Truth about intervals- Jason Ferruggia

[Frank.S]

im so glad my girlfriend doesnt read this site

[eastcoastsurfer]

Originally Posted by maxattack

So for a young, normal, active weight trainer that is trying to put on some muscle mass and does cardio (intervals) on his non-training days, steady state cardio may just fine?

Of course this is only anecdotal, but I've gotten many people to switch to intervals (usually the 30s on 1:30 off variety) from steady state cardio. Every single one of them has dropped considerable weight and told me how surprised they were in it's effectiveness. And these are people who were resistant to change.

[Chris Correia]

Originally Posted by Lisa~

Alwyn Cosgrove wrote a post about over-reaction and under-reaction to training modalities: Bringing the Pendulum Back to Center.

There is balance in all things and a right time and place for most training methods. I think Jason's rant was an over-reaction to interval training used to make a point that he felt needed to be emphasized.

Walk a little.

Jog a little.

Run a little.

Sprint a little.

[Chris Correia]

Originally Posted by karky

the "sen" names are probably Norwegian. Son actually sounds more like something they could be called in Sweeden. There are tons of Jorgensen (In Norway we would spell it with an Ø, but you don't have that letter) and Petersen's in Norway.

I bet that's how the "O" ended up with Norwegians names here. We spelled it with our "o" not that letter you have. The "e" tend to be Swedes.

Hey, can you send me a tall, blond Norwegian for Christmas?

Oh, wait, I'm already married to one of those.

But maybe a younger, slimmer model would be nice. (I'm sure glad my wife doen't post here.)

(I love you, honey.)

[raymond3]

Hmmm, not sure I agree. If Im reading it correctly, he is saying intervals (30-60 sec, followed by a 1:2-1:3 rest ratio) is not good for fat loss, even though thats what we've been told for the last few years.

See here-

'If you are looking to get bigger and stronger while maintaining your bodyfat
levels or even simultaneously get leaner, you should probably avoid doing too
many intervals. Instead stick with short sprints or old school steady state
cardio (just be sure to mix it up and add in as much variety as possible like
running, biking, rope jumping, hiking, etc.). It has worked for the leanest
athletes on the planet for decades so I can assure you that it will work for
you.'

Isnt this what that symbolic guy always argues about with AC? I still do both intervals and steady-state cardio to this day (usually switch between both). I bump the treadmill to the max 12.0 and do 8-10 30 second sprints. While this is probably not 100%, its damn close. This is pretty interesting though, as I always have seen (and still do see) bodybuilders, people in sports, and just your average dude doing steady cardio and most of them are pretty ripped. This is why I dont buy into the whole 'steady cardio makes you fat' bs. But hey, Im not an expert, just an average dude, so I could be wrong here.

Another question- would doing shorter full intensity sprints (say 10-15 seconds) be better than doing say 1 min intervals, but at a lower intensity ie 60-70% (as far as fat loss being the goal)?

[Chiron]

Originally Posted by karky

I'm from Norway, I'm tall, and I'm lean. You don't have to do cardio to be lean, all you have to do is be from Norway and be tall. It just makes perfect sence.

That's exactly the type of thing authors in this field do that bugs me. It's really gotten old over the last few years because some authors will look at your everyday aerobics instructor and assume "see, aerobics is no good for fat loss." Then they'll look at a national or international level sprinter and go "See, high-intensity interval training is good for fat loss." Anyone using their noggin should stop and realize that's a pretty big stretch of a claim for several reasons.

If someone comes along and says "pro football players are strong", well the fact is compared to the general public it's true. But no one ever infers that they get a 400# bench press from playing football. Everyone would call BS because we all know they get that from the weight room. So why must being lean automatically come from the sport instead of somewhere else? Plus it overlooks the fact that the lean athletes in football at the skill positions are probably genetically pre-disposed to be like that at least to some degree which helped contribute to their selection to play those positions at that level.

[Aoife]

Originally Posted by JoshDunn

Can you explain what this actually means. I have no idea.

I don't really know... sleep deprivation.

I think I meant that since he was talking about intervals being something one does for max efforts on their work interval, which is isn't... makes the rest of what he says marginally suspect, at the very least.

Hard to see if he's just a bit confused on the "sprint" terminology when applied to intervals or doing it on purpose. Because if he's doing it on purpose, than what else is he perhaps twisting/misrepresenting the meaning of. In this observation, I'm being more general... meaning authors in general. Since I've seen someone purposefully present definitions to suit them that were not correct.

I am no less sleep deprived, prolly still makes more sense. Oh well, I doubt it matters any way. move along... :p

[JoshDunn]

If you haven't already check out his follow up post.

Jason Ferruggia Uncensored

(for the record; the reason I posted this to start with had nothing to do with hating or giving Jason crap, was just interested in a talk about intervals and this was a good starter. No internet haters here. )

[Lost Dog]

So, yesterday, he said nothing about intervals being bad for fat loss. Today he says he's never seen anyone get ripped from a few 15-20 minute interval sessions a week. Rather bodybuilders do 6 to 12 hours of cardio a week to get ripped. He's probably right... Especially for people who started off fat.

But, we've got to keep a few things in mind. Most of us aren't trying to get ripped. Most of us have limited time. Many of us started off or are still fat. So make decisions and set expectations accordingly.

Even if a 20 minute interval session might equal a 60 minute cardio session (calorie/fat loss-wise), you simply can't do 6-12 interval sessions per week. You'll be weak beyond the day you were born ("Frank" not included). So make your decisions based on your goals, priorities, and available time.

In fact, AC wrote a whole article about the hierarchy of exercise protocols for fatloss. Most of us do the weights, some do intervals (or sprinting, I guess), but if you're looking for more and have the time, read up. Looks like cardio is on his list, too.

Jason didn't have give any explanation for using this pic of the hottest girl EVER, so I won't either.

[Clemson]

Afterburn? Isn't it clear that EPOC at best can get 150 extra calories (from fat I know)? So over 12 weeks it's only two pounds....afterburn in my opinion is or very strong athletes with good DNA for hormone changes.

[PowerManDL]

Diet is far more critical for body composition than any training method.

Dunno why there's so much hair-splitting over which particular way people choose to waste extra calories.

[jvernacchio]

Originally Posted by PowerManDL

Diet is far more critical for body composition than any training method.

Dunno why there's so much hair-splitting over which particular way people choose to waste extra calories.

I got to agree with that.

[Chris Correia]

Originally Posted by Lost Dog

Jason didn't have give any explanation for using this pic of the hottest girl EVER, so I won't either.

She is not the hottest girl ever. Particularly since she's not a whole lot older than my daughter.

Now, for athletic hotness, I like Gea:

[Clemson]

The spectrum of adaptations may be exclusive and unique to the intensity....the interval people need to realize this.

[LWilson212]

I know this discussion is mainly about losing fat, getting ripped etc, but I switched to intervals after reading New Rules and here's my favorite benefit. It makes me run faster in races! It allows me to spend less time and also get rid of the boredom of longer runs.
As far as my efforts to lose those last stubborn ten pounds, I blame that struggle on diet.

Leah

[jvernacchio]

I hate cardio so the shorter time doing it the better for me. Intervals (when I do them) fit better. I would much rather be lifting though.

[Mahler]

Originally Posted by RedLefty

You could castrate a man and he'd still enjoy the scenery.

Except, at that point the scenery might be Frank.