meant to do. Produce energy. The solution? Not another scoop of pre work out.
AGT on the other hand is much more sustainable, a lot less toxic and most importantly a whole heck of a lot more effective! Instead of beating yourself down and hoping for the best. The AGT model takes you to just before the edge. Not of your abilities, but the edge of glycolysis. Then you recover and repeat so you stay in control to enjoy the exercise experience rather than simply survive it.
Here’s what a typical Anti-Glycolytic session looks like. A period of work up to 10 seconds. Followed by a period of recovery 1-3 minutes.
Things like sprints, jumps, throws or a kettlebell ballistic such as swings, snatches, jerks are staples.
How this works is during a work period of let’s say, kettlebell swings. Your CP system is running full power for the first 5 seconds and the glycolytic system begins ramping up. By 10 seconds, CP is tapped out. That’s when you stop and allow your aerobic (oxidative) system to recover. Then repeat. As you continue your session, your technique, speed, and effort to produce the same movement should not diminish. If it does that means you haven’t recovered enough between sets. If you were to keep going like this, you’re going to HIIT a wall. Stop when you see the wall.
Your breathing is another indicator of where you are metabolically. If your breathing is out of control when it’s time to start your next set, you’ve likely gone beyond your lactate threshold. You can either recover longer or wrap it up depending on your goal. You can check by performing a Talk Test - Being able to speak a few short sentences without having to gasp for air.
Don’t get it twisted. Anti Glycolytic Training is not a war against glycolysis. It’s managing its involvement in energy production. Using the more powerful CP system and longer lasting Oxidative system with a just touch of glycolysis will take you a lot further in your training life. So that you don’t end up like Al.