How Fitness Theories Have Evolved

Every day, new information is published regarding ways to improve your power, speed, agility, and body composition. Inherently, new training theories come with this new research; some are effective and others aren’t. In many cases, it isn’t the whole method that changes, but rather the theories behind the method. Here are a few theories that have undergone some modifications in the past few years.
Duration of cardio sessions
Old: You must do at least 20 minutes of cardio to get into the fat-burning zone.

New: High intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions take 20 minutes or less and ramp up your metabolism more than any other form of cardio.

The reasoning behind this change is that the more you “damage” your tissues during training, the more energy you will need to expend to repair them -- much more than if you worked at a moderate pace. This means that with HIIT cardio, you can significantly raise your metabolism for hours afterward, which more than makes up for what you would have burned if you‘d worked out moderately past the “20-minute” fat-burning zone.
Amount of weight and reps in weight training
Old: Performing a high number of repetitions with light weights is the best way to tone your body.

New: You will get better results by performing fewer repetitions with heavier weights.

There is no such thing as ”toning.” To get definition, you must lose body fat, which is related to diet and cardio more than anything else. By lifting heavy weights, you will keep your metabolism higher, as the heavy weights will stimulate the release of higher levels of testosterone and keep the muscle stimulus load high. By lifting maximally, you will also reduce your chances of losing muscle mass, which is fairly common among people who eat a hypocaloric diet (necessary for weight loss).
Eating habits to add muscle mass
Old: The best way to put on muscle is to eat as much as you can, anytime you can.

New: You should only eat a few hundred calories more than the amount you require to maintain your current weight.

While the old practice helps to add muscle mass, it also adds a significant amount of body fat. No one likes the process of removing body fat, so it is preferable to just keep your weight gain under control from the beginning. Granted, you may not put on muscle mass as quickly as you would with a “gorge-fest” diet, but the weight you do put on will be lean muscle. The best process now is thought to consist in only eating a few hundred calories more than your weight-maintenance caloric requirements.
Cardio and muscle gain
Old: You should never do cardio if you are trying to add muscle mass.

New: HIIT sessions can help you add muscle faster.

Will doing tons of crunches give you a six-pack?

While cardio can hinder your muscular gains if you are doing hours of it at a time, a few sessions of HIIT cardio a week will boost your metabolism, which will help you add muscle faster -- as long as you are still eating more calories than you are burning. Cardio is also great for keeping your heart healthy and getting your blood circulating. The latter allows nutrients to be distributed to your muscle tissues more efficiently, ensuring that they get the fuel they need to repair and grow stronger.
Six-pack development
Old: Weighted ab crunches are the best way to get a six-pack.

New: Stabilizing training is your best bet.

While some people use weighted ab crunches to help define their six-packs, they may only make your abs thicker, thus increasing the size of your waist rather than helping you look leaner and more defined. The reason for this is that adding weight load causes hypertrophy -- a process of growth. When it comes to your abs, it’s not really growth you are looking for, but rather a leaner, more defined look. A better option is to use stability training, which calls into play every muscle fiber in your abs, thus helping you burn more calories and make you leaner.
Love-handle elimination
Old: Tons of sit-ups will help reduce love handles.

New: Diet and cardio are the most important factors.

The only thing millions of sit-ups will do is bore you to death. To reduce love handles, you need to eat well, do cardio and use a few effective ab-training exercises. If you do them properly, you only really need to perform 2 or 3 sets of 2 or 3 different ab exercises of your choice. Concentrate on using proper form and really feeling the target muscles working hard.
Types of weight-training exercises
Old: Isolated exercises are a great way to add muscle mass.

New: Compound exercises will give you better and faster results.

If growth is your main objective, isolated exercises aren’t the answer; they tend to target small muscle fibers and simply don’t stimulate your body enough to increase size. The growth hormone is released in direct proportion to how many muscle fibers you hit, so the more compound the movement, the more growth hormone you'll release. You are much better off using compound movements: You can perform fewer sets and spend less time in the gym, and still get better results.
Timing of meals and cardio for weight loss
Old: Cardio on an empty stomach is great for fat loss.

New: You should never perform HIIT cardio on an empty stomach.

While some people still obey this principle, it can lead to a significant amount of muscle loss. Newer theories recommend only performing high intensity cardio sessions, even while dieting, since these will shock your body more. With steady state sessions, on the other hand, your body will eventually get used to the amount of cardio you perform and will stop responding. This is virtually a no-win situation because it means that you will have to keep doing more and more cardio in order to see results.

You should never perform HIIT sessions on an empty stomach because you need glucose as fuel. You won’t be able to train effectively if you haven’t consumed carbohydrates beforehand.
training trends
No one can ever offer a method of training that will always be the “best” way. Each and every day, more research is done, advancing our understanding of the best ways to reach different goals. Your best approach to fitness is to stay informed on the newest methods and to evaluate which ones work best for you.

Remember that what works for one person will not necessarily work for another, so give each method a try and take note of your results. If you are seeing positive changes, keep doing what you are doing; if not, try something else until you get the results you want.

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