The Fountain of Youth: High-Intensity Interval Training and Longevity

Is High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) the fountain of youth of exercise - the magic pill for performance and longevity? Introduction In our quest for a long and healthy life, we often find ourselves exploring various diets, supplements, and lifestyle changes. One increasingly popular method gaining recognition for its positive impact on longevity is High-Intensity Interval Training. HIIT is not just about building muscles or shedding pounds; it has the potential to be the secret sauce for extending our lifespan. In this blog post, we'll delve into the remarkable benefits of HIIT on longevity. What is High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)? HIIT is a workout strategy that alternates short, intense bursts of exercise with brief periods of rest or low-intensity recovery. HIIT training is sometimes referred to as WODs (Workouts of the Day) or MetCons (Metabolic Conditioning). These workouts typically last between 10 and 30 minutes, making them efficient and accessible for people with busy schedules. HIIT can be applied to various forms of exercise, such as running, cycling, swimming, and even strength training. Athletic Lab's Mike Young has discussed the benefits of these workout types in both fitness and performance settings. The Longevity Link Cellular Rejuvenation: One of the keys to longevity is maintaining healthy cells. HIIT stimulates autophagy, a process that helps the body break down and remove damaged or dysfunctional cellular components. This cellular "clean-up" is crucial for preventing age-related diseases and promoting longevity. Improved Cardiovascular Health: HIIT is renowned for its ability to enhance cardiovascular health. It boosts your heart's efficiency, increases stroke volume, and lowers resting heart rate. These improvements reduce the risk of heart disease, which is a leading cause of premature death worldwide. Enhanced Metabolism: HIIT elevates your metabolic rate, [...]

By |2024-08-14T08:37:07-04:00September 22nd, 2023|Training Info|0 Comments

Strength Training for Cycling Performance by Jason Winegar

[Jason is currently pursuing his masters degree from Marshall University in kinesiology with an emphasis on exercise physiology. He is a high performance tennis coach with experience coaching nationally and internationally ranked players all over the world. Jason is a certified High Performance Tennis Coach with the USTA and hold certifications with the USPTA and the iTPT. He is taking part in the Athletic Lab Coaching Mentorship program.] Cycling is a sport of very slim margins. Countless hours are dedicated to time in the saddle riding hundreds of miles a week, even in the most extreme conditions, all in an attempt to gain a few seconds here or a watt or two there. Traditionally, the way to improve at cycling was to cycle… a lot. Professional level cyclists average over 20 hours a week of riding. Even recreational riders at the competitive level average 10+ hours a week. Eventually, there is a point of diminishing returns. Over the last 20 years, the science of training has improved dramatically. Periodized training blocks with zone-specific interval training and load monitoring have led to more effective and efficient training. However, there is one area that research has shown can lead to dramatic gains that most cyclists completely ignore; that is getting off the bike and heading to the gym. Strength training, if done correctly, will lead to improvements in cycling performance [1-7]. Despite numerous scientific studies supporting this claim, cyclists have long avoided trading in time on the bike for some time in the gym. There are a few prominent arguments that seem to persist. One is the fear of bulking up. In cycling, weight matters. The more mass that must be moved, the more energy must be [...]

By |2022-02-14T18:24:19-05:00February 16th, 2022|Training Info|0 Comments

Aerobic System Development for Anaerobic Dominant Sports by Michael Bruno

[Michael Bruno recently finished his undergraduate degree at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. He is currently in the Coaching Mentorship Program at Athletic Lab] The fitness industry is a fickle one with fallacies that continue long after the truth is uncovered. One fallacy I've found in the fitness community is that energy systems of the body are thought of as timed switches. Traditional thought has been during the onset of activity it's the anaerobic alactic for 15 sec, followed by the anaerobic lactic up to 1:30 and anything over two minutes would be the aerobic system. And that depending upon time demands of your sport you should train the appropriate system exclusively. On the contrary, the systems are not independent of each other, but more so dependent upon each other. The ceiling of the next system depends on the development of subsequent system development starting with the aerobic system then lactic, and finally alactic system. If you think of the energy systems as a pyramid the aerobic system would be the base. The bigger the base the larger the alactic and lactic energy systems can be. The more I read the research I feel as though the aerobic system has gotten the worst reputation possible, the ugly duckling of the energy systems. When people think of the aerobic system, they think long distance runs, fragile, non-explosive athletes. If you were to tell me that the aerobic system although produces the most amount of ATP per substrate but does so at the expense of time, I would say that it would be of no benefit of any field sport athlete. But interesting enough if you're a team sport athlete this is the most important system and [...]

By |2017-12-13T13:08:52-05:00December 11th, 2017|Training Info|0 Comments
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