How to reduce dangerous visceral fat

Visceral fat, found in and around the organs, can be a serious danger to your health. There is a hormone called adiponectin that will prompt the body to reduce visceral fat and increase lean tissue. 

A quote from The Secret Life of Fat:

"Exercise increases adiponectin, the hormone emitted by fat tissue that moves fat away from the viscera to the limbs and hips. It improves insulin sensitivity, too, leading to lower blood glucose and triglyceride levels. The added benefit of most of these hormones is that they won’t just burn fat, they’ll increase lean tissue, which also leads to higher metabolism. So even at rest, we’ll burn more calories."

The best way to increase adiponectin levels?   According to one study: “A progressive high intensity exercise program demonstrated increased adiponectin concentrations in overweight and obese children.”  Another study concluded: “The results show that high intensity interval training (HIIT) positively changes blood lipids and adiponectin variables in obese adolescent girls, resulting in improved insulin sensitivity, as attested by a lower HOMA-IR, and achieving better results compared to moderate-intensity exercise. “

The hormones of your endocrine system can work against your fat loss efforts, or they can make fat loss more achievable.   In addition to adiponectin, HIIT simulates a cascade of fat-burning hormones; among them testosterone, human growth hormone, and irisin.

HIIT is what we do at New Orleans Personal Trainers and Austin Personal Training.   For those who are extremely out of shape, all you have to do is a little more than you are used to handling.  Each week you will improve, and soon your hormones will work for you rather than against you.

Increasing Human Growth Hormone Naturally

Human growth hormone (hGH), while essential for growth, it is also important for burning fat and building calorie-burning lean tissue in adults. Unfortunately hGH declines with age. To increase the hormone you can take synthetic hGH along with its side-effects, or hGH can be increased naturally in response to a certain type of exercise (exercise-induced growth hormone response - EIGR).  From the study The exercise-induced growth hormone response in athletes:

“An exercise intensity above lactate threshold and for a minimum of 10 minutes appears to elicit the greatest stimulus to the secretion of hGH.”

This is how you get less of hGh, another quote:

“Recent evidence suggests that endurance training [i.e., running, cycling] results in decreased resting hGH and a blunted EIGR.”

And finally:

“A growing body of evidence suggests that higher intensity exercise is effective in eliciting beneficial health, well-being and training outcomes. In a great many cases, the impact of some of the deleterious effects of ageing could be reduced if exercise focused on promoting the EIGR.”

 Austin Strength Training and at New Orleans Strength Training we specialize in the type of high Intensity training that increases hGH levels.  In addition to increasing hGH, a properly designed high intensity training workout will increase energy,   bone density,  mental acuity,   testosterone, and strength.   This is a workout anyone of any age or fitness level can do.  You build up to it slowly, you improve each week, and over time you will “impact of some of the deleterious effects of ageing” - kind of like a fountain of youth.

Effectively addressing six different aspects of fitness in one workout

Most types of exercise primarily address one aspect of fitness, i.e. yoga for flexibility or running for cardiovascular endurance, while doing little to address the other aspects of fitness.  You can effectively address several aspect of fitness with a consolidated high intensity training (HIT) workout. This is a workout anyone of any age or fitness level can do.  In fact those who are out of shape will see the most improvement. You slowly build on the previous week’s improvement. No other form of exercise comes close to producing the following benefits: 

1.    HIT is a series of strength training exercises covering all the major muscle groups. With adequate rest and recovery you will come back stronger.

2.    Stronger muscles place greater demands on bones and connective tissue.  The body adapts to withstand those demands.  The result – increased bone density.

3.    HIT results in the body burning additional calories four different ways making leanness more achievable.

4.    Stronger muscles place greater demands on the cardiovascular system leading to oftentimes remarkably improved cardiovascular function. HIT is relentlessly non-stop and produces greater excessive post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) than any other form of exercise resulting in more calories burned (see # 3).

5.    A properly designed HIT workout will do more than just increase flexibility; it will increase strength over that increased range of motion (enhanced flexibility).

6.    Enhanced flexibility and increased strength give an increased measure of protection from injuries.

There is a long list of health benefits as well.  The HIT workouts at Austin Strength Training  and New Orleans Strength Training produce measurable improvements in each of these six factors of fitness.  We use MedX exercise equipment; its medical rehab features allows us to safely work with those with limiting conditions.  The workouts last about 30 minutes and are usually done once a week.  You will still have time in your week for yoga or running. 

Testosterone..., kind of like shampoo

Testosterone is vital to both sexes for controlling fat, boosting metabolism, and maintaining lean muscle mass. Testosterone increases the body’s fat burning ability, as fat decreases testosterone increases. Repeat this positive cycle for best results (kind of like shampoo!?). A quote from the book, The Secret Life of Fat:

“Testosterone, which is critical for both sexes, also decreases, causing a reduction in lean body mass and energy, ultimately leading to slower metabolism. Though we tend to think of testosterone as the male hormone, there is more of it in a woman’s body than estrogen at most times of the month, and certainly during the perimenopausal or postmenopausal years... Testosterone is perhaps the most potent fat burner we have."

Another quote:

"Testosterone is important for everyone's weight management because it helps build and maintain muscle mass."

And this:

"The relationship between fat and testosterone in men is circular - lower testosterone leads to and increase in fat, particularly belly fat: in turn, higher fat lowers testosterone."

One can increase testosterone naturally. From This study, Effect of altered reproductive function and lowered testosterone levels on bone density in male endurance athletes:

"Relatively short duration exercise bouts at maximum or near maximum intensity appear to increase serum testosterone levels.

Near maximum intensity can be problematic for those with injuries or those who are out of shape. At New Orleans Personal Trainers and Austin Personal Training  we use MedX exercise equipment with special rehab features, and we use an exercise protocol that is safe for those with limiting conditions.  For those who are extremely out of shape, all you have to do is a little more than you are used to handling.  Each week you will improve.  You will start the positive cycle and burn more fat.

What Clients are Saying #16

"I started working out at Kelly Personal Training in October 2007 and hardly ever miss a week. I was able to keep it going because their method - one intense half-hour of exercise per week - is just so easy to integrate into your life, plus it’s so affordable. You might not think you would see results from just 30 minutes a week but I experienced a greater increase in strength in the first year than from any workout style I had ever done.

The method itself is effective, but it's the trainers that really make the difference. I worked with Amy Hard and I couldn't have asked for better. Amy guided my workout from start to finish. She kept track of all of the details, and paid attention to all movements, thus knowing when she could push me and when I was at my limit. Personal training is tricky because different people like different forms of motivation. Amy paid attention to what worked best for me, keeping me right up to my most productive zone.

The intensity of the workout is enough to where my mind would go completely blank of extraneous thought. I was fully focused on the task at hand. And the clarity stays with you. This workout is not just a body thing. After each session, I always felt better on all levels. I highly recommend Kelly Personal Training and especially Amy. Give it a try!"

David Tangredi

At Austin Strength Training and at New Orleans Strength Training the goal of our personal trainers is the give the client a workout they could not get on their own. Without guidance, most people will exercise to a level below their optimal capability. A good trainer like Amy will safely guide the client to the next level, the level where ongoing improvement occurs.