<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">20 years ago I was running a lot and trying to beat my previous times each race. However, I was just training harder not smarter to attempt to increase my speed. What I didn’t realise at the time was how walking could help me run faster!</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">My colleague, Simon Cook (Biomechanics Coach and owner of Seasons Health Club, Beccles), had a Human Lab New Leaf gas analyser that could measure my ‘system’ and tell me how to become more efficient at using energy so I could run faster. </span>  </p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So I was running a half marathon (13.1miles) personal best (PB) at around 1:42. However, I was almost ‘stuck’ at that pace for some time. No matter how hard I tried to run faster I just couldn’t do it. </span>  </p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">My first test with Simon gave a reading that produced a 12 week workout for me based upon my gas analysis reading. This programme wanted me to WALK FOR 4 WEEKS!!!</span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whaaaaaat?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Oh yes! Walking!</span>  </p>
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<h3><b>After My 4 Weeks Of Walking, What Happened?</b></h3>
<p> <span style="font-weight: 400;">After </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">walking for 4 weeks</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> I actually went and ran a 1:30 PB!!</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">That’s</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> MORE THAN 10 MINUTES FASTER</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">….using walking in my training. So how did that happen? How </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">can</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> it happen? </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This blog will attempt to explain my understanding of how the body uses and converts energy in simple terms so that we can help our client’s to, not only run faster but, also burn more body fat. This process is call Metabolism.</span>  </p>
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<h3><b>What is Metabolism?</b></h3>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Metabolism is a process. It's the way our cells change the food we eat into the energy we need to breathe, move, think and do . . . everything. It keeps us, as it keeps all living things, alive (Rush University Medical Centre).</span></i>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Your client’s ‘metabolic profile’ is their body’s ability to perform this process. Why should we care as Personal Trainers? How will it help you train your client?</span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A better understanding of some of the measurements of your clients metabolic profile allow us to better monitor and improve their metabolic performance. The knock on effect of this is a far more effective exercise programme that can actually burn more fat and improve their overall health.</span>  </p>
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<h3><b>The 2 Energy Systems We Need To Train</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ok so with some degree of disbelief I knew I had to trust my coach telling me to walk not run, since the science was telling me what I needed to do. So let’s explore the science…</span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To be simplistic we have 2 energy sources - fat and sugar. We all have the ability to use them both but we need to teach the body how because if we don’t use both, then we can store body fat as a result of either source not being used. </span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Put another way, utilising both energy systems creates a more efficient metabolism or fuel burner.</span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So What?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Well what this means is we can train specifically to burn MORE body fat, train more efficiently AND, more often than not, with LESS EFFORT.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The way this works, in my understanding, is that we burn more fat, or utilise our fat source, mostly when our heart rate (HR) is in the lower ‘zones’. This means while your client's heart rate is elevated, but not beating overly fast, they will burn more fat.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Then when they raise their HR past a certain point they tip into their sugar source or burn more of their energy from the sugar source. </span>  </p>
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<h3><b>What This Meant For My Running</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So to put this into a picture for you, which will hopefully help explain it…</span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">By walking, I was training my body to move quicker at a lower heart rate. </span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And by the way, when I say walking, I don’t mean a stroll around the park. It was about keeping my heart rate within a certain zone. I was walking at a fast pace. Then overtime to keep the heart rate within that zone it turned into jogging. </span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So that when I began running again, my body was able to stay in that zone, burning fat, which is much more efficient, for a greater length of time. </span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Before, my body would switch to using sugar as the energy source, and there was always going to be a limit to the time I could run. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now, I could almost save that switch till later in my run and allow me to hit that, in my opinion, amazing personal best. </span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">By the way, I really want to stress here, (especially as I know lots of you who read this blog have awesome physiology knowledge) that I am simplifying this as much as I can. Hopefully giving you the kind of language you can use to explain it to your clients. </span>    </p>
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<h3><b><i>They Aren't Shifting Body Fat But Swear They Stopped Eating Cake...</i></b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now you might not be training a whole load of runners. If you are, great. But how does this apply to your general client who is trying to lose a bit of body fat?</span> </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The problem is that in the past we have been conditioned into thinking that working harder burns more </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">fat</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Technically this is incorrect. Working harder actually burns more sugar, that can store as fat if not utilised.</span>   <span style="font-weight: 400;">OR </span>   <span style="font-weight: 400;">If they are training really intensely most of the time they may not be using their fat store efficiently.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So What?</span>  </p>
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<h3><b><i>Too Much Pain Not Enough Gain...</i></b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Well, there is a current trend of high intensity interval training (HIIT) since we all lead these relatively sedentary lifestyles and maybe you read about the study done by </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Professor Izumi Tabata, the Dean of the College of Sport and Health Science at Ritsumeikan University</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">? His study on the benefits of 4 minutes HIIT training was with Olympic speed skaters in 1996. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, the context has been marred somewhat over the period since the results of his studies were published - </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">SURPRISE SURPRISE! </span></i> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Of course, the industry got wind of being able to get </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">MORE RESULTS in LESS TIME!</span></i>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">OK slow right down, back up and let's remember context is key. Before moving on please note the commonly referred to Tabata style training of 20 seconds high intensity you might experience in your local gym or health club isn’t at the same intensity as the original study. This had athletes performing at </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">170%VO2 max</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for 20 seconds with a 10 second rest x 7-8 cycles. Ever tried that intensity? </span>  </p>
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<h2><b>How Do We Train To Improve The Metabolic Profile?</b></h2>
<h3><b>Aerobic Vs Anaerobic - What’s The Difference?</b></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So I feel this is a good time to discuss aerobic Vs anaerobic training since this is going to offer more insight into how we train specifically to improve our metabolic profile.</span>   <span style="font-weight: 400;">So far we have used terms like fat burn and sugar burn to describe the energy systems however to be more technical let’s explore aerobic training and anaerobic training. </span>  </p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Aerobic training is working the cardiovascular system utilising predominantly slow twitch muscle fibres. It used </span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">during exercise that is sustained so will stimulate and strengthen the heart and lungs, thereby improving the body's utilization of oxygen.</span></i>  </p>
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Anaerobic training </span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">i</span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">s a physical exercise intense enough to cause lactate to form. It utilises fast twitch muscle fibres and therefore is favoured by athletes in non-endurance sports to promote strength, speed and power also by body builders to build muscle mass. (Maffetone, 2000)</span></i>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the most important lessons I would like to communicate here is HEALTH. While you may prefer endurance training/sport over power lifting or vica versa, for optimum HEALTH benefits we should probably ALL train BOTH systems. The awesome </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">side effect</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is reduced body fat but MORE IMPORTANTLY there are numerous health benefits to conditioning your metabolic profile and energy systems. </span>  </p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So ok you wanna run faster like I did? That’s a great goal to have but remember this style of training goes further than simply offering that as a result. In my world being healthy is far more important than winning the park run or a half marathon.</span>  </p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the next post I am going to break down the 6 Steps to improving your clients metabolic profile, it will be out on week, so keep an eye out for it. </span>   <span style="font-weight: 400;">You will be able to take this process and apply it to your clients training straight away.</span>  </p>
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