By Stephanie Sharp
I have three words for you: anaerobic, somatotropin, adipose tissue.
If you see where I’m going with this, awesome! You’re someone who clearly already knows that an hour spent on the treadmill every day is an inefficient way to fight belly fat, bone and muscle loss, and other signs of aging. And you also probably know that once you hit 30, your battle with Father Time will require the big guns, and that understanding the changes in your endocrine system is crucial in that fight.
But for the rest of you who are thinking”What the heck is she talking about?” stay with me. We’re going to be discussing human growth hormone, anaerobic training, and looking fabulous in your 30s and beyond.
Let’s start with somatotropin, or “human growth hormone.” Yes, it’s that stuff that Suzanne Somers injects into her butt, and yes, she looks fabulous for her age. But I’m taking about natural human growth hormone, not the synthetic junk. (Incidentally, the use of synthetic HGH is illegal for anti-aging purposes, and its long-term safety is highly suspect.) Human growth hormone (HGH) is secreted from your pituitary gland, and is literally what directs your body to grow from infancy through early adulthood. It’s responsible for increasing bone density and muscle mass, while decreasing adipose tissue (fat) and improving exercise capacity. If our bodies could maintain a consistent secretion of HGH indefinitely, many scientists contend that our bodies would cease to age!
But youth is wasted on the young. We hit our 30s and our HGH levels plummet. It’s not that our pituitary gland stops secreting HGH. There just isn’t as much HGH sent out into our bodies, telling our cells to stay fabulous. So obviously, our goal is to maximize those pituitary pulses of HGH, squeezing every last drop of this fountain of youth hormone for all it’s worth. And guess what? This will not happen while jogging on the treadmill, while reading the latest celebrity gossip magazine. The key is to train anaerobically, which in the simplest terms refers to what happens metabolically when exercising at an intensity level that causes your muscles to burn. And, aside from some grunting, which is always attractive, anaerobic training should make talking difficult.
When you are training anaerobically, your body utilizes glycogen reserves from your muscles for energy. The by-product of this process is lactic acid, the presence of which makes your muscles burn, and triggers the release of HGH both during and after your workout. Without the lactic acid, there’s no release of HGH. Without intensity, there’s no lactic acid production. And it follows that, without willing to push harder in your workouts, you’re not maximizing your efforts. (On a side note, HGH is also released during the first two hours of uninterrupted sleep, so train hard and then hit the hay.)
Remember: The key to anaerobic training is intensity, not duration. Think short, hard and fast. One of the most popular anaerobic training regimens is the Tabata Method, which will take less time, and be more inspiring than that old, non-HGH inducing, poke-needles-in-your-eyes fitness routine that you’ve been doing since you were 22. And better yet, you can apply this method to just about any multi-joint, compound movement, as well as use it for running sprints on your beloved treadmill.
Try This Workout!
Twenty seconds of all-out effort for the exercise you’re doing, followed by 10 seconds of rest.
Repeat this cycle eight times, non-stop, for a total of four minutes.
It’s that simple … and elegantly challenging.
You can do a session of Tabata squats, sit ups, push-ups, and pull ups for a full body, HGH-inducing workout in 16 minutes flat! Better yet, finish up your workout with Tabata sprints on your favorite treadmill, and you will be an HGH-producing machine, which equates to more muscle, less fat, and a younger you! Go get it, Minted Girl, and tell Father Time to back off.
