5:2 Exercise & Fitness Thread Number 2: Advice and information for those following 5:2 / IF (Intermittent Fasting)

[BigChocFrenzy]

Why Exercise ?

Maintaining a normal bodyweight and taking regular exercise are 2 major areas of life which we can address to improve our health.

Regular exercise helps reduce the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, some cancers, osteoporosis, dementia, depression.

Increasing your % muscle and / or reducing your % body fat lowers the risk of death from all causes LowerRiskMuscle

Regular exercisers gain the greatest benefits over their lifetime and theyj can minimise biological aging, i.e. "Bend the Aging Curve BendAge

Fasted training

i.e. training on FDs, seems to increase the benefits of both training and IF.
Most experienced exercisers soon manage fasted training without loss of performance for session of up to 90 mins.

Hormesis

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger"
Hormesis Mattson , BlackSwan and Hormesis is cutting edge science for nutrition and fitness.

Its principles are that alternating between "extremes" of feast and fast (5:2 / IF) or intense training and rest (HIIT), makes the body more resilient.

The intermittent stress of lifting an extreme weight or performing at high speed for a short period pushes the body to overcompensate and prepare for an even greater future challenge HormesisTrain , Hormesis-Edge , and AntiFragile The following recovery period avoids damage from over-stressing.

INEFFICIENT: Low-Medium Intensity Steady state Cardio

Steady state cardio is NOT necessary for fitness and should only be a small part of your weekly cardio, unless it is all you can manage to do.

Walking outdoors is beneficial psychologically, is easy on the knee joints and has some physical benefits.

However, at speeds of 5mph or faster, running will burn more calories per mile than walking Ref

Also low-moderate or steady state exercise tends to increase appetite, whereas intense exercise can suppress appetite for up to 15 hours.

BEST TYPES of Exercise

HIIT cardio and resistance training / weight lifting are recommended to boost the effect of 5:2/IF, to increase weight loss, reduce body fat, retain muscle and maintain TDEE / BMR.

Anyone who is not specialising in a sport at a high level should aim to do both HIIT cardio and lifting / resistance training.

FAST Exercise

Dr Mosely developed a Fast Exercise program to complement his 5:2 WOE FastExercise

He lists many HIIT and strength routines that only take a few minutes, but can make significantly improve metabolism and fat-burning capability FastExercises

HOW to Exercise

The cardio machines and the girlie pink dumbbells that gyms push are NOT adequate to significantly improve fitness or burn fat.

Whether you join a gym or train at home or in the park:

• Train as intensively as your time, health and fitness level allow.
• Do not remain in your comfort zone, or you will not improve.
• You are supposed to drip sweat and pant heavily !

However, a brisk 30 mins daily walk plus 5 mins hoop is better than nothing and if done regularly will bring some health benefits.

HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)

HIIT is an exercise strategy which alternates brief intervals of high intensity exercise with less-intense recovery periods.
Examples:

• 20 seconds high intensity + 10 secs recovery
• 60 sec high + 30 sec low etc.

HIIT is very time-efficient, producing the greatest fitness benefit in the least time (the advantage of hormesis).

Scientists have proved that HIIT burns more fat than steady state lower intensity exercise and speeds up the metabolism, which helps burn more calories for up to 48 hrs.

HIIT also improves the insulin metabolism, which is very important for health.

HIIT reduces risk of heart problems more than doing lower intensity SteadyState , pp. 31-34.

HIIT increases both aerobic and anaerobic endurance

HIIT can be applied to cardio: e.g. cycling, running, skipping, jumping, mountain climbs or to bodyweight exercises, e.g. squatting, situps, burpees, pressups

Most gyms offer HIIT classes, e.g. spinning, circuit training, CrossFit, Tabata, Fartlek*(Fartlek = HIIT with irregular intervals)

RESISTANCE Training / LIFTING

Helps retain muscle mass during weight loss and hence to maintain TDEE.
You can lift at home, or in the gym weights area, or in a pump class.

It is best not to train the same muscle groups 2 days in succession, so have rest days, or cardio, or train different muscle groups on different days.
Try to build up to weight training for 30-60 mins twice per week.

Reps = the number of repetitions in a set of a particular lifting exercise
Sets are normally separated by brief rests E.g. you might do 3 sets each of 12 reps all of the same exercise.

WARNING
Do not lift massively heavy barbells, more than bodyweight, unless you are really fit with good technique.
Women who have given birth and / or are aged 40+ have a higher risk of pelvic floor / prolapse injuries when lifting heavy than young non-mums.

Press ups

• By far the best upper body exercise
• Keep attempting one full pressup rather than doing several dozen girlie ones with your knees on the floor.
• Once you can do one pressup, you will soon be able to build up to 5, then 10 etc.
• Tip: keep the abs rigid, so strong abs are as important as strong shoulders & arms
• Hand Release Pressups are good to build up strength for full ones
• Also build up via inclined pressups InclinedPress , see bottom of wiki page
• To increase the number of pushups IncreaseNum

ATG Arse To Grass bodyweight squat

• The best exercise for the large muscle group in bum and thighs.
• Basic principle: It is like having a pee on a public loo - get your bum down low and pointing to the rear, but not actually touching the seat.

-Lean back on your heels, so that weight is on them, not on your toes. -bring your arms forward

• keep your back straight, but angled slightly forward, not vertical.
• Go down as far as you can without knee pain.

Pullups

• Very few women can do full ones, but assisted ones build excellent muscle
• Work the same muscles with the much easier Australian pullup or imverted row InvertedRow

If you have access to dumbbells / barbells, then for maximum effect, work the large muscle groups:
squats bent-over rows (press button "female") Behind neckPress (press button "female") dead lift

To increase Strength Rather than Muscle Mass
Lift as heavy as you can, low reps, with 1 minute rest between sets e.g. 5 sets x 5 reps each, i.e. totalling 25 lifts.

To Build More Muscle
Lift lower (NOT Girlie) weight, do 3 sets x 8-20 reps, i.e. totalling 24-60 lifts.

AVOID OSTEOPOROSIS

To retain bone strength and avoid a painfully disabled old age, start now:
Ideally weight-bearing exercises that load the bone along its length of these types:

Impact exercise E.g. walking, running, jumping, skipping rope, step class, hitting a heavy punch bag.

Lifting: squats, press-ups, bench press, overhead press etc.

Squats are much better for osteoporosis than lunges, also for knees:
The weight in a squat is transmitted down along the spine, through the hip, and down along the bones of the leg, whereas in a lunge, it is transmitted across the shinbone and puts pressure on the knee joint.

Note: Cycling normally does NOT increase bone density, as it does not load bones along their length. Osteo

KETTLEBELLS Kettle
Beginners:
. Two-handed swing
. Sumo Deadlift
. Turkish Getup
. Swing
. Clean and Jerk
. Press

Improve your GRIP STRENGTH GripMen , BodyBuild

CALCULATORS:
Fast Fitness Calculators: 52FastExercise
Estimate your fitness age: FitAge
Estimate Vo2Max iTunes App: Vo2APP
Body Fat Calculator:BF
Healthy Body Fat Percentages at Different Ages: HealthyBF
TDEE with detailed activity times: TDEE

Thanks Errol and bigchoc - it's lovely to have a place to be proud about this stuff. And to receive such consistently excellent and useful advice.

16kg sounds pretty hardcore I think once you've got a rhythm of a routine going on, I suspect regular Jillianing becomes a bit redundant - useful for coming up with some new moves though.

I'm up to 5 knuckle press ups, which I'm quite pleased about as only started this weekend! I finish off the set with normal ones at the moment. Plan is to work up to doing 10 knuckles, then 10 big girls as a set.

After that, I'm tackling pull ups .

I was using the 8kgs for straight deadlifts before (just a few)... too much still for anything else, but the 6kgs are good - I thought they might be too big a step from 10lbs (~4.5kg) but they're fine.

DH did stop procrastinating so we got our walk - about 5 miles along the canal, very pleasant.

Off to the gym this morning - same class as last week.

I am really struggling to fit other exercise in, hoping it will get easier as the DSs get a big bigger and past the 'oh look Mummy is lying on the floor, let's jump on her/play horsie' stage!

Hi bigchoc - I've been trying to find your links for the following statement

As I posted earlier, scientific studies on running show:
The health benefits are achieved in the first 20 minutes of any session. A session of more than 90 mins suppresses the immune system for up to 3 days.

I'd love to read the studies if they're online at all? Very interesting info. Apologies if you've already linked stuff.

Thanks :)

Answer for Betsy Over-Training, Immune Suppression_

ALL Types of Exercise
From clinical observations and laboratory experiments: the "J"-curve, see picture and AllTypes

Note: What is moderate training for some is overtraining for others.

RUNNING 90 mins

SportsMedicine and Paper1_ProfNieman

WARNING: Geek Alert !
Abstract of Article Reviewing Several Papers
(Paper 2 maybe only viewable via subscription)

Nieman DC. (Int J Sports Med 1997 Mar;18 Suppl 1:S91-S100)

"During the last 95 years, 629 papers (60% in the 1990s) dealing specifically with exercise and immunology have been published. Major findings of practical importance in terms of public health and athletic endeavor include: (a) In response to acute exercise (the most frequently studied area of exercise immunology), a rapid interchange of immune cells between peripheral lymphoid tissues and the circulation occurs. The response depends on many factors, including the intensity, duration, and mode of exercise, concentrations of hormones and cytokines, change in body temperature, blood flow, hydration status, and body position. Of all immune cells, natural killer (NK) cells, neutrophils, and macrophages (of the innate immune system) appear to be most responsive to the effects of acute exercise, both in terms of numbers and function. In general, acute exercise bouts of moderate duration (< 60 min) and intensity (< 60% VO2max) are associated with fewer perturbations and less stress to the immune system than are prolonged, high-intensity sessions. (b) In response to long-term exercise training, the only finding to date reported with some congruity between investigators is a significant elevation in NK cell activity. Changes in the function of neutrophils, macrophages, and T and B cells in response to training have been reported inconsistently, but there is some indication that neutrophil function is suppressed during periods of heavy training. (c) Limited data suggest that unusually heavy acute or chronic exercise may increase the risk of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), while regular moderate physical activity may reduce URTI symptomatology. (d) Work performance tends to diminish with most systemic infectious, and clinical case studies and animal data suggest that infection severity, relapse, and myocarditis may result when patients exercise vigorously. (e) Although regular exercise has many benefits for HIV-infected individuals, helper T cell counts and other immune measures are not enhanced significantly. (f) Data suggest that the incidence and mortality rates for certain types of cancer are lower among active subjects. The role of the immune system may be limited, however, depending on the sensitivity of the specific tumor to cytolysis, the stage of cancer, the type of exercise program, and many other complex factors. (g) As individuals age, they experience a decline in most cell-mediated and humoral immune responses. Two human studies suggest that immune function is superior in highly conditioned versus sedentary elderly subjects. (h) Mental stress, undernourishment, quick weight loss, and improper hygiene have each been associated with impaired immunity. Athletes who are undergoing heavy training regimens should realize that each of these factors has the potential to compound the effect that exercise stress is having on their immune systems."

Warning Signs of Over-Training

.Disordered sleep (too much or insomnia)
.Loss of interest in activities enjoyed before
.Moodiness or depression
.Excessive muscle soreness
.Poor concentration.
.Lack of mental energy.
.Altered appetite - increased / decrease / cravimgs
.Frequent injury or illness
.Lack of physical energy

Easy to understand: RunnersWorld

They also advocate replacing one of your longer weekly runs by HIIT sprints, to avoid over-stressing the immune system.

Moderate intensity runs of 90 minutes or more use "slow-twitch" muscle fibers, which feed on simple sugars, the same fuel as the immune system.

This sets up a resource battle between the exercising muscles and the immune system, with the immune system losing out.

Fascinating stuff bigchoc, thank you so very much

My DH is reading this book at the mo. which apparently claims the same thing.

By the way, the 15 mile walk (or march!) took us 5 hours and was a lot easier than we expected, despite the terrain being challenging (lots of steps!). It must be all that HIIT I've been doing!

We've now signed up for a 26 mile walk in Sept.

Sorry to be all me me me again, but I just wanted to say after doing intervals on the cross-trainer for a while, never feeling like I was giving 100%, I have just tried the protocol Dr Mosley did on Horizon, on the bike. I haven't been so exhausted in a long long time! I'm exhilarated but weak, shaking, I real feel I've worked out hard. After seven and a half minutes total on the bike. Well done for getting though your hike Mazzle

Where do you find this protocol chocolate? I feel I'm not giving 100 per cent

Thank you choc and well done on your HIIT. I'm no biker, I'm afraid. It hurts me just to sit and pedal slightly!

Raskova it wasn't the protocol which made me give 100%, more that on a cross-trainer I couldn't get the resistance up quickly enough that I was during sprints. It was on Wikipedia, though and if your heart rate is as high as you said it was up thread, you probably are! I felt like mine was going to jump out of my chest.
Thanks Mazzle I have the opposite problem - my hip joint is slightly misshaped and I get bursitis in the joint if I run or walk badly or too far :(

That's how I feel, I think. The cross trainer slows me down

Heart rate didn't go so high tonight. 195 max but stayed 150/160 ish. I've been eating healthy and not so much so I simply didn't have the energy to keep it at 185. What I wouldn't give for a twix

Dr Mosely's Fast Fitness (very HIIT)

Each routine is a full HIIT session
(unless you are super-fit, do NOT try more than one per day or 3 total per week)

1. 20 sec intervals, any of these: running, stair-running, stationary bike, cross-trainer, swimming, rowing machine.

.Warmup for 1-4 mins, until you feel ready
.20 sec burst as hard as you can, at a level where you can't do another 2 secs.
.about 2 min gentle exercise to recover
.another 20 sec burst at max intensity.
.final recovery period of at least 2 mins

2. As above, but with 5x 60 sec intervals at 90% capacity, with 90 sec recovery periods in between.

3. FatBurner - Only practical on a stationary bike:
   . Set resistance very high, so you can just pedal
   . Brief warmup 1-4 mins
   . Repeated intervals of 8 secs max speed, with 12 secs low speed recovery
   . Start by doing the intervals for at most a total of 5 mins (even 1 min) but build up the time. Very fit folk can eventually do say 15 mins
   . Brief cooldown 1 min

If using a machine, I think you have to keep resistance constant and quite high, but just vary the speed from very fast sprint to slow recovery walk.

I think the machine I use is very strange. The resistance is set to 15 automatically. I'll go as fast as I can but within seconds it's telling me max speed and slows me down. I upped the resistance to 25 but that's when I got 209bpm and I stopped. I just want it to let me go as fast as I want.

The bikes are good tho so I'll try the bike one you've suggested

re. HIIT - I just go to the park and run like billy-ho for 20+ second reps! No machine troubles with that. My other HIIT activities happen in Tae Kwon Do when we have to do 30 seconds to 1 minute of kick repetitions (with a pad to aim at), usually for 3 different kicks with each leg - I really go for it to make it intense and I'm a sweating, out-of-breath mess after that.

I try and do 2 or 3 sessions per week like this. Admittedly the sprints are a bit weather dependent, though it looks like I might be attempting it on slightly soggy grass today.

My running efforts are totally weather dependent, I don't like soggy shoes and won't risk pavements again. I should do some sort of HIIT today in addition to my dvd - the current one doesn't do enough intense cardio ... well, it's got burpees (which yesterday I couldn't do because my arm hurt), mountain climbers which hit the spot and plank jacks which now aren't intense enough! Want to do extra leg work today ...must be something I can do to kill two birds with one stone. Stair running you really need several flights to do continuously I guess... suppose I could run up and then immediately do something else at the top...

Or could do some rowing now we've cleared out the garage and excavated the machine again. IMO only works for type (2) intervals, the flywheel doesn't respond quickly enough for short intervals. Or could try the bike - that's emerged to a usable position too, but it's not a great one. I'm a bit dubious about the 'fat burner' method though - sounds to me like could be a knee-buggerer.

Errol Have you tried brisk rope-skipping ? That really works the legs and is very intense cardio. So, should kill 2 dragons with 1 blast

It is really tough, so maybe start with 3x 3 min intervals and build up to 2 x 10 mins.

Raskova That machine sounds really strange, mind of its own
Do you have your age or heart rate input to it ? If the machine was programmed for the outdated, medium intensity, fat-burning then it might be trying to slow you down to that range.
(otherwise I'm baffled)

Try with just your weight input, so you get the calories only.

I did some ropeless skipping this morning as two of the cardio intervals i did this morning... not good at coordinating arms for an actual rope!

It inputs my weight automatically when I tread on it. Sometimes it feels the need to tell me

I just do quick start, which may be the source of my issues but that's what trainer type guy said to do

BigChoc I hope you don't mind my asking another question, but what is the relevance of the interval length? For example if I did the fast fitness routine but for some reason did ten minute intervals but not two, or did 20 second sprints as part of a long walk, what difference would that make to the physical benefit I got?

I was wondering that too about interval lengths!

Re the strange cross trainer, I've just been and I reckon max speed is approx 180 strides per min as I saw 179 once and around 175 every other time just before it kicked in to slow me down. I thought for a second that maybe it was heart rate but defo not as happens at all heart rates

Hi ChocTwist, of course ask as often as you want.

The most important requirement for HIIT is High Intensity.
To achieve the desired intensity - 100% / 90 % / 80% etc - we need to specify:
. the length of each high intensity interval
. the recovery period between intervals
. the number of intervals

The classic HIIT that lasts 45-60 mins, e.g. HIIT spin, is at the lower intensity range for HIIT, with intervals of 3-5 mins mostly @ 70-85% effort with 10-20 sec recovery.

These long HIIT sessions burn a lot of calories and have health benefits, but human trials have also shown fitness and metabolism benefits of very short super-intense intervals.
Also, intense, very short routines are great for those who are time-poor or who dislike exercise.

The classic Tabata of 8 intervals, each 20 sec + 20 sec recovery, has long proved (with umpteen thousand human guinea pigs) to bring superior fitness benefits.

Mosely, in his Fast Fitness book, defines other short intervals of scientifically proven worth, with exact intensity, duration, recovery:

A 20-sec sprint at 100% effort should be so tough that you can only do 2 intervals and you need a full 2 mins recovery between intervals.
The 60-sec sprint is only at 90% effort, so you need a proportionately shorter recovery period.

A 10 min run can certainly be intense, but will be significantly less so than a 60 sec one.

For the shorter routines, it seems sensible to choose the proven intervals, either Tabata or Mosely's.

I recommend that each week you do both a longer HIIT routine and at least one of the proven shorter ones, to apply different loading to the body.

Any of the short intervals can be done before, after, or in the middle of a walk, because a walk allows the body to rest.
It is recommended that the intervals are done together, so that the recovery period and HIIT duration is as specified.

If you are very fit, you can also combine the shorter intervals with say a 30-minute run or up to 60-min cycle or spin. You probably need to build up to this gradually, though.

To avoid over-stressing your system, I think the absolute maximum to attempt per week is up to 3 long and 3 short HIIT routines.
You could start with 1 of each per week and build up, or just stay at 1 and do your preferred exercise on other days, e.g. if you are a keen runner or lifter.

Try to alternate HIIT days with something else : rest / yoga / strength training / martial arts / Zumba ...