How to become a fat burning machine

Are you keen to become a Fat Burning Machine?

Body composition is an important element of health and performance. Unfortunately some people focus on it solely to the detriment of function and health, which are two of the key elements to altering and maintaining a desired body composition. Even more unfortunately, 66% of Australians don't focus on it at all. We think it needs to be a talking point and a catalyst for motivation and inspiration, but not without education.

It's our desire to bring contextual topics to the fore to be discussed and challenged in the hope that we all continue along our own paths to wherever it is that we are going. Body composition manipulation is multifaceted and includes NUTRITION, TRAINING, MINDFULNESS, RESTORATION, FUNCTIONAL ADAPTATION and many more. We are of the opinion that your weak link in this process will be the limiting factor in you acquiring your goals. Allow us to introduce an element to body composition control that we think is really important but often overlooked...

Training for weight loss can be divided into two categories: active and passive. Active is where you break down usable energy at the time of training and in the restoration phase from that session - and Passive is where you alter you entire "machinery" to be a highly tuned fat burner around the clock. One needs both, period. The main issue here is that people fall in between the cracks of the two different modalities and therefore never develop either to their full potential.

Active fat burning needs to be in the vicinity of 60 to 90 minutes of steady state aerobic work, not 30 minutes like the AMA suggests. It needs to be this long because you need to deplete your glycogen stores first (this takes time) and then you need to alter your mitochondrial density (the bit in your cell that turns fat into ATP, which is the energy currency of the body) and start to use lipids (fat) as fuel which only occurs under these lengthy conditions. The more time you spend under these conditions, the more fat you burn, plus the greater the mitochondrial density you'll develop, making you more effective at burning fat the next time, passively.

Passive fat burning hijacks effective active burning state but then can be embellished with neural development such as strength training, particularly maximum strength training (low reps, high weight, full recovery between sets) and other HIT modalities like anaerobic threshold work which is gaining popularity in gyms like F45 and in many "WODS" in CrossFit affiliates.

Training Zones to Maximise a Session

Do you know what you are trying to achieve in a training session? Do you know how to achieve that?

At Red Hippo we set a lot of sessions for people every day, every week. We love the fact that more and more people are moving and setting goals - but one of the most disappointing facts is that many people's sessions are not tailored for their goals, or worse, actively work against these goals!

Too often someone tells us happily that they've done a great session that day. Awesome! Out of curiosity and support we'll often ask what they did (knowing what they were trying to achieve) and rarely does the session marry the goal...

Before we begin to give some parameters that you can work within, here's just a quick thought about specificity vs general fitness capacity:

Both have pros and cons. The more specific you become, the better (to a point) that you are at that task/fitness/movement, but the more likely you are to be less adaptive to general stressors and injury etc. On the other hand, if you're general in your fitness/movement capabilities you're much more adaptive and diverse, but you will unlikely ever be at the point where you can push something so hard you experience all the autotelic, intrinsic gains that physical practice offers (unless you dedicate your life to moving "non-specifically" - an we're talking hours and hours per day for this).

You have to be generally capable before being able to focus on specificity. Try to shortcut this fact and you'll not get far! e.g.. if you're unconditioned and your goal is to run a half marathon - you need to spend adequate time on the building blocks of movement and physiology before or at least simultaneously in the early days of your running pursuits

Even if you want generalised capability - you still need to apply specific stress at an increasing rate relative to your "fitness" to get an adaptation - to the point where if you spread your workload to generally throughout the week in both style and volume, you'll miss any progress.

Here's some principles to apply for more productive sessions: Reproduced courtesy of Vladimir Issurin with further references in the image. It's one of our favourite books about training!

Aerobic endurance:
1-8mins work, 1:0.3 work to rest ratio, medium intensity, 4-16 reps, 1-3 sets, 2.5-4 blood lactate mmol/L, 140-160 HR

Fat Oxidation:
20-90min, no rest basically, Low intensity, 1-3 reps, 1-2.5 mmil/L and 100-140 HR

Anaerobic Glycolitic aka Lactate tolerance (endurance, not power - there are 2 breakdowns for Lactate work): 1-1.5 mins work, 1:3 rest ratio, High intensity, 8-12 reps, 1-3 sets, MAX mmil/L capability, >180 HR

Write Your Own Program Pt.2 - Periodization

Righto, now you've got some framework for up-skilling your training with the appropriate use of periodisation, lets buff it out with some important details! Remember, if your planning is random, you'll get random results AND you'll be less present in your workouts from the lack of that underlying comfort you get from structure! Let's be clear, just because it's structured doesn't mean its not fluid and flexible.

As promised, the main difference between block periodisation and conventional periodisation is how specific the work is in the periods where you're working. For example, block periodisation focuses on the concentrated load of one or a few types of training in its MESOCYCLE to get maximally stressed in that type + adequate restoration = maximum adaptation for that type of fitness. Conventional, popularised by Tudor Bompa, uses multiple energy systems in conjunction with each other in an ever increasing undulating load/rest until goals are met. You are welcome to pick either, but this is what we recommend:

* Starting out with fitness or movement - Conventional

* Elite sport aspirations - Block

* Advanced movement/ fitness aspirations - Block

* No specific goal or timeline - Conventional

So now you've picked which way you're heading, here's some important details about what works well with what:

AEROBIC ENDURANCE:

1. Alactic (sprint training)

2. Strength endurance (aerobic - rule of thumb = over 2mins)

3. Hypertrophy - Nb, only if done after


ANEAROBIC ENDURANCE:

1. Strength endurance (30sec-2mins)

2. Aerobic restoration (see FAT LOSS post)


SPEED (alactic):

1. Aerobic endurance

2. explosive strength

3. Aerobic restoration


MAXIMUM STRENGTH:

1. Mobility work

2. Aerobic restoration


TECHNIQUE:

1. Anything can be done after technique session


Rip in freaks!

Training Programs Pt.1 - Periodisation

Athletic sustainability, improvement and performance involve a lot of effort, no question. One of the easiest to implement, yet most overlooked element is periodisation - the art of planning what work/rest to do and when to do it. Come on, you can START right now - just keep reading. We use excel, but old school paper works just fine.

The first thing you need to know is that periodisation is often used to plan long term and short term... sounds a bit like the substance behind goals right? You set a goal, great. Do you know how that goal is going to play out, at least theoretically? That’s where good planning comes in. Remember, planning is a framework so that you are more able to remain in the present where all the good stuff really happens! Basically, long term is often called "Macrocycles" and can theoretically go for years (many Olympic athletes use 4 year plans), shorter blocks of time are "mesocycles" and usually go for weeks and in that time; the single week is called the "microcycle". If you set a 3-month goal - the 3 months is the macro, you could have 3 mesocylces within it and they each include the 4 microcycles. Cool?

The second thing is that you can manipulate the structure AND the content to best achieve your goals. We will split structure and content over two posts to ensure that some good information isn't lost at the bottom of the post. The next programming post will go through content.

Structure wise it really depends on your goals/targets. If you have a target, like a race or competition or goal deadline, work back from it for your...

MACROCYCLE! For example, we would TAPER for a period of time before racing, so it would be counter intuitive to have a major strength block in that week leading up to it and the biggest volume of work earlier on! On the other hand, if you're trying to lose weight for a wedding - you probably need the lighter weeks built in a little more thoughtfully earlier, and as you build momentum and fitness, ramp it right up until the deadline!

MESOCYCLES: OK, so we've got the MACRO done... lets fill in some blanks. You'll need some weeks where there is quite a heavy workload, and some where the workloads are a little lighter (remember, we will do this again for your week in a bit). Here are some suggestions:

* Unless you're a hardened campaigner - keep your "work" blocks to 2-3 weeks. Any more and you'll over reach your capacity to be healthy on one hand and importantly, you'll probably stop adapting anyway so you're wasting your time. To be super clear - if you've been doing the same thing for 6 weeks straight, without any manipulation to the intensity, volume or frequency of work:rest you're in a very low adaptation state, if any.
* Rest is as important as Work. Usually when you write this you're mega motivated... but this is about sustainability so make sure that you're realistic about how much recovery you need, here's just some examples of general physiological parameters:

-----> Maximum Strength needs about 3-7 DAYS!!

-----> Light Aerobic work needs 6-18 hrs

* Make sure your work weeks and rest weeks marry well with your MACRO cycle as mentioned in the structure paragraph.

MICROCYCLES: What you do within the week - similar flow and philosophy to the mesocycles but on a smaller level. If you have a heavy gym on Monday night, don't expect to have great speed on Tuesday morning. If you love socialising on a Saturday night - don't put your key session of the week on Sunday morning. This works both ways though. If you're like us and often do more than 1-2 sessions in the day, make sure they complement each other for a really incredible result - for example a heavy session in the morning and an invigorating yoga flow in the evening complements each other well.

Stay tuned for "content" in our next post: we'll talk about Block periodisation vs Conventional periodisation, what different physiologies go together, and which ones contradict each other and also some example plans that we use.

Water Soluble Vitamins

Did you know, fat soluble vitamins ingested in food can last in the system up to 30 days. Water soluble vitamins on the other hand, deplete DAILY. This means if YOU want to PERFORM, then you need to make them a part of your daily life! Water soluble vitamins play an important role in a number of body functions critical to ongoing performance. We prefer to get our water soluble vitamins in whole foods that are organic, fresh, as local as possible, and grown/fed/maintained with care to the environment as well as the plant or animal (there are practices we are fans of that increase soil and environment health, which we'll post on this in the next week).

Here is a shortlist of some important water soluble vitamins and their functions and sources that we like to use:

Vitamin B group: An ENDLESS list of functions including major input into metabolism and converting food to energy. Great sources include, beef, beef and other wild/pasteured animal liver, quality whole grains, brewers yeast and leafy greens.

Vitamin C: Plays an important part in immune system support, it's an antioxidant, helps heal wounds/bones/teeth/skin, it fights cancer and helps fight viral and bacterial infections. It can be found in black currant, citrus fruits, melons, dandelion, cabbage, broccoli, and strawberries.

Vitamin P: It's important for us as it helps the absorption of vitamin C, helps with circulation and lowers cholesterol levels. Get some of it in citrus fruits, celery, garlic, red onion, green tea.

Choline: This one helps metabolism function, helps transport fats from the liver, improves memory functions and other brain functions, also assists in relieving chronic inflammation. Choline is available in egg yolk (pasteured), nuts, fruit, liver, quality butter and flax seed.

Inositol: We understand it to balance certain chemicals in the body, helping with mental clarity and stability, and having a balancing effect on emotional states. Source inositol in bananas, grapefruit, leafy greens, red beans and cabbage.

PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid: It's a Great antioxidant, balances protein levels, improves metabolism and builds red blood cells. Found in mushrooms, spinach, eggs and liver (eggs and liver both from pasteured sources).

Red Hippo Athlete blend comes from a desire to make the building blocks for health and performance (such as water soluble vitamins) more attainable in the desired time window after your session.

#itworksifyou

Fat Soluble Vitamins

We reckon you should eat plenty of fat. Why?... Fat soluble vitamins make us more resilient, promote performance, enhance growth, speed up recovery, and have a huge impact on the cellular function of your body! Sounds pretty good right? To get our FSV's, we target wild caught fish, pastured meats and fresh, organic produce. Check out where to source the specific vitamins below, its simpler than you might think!

Vitamin A: It will have you seeing in the dark, improve your sex life, fight oxidation, and improve your ability to heal (so you pretty much turn in to Spiderman). You can find it in animal liver, cod liver oil, bee pollen, cayenne pepper and yellow fruits.

Vitamin D: It is essential for bone growth and tooth function, it reduces high blood pressure, fights cancer and helps with the absorption of calcium and phosphorus. Sunshine is where you’ll get your best source. You will also find it in pork fat (Bacon!! Well sourced of course), egg yolk, fish liver oils and sweet potato.

Vitamin E: If you want to keep your youthful good looks while still placing huge training loads of stress on your body, then you’ll want to get stuck in to Vitamin E! It’s an antioxidant, critical for brain and nerve function, and it will make you heal faster. Vitamin E is in soybean (non GMO for us), kale and egg.

Vitamin F: Very important for growth. It helps the immune system, promotes balanced hormones, and is crucial for healthy cell membranes. Bee pollen, avocado, garlic, ginger, nuts, root vegetables and licorice root will all provide you with vitamin F.

Vitamin K and Vitamin K2: These seriously matter for maintaining bone mineral density (no one wants to leach bone health due to training hard on a poor diet), its critical in bone and cartilage formation, and also is essential for the prevention of blood clotting.

Vitamin K2 is also known for healing hardened arteries. You can find Vitamin K in dark leafy greens, soybean, cauliflower, cabbage and brussel sprouts. K2 is typically found in animal protein sources such as grass fed beef.

Enjoy!

The whole '30 grams of protein' story

Picture this, you've just demolished Ron Burgundy's favourite workout, 1001 bicep curls, and now your focus turns to replacing your glycogen stores, ingesting some protein, and relaxing the system. At this point, you pull out your industry standard 30 gram scooper and dig in to a single serve of powder. And, that's the end of this story!

… Not quite. The numbers simply don't add up. Ninety hellish minutes of training demands a lot more respect than an eclectic 30 gram mix of powder. To put it simply, training creates inflammation within our bodies, and to add to this inflammation with a poor choice for your restoration formula, is only going to create a further deficit for your body to recover from. And, at the rate we are training, we don't have time to be willingly pushing our bodies in to a state of extreme fatigue.

Here's how we see it. A full serve of the Red Hippo Elite blend is 90 grams. Each ingredient in this mix is independently researched to provide us with the information that allows for an efficacious dose IN EACH SERVE. This means that each ingredient in every serve of Red Hippo will have an effect within your body. We have married the concepts of recovery and health to get your body ready for another session as quickly as possible. For example, the science shows that combining protein and glucose is far more effective than there use in isolation. Similarly, the uptake of turmeric is dependant on the presence of a fat medium such as pumpkin seeds. A combination is key here. It you work hard, respect that grind and pay homage to your handwork by honouring your bodies need to recover.

itworksifyoudo

Check out the ingredient info here