Think strong and be stronger
By Allan Choachoy (The Freeman) | Updated April 2, 2016 - 12:00am
CEBU, Philippines - It was five years ago when I first heard of the term HIIT or High Intense
Interval Training. It was very similar to circuit training or cross-fit where you move from station
to station to perform each exercise with the X amount of reps or time. The most famous HIIT is
the Tabata workout, which was invented by Dr. Izumi Tabata, a Japanese physician and
researcher. He conducted a study using an interval-based training model. His target was to see if
athletes would benefit from a 20/10 formula, which means 20 seconds of all-out exercise and 10
seconds of rest. Repeated eight times and adds up to four minutes. It is a very short workout that
is a combination of cardiovascular and strength training. Another famous HIIT is the 4-minute
workout of Coach Jim Saret. It offers the maximum benefit with the least amount of time.
Such kind of training is not new. Interval training was originally designed for running and
cycling wherein one has to go all out for 20 to 30 seconds and 10 to 15 seconds of active
recovery or rest. This will improve cardiovascular fitness and makes an athlete recover faster
during actual race.
The HIIT, Tabata, circuit training, cross-fit or Coach Jim Saret’s 4-minute workout have one
thing in common though. It is a training that ignites the metabolic system. All are considered a
metabolic workout. This workout uses large muscle groups, which means more muscles will be
required to move the joints. More muscle movement means more calories burned. Metabolic
conditioning taps into threshold training capacity, meaning, it will improve the body’s ability to
tolerate high levels of intensity thereby enhancing one’s fitness level.
As you get older, you also have a notion that you avoid hard training because the recovery takes
too long. Like five years ago, when I played a game of basketball, it usually takes me one week
to recover. I am usually dead tired and could not get up for work the next day. A long bike ride
with friends has similar effects not to mention the muscle soreness all over.
But now at 45 years old, I feel stronger, faster and healthier than my college days. Before, I
could barely do even one body weight push up or one body weight pull up. Now I could do 30 to
40 push up in one minute and I could do 4 to 5 full body weight pull up.
I am a living proof that this Metabolic workout really works. During my stint in the Pinoy
Biggest Loser camp, I got the chance to be trained under the famous Coach Jim Saret. After two
weeks of training, my resting heart immediately drops from 80 to 60 beats per minute. Now, my
resting heart rate is at 32 to 40. And during the day, my heart rates hovers around 45 to 50 beats
per minute. But what really surprised me was my blood pressure. Before, I was suffering from
hypertension and was taking medication to control my BP which reached 160/120. But at the
second month of doing the Metabolic workout inside the camp, it dropped to 120/80. This was
when the dosage for my hypertension was lessened by half. Then after 3 months, it went down to
a low of 100/70. This was when I was experiencing dizziness and my cardiologist totally stopped
my medication for hypertension and high blood pressure. All of these were not possible without
proper nutrition.
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Metabolic workout is a high intensity workout. It raises your metabolism and heart rate
immediately. Since you are performing these exercises at a very high intensity, your body will
have to work much harder to keep it up. This will cause your heart to pump faster and your
metabolism in shock, which is very efficient in losing or burning fat. And just like pedalling a
bicycle, when you pedal it so hard and suddenly stops, the wheel will continue to turn. Meaning,
your metabolism will stay at that high not only during the workout, but after workout as well.
You will notice that even after taking a bath, you continue to sweat. This means that your body is
still burning fat, even up to 4 to 6 hours.
As for the elite or advance athletes, this high intensity Metabolic workout improves
cardiovascular capacity. Some studies have shown that lactate threshold and anaerobic training
can increase V02 max beyond levels experienced compared to working out on a steady state
aerobic program.
The metabolic workout was designed for advance athletes who are comfortable with high
intensity exercise. But for me, this workout would be very beneficial to all types of person even
the sedentary ones, who have not exercised all their lives. Intensity differs from each individual.
For example, for 20 seconds, an elite athlete may be able to do15 to 20 pushups compared to a
sedentary individual, who could hardly do one push up. But for this sedentary person, he could
be burning more calories than the elite athlete because this one push up is already super intense
for him.
Word of advice, one should know his limits and stop looking at others who are pushing to their
limits. There is always a greater risk of injury when you are doing high impact, high intensity
exercise. Even with rest in between, it can get monotonous and quickly fatigue your muscles.
Eventually, this can cause your form to suffer if you are not mentally prepared. Always have a
right mind set before doing each workout. Think strong and be stronger, think fast and be faster.
You are stronger than you think. And always believe in yourself.
