If you are trying to learn how to build muscle with HIIT then you may have noticed how much confusion surrounds this popular training method. Despite it's huge popularity, many people make some crucial mistakes when designing their high intensity interval program.
The main area which needs to be looked at is pre-workout nutrition. There are many individuals who are more than prepared to go all out in the gym on a daily basis, but lack the nutritional knowledge to get the rewards their hard efforts deserve.
If you can take the necessary steps to provide your muscles with the right fuel for each session then you will in turn increase your overall results by almost 30%, according to the latest scientific studies on the topic. []
The first thing you must do to get the right nutrients before a hard workout is look at which energy source you'll be using in your session. While long, steady-state cardiovascular workouts tend to slowly chip away at your body's fat storage, intervals do not do this. Instead, they mainly use your glycogen (carb) stores.
If you have done your research you will already know that the major benefits of high intensity interval training take place outside of the gym, during the recovery period after your workout. This process, known as EPOC, is where your body tries to protect what's left of it's carbohydrate reserves and focuses on burning body fat for the fuel it needs in order to function properly. Carbs are your body's primary energy source, so when you have burnt through most of your body's reserves it's going to work hard to protect what little it has left, switching the focus on other nutrients instead. This magical post-workout effect can last a whopping 14 hours if you get it right.
So, the key thing we want to achieve is to help you burn through your body's excess carbohydrate stores while you are working out in the gym. For this very reason, consuming a high carbohydrate meal before a workout would make very little sense.
Does this mean all of those people who insist on training first thing in the morning on an empty stomach are actually onto something?
Not quite. While performing interval training on an empty stomach is slightly more beneficial than performing it with a ton of carbs in your system, there is an even better way to increase results further. The biggest mistake people tend to make when watching their carbohydrate intake is forgetting to increase protein intake. As a result their body burns off a lot of muscle. To avoid this, simply increase your protein intake. This can be done by hitting the gym after a whey protein shake instead of a carbohydrate heavy meal.
One other minor mistake many people make is to go with BCAA supplements after a session. Recent studies confirm that consuming Essential Amino Acids (EAA's) instead of BCAA's will increase results further. While any branched chain amino acids supplement will provide you with three of the key amino acids for building lean muscle tissue, they neglect the others. Amino acids function as a team, therefore taking EAA's would be much more functional.
Furthermore, consuming your serving pre-workout as opposed to post-workout has been shown to increase muscle uptake by around 27%. Combined with a whey protein shake, you'll be able to protect your body from any lean tissue breakdown and fight off any feelings of hunger while performing high intensity training and burning through those carbohydrate reserves.
The topic of HIIT is as popular now as it has ever been in the past, but learning how to build muscle or lose weight with this approach often comes down to your nutrition plan surrounding those tough workouts. Now you have the key scientific research on the crucial pre-workout period, you'll be able to take your own results one step further.
The main area which needs to be looked at is pre-workout nutrition. There are many individuals who are more than prepared to go all out in the gym on a daily basis, but lack the nutritional knowledge to get the rewards their hard efforts deserve.
If you can take the necessary steps to provide your muscles with the right fuel for each session then you will in turn increase your overall results by almost 30%, according to the latest scientific studies on the topic. []
The first thing you must do to get the right nutrients before a hard workout is look at which energy source you'll be using in your session. While long, steady-state cardiovascular workouts tend to slowly chip away at your body's fat storage, intervals do not do this. Instead, they mainly use your glycogen (carb) stores.
If you have done your research you will already know that the major benefits of high intensity interval training take place outside of the gym, during the recovery period after your workout. This process, known as EPOC, is where your body tries to protect what's left of it's carbohydrate reserves and focuses on burning body fat for the fuel it needs in order to function properly. Carbs are your body's primary energy source, so when you have burnt through most of your body's reserves it's going to work hard to protect what little it has left, switching the focus on other nutrients instead. This magical post-workout effect can last a whopping 14 hours if you get it right.
So, the key thing we want to achieve is to help you burn through your body's excess carbohydrate stores while you are working out in the gym. For this very reason, consuming a high carbohydrate meal before a workout would make very little sense.
Does this mean all of those people who insist on training first thing in the morning on an empty stomach are actually onto something?
Not quite. While performing interval training on an empty stomach is slightly more beneficial than performing it with a ton of carbs in your system, there is an even better way to increase results further. The biggest mistake people tend to make when watching their carbohydrate intake is forgetting to increase protein intake. As a result their body burns off a lot of muscle. To avoid this, simply increase your protein intake. This can be done by hitting the gym after a whey protein shake instead of a carbohydrate heavy meal.
One other minor mistake many people make is to go with BCAA supplements after a session. Recent studies confirm that consuming Essential Amino Acids (EAA's) instead of BCAA's will increase results further. While any branched chain amino acids supplement will provide you with three of the key amino acids for building lean muscle tissue, they neglect the others. Amino acids function as a team, therefore taking EAA's would be much more functional.
Furthermore, consuming your serving pre-workout as opposed to post-workout has been shown to increase muscle uptake by around 27%. Combined with a whey protein shake, you'll be able to protect your body from any lean tissue breakdown and fight off any feelings of hunger while performing high intensity training and burning through those carbohydrate reserves.
The topic of HIIT is as popular now as it has ever been in the past, but learning how to build muscle or lose weight with this approach often comes down to your nutrition plan surrounding those tough workouts. Now you have the key scientific research on the crucial pre-workout period, you'll be able to take your own results one step further.
About the Author:
Author: Russ Howe PTI is a successful personal trainer who shows people how to build muscle at his gym. The new guide to hiit will help you to increase fat loss quickly.
